Cafres orKafs, are people born inRéunion ofAfrican origins. This includes people ofMalagasy ancestry.[1] Many also have admixture from other ethnic groups.[2]
Like theSri Lanka Kaffirs, the nameCafres is derived from the Arabic word for infidels,kafir, which inEast Africa came to meanBlack people specifically.
In Réunion, contrary to other countries or regions of the south-west of theIndian Ocean, the term is in common use. It means "any individual whose phenotype goes back more or less toAfrican/Malagasy origins, as described by the sociologist Paul Mayoka in his essay "The image of the cafre".[3][4] The term is also used to mean ethnic groups of Southeast African origin from where slaves came.[5]
The term is also used in the phrase 'fête des Cafres'. This is one of the names given to the annual celebration of theabolition of slavery on the island on 20 December 1848.[6]
The ancestors of the Cafres were enslaved Africans.[1] Brought from mainland Africa and Madagascar to work the sugar plantations; these were the first slaves to be introduced to theMascarene Islands. The slaves came fromMozambique,Guinea,Senegal andMadagascar.[2] Most trace their roots to Madagascar andEast Africa (Mozambique,Tanzania,Zambia) although some descended from runaways from European pirate ships.[citation needed]
The Cafres are mostly Christian.[1] Due to the loose definition of the term, the rising number of second generation MuslimComorians andMahorians are also considered Cafres.
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