Bihari Mauritians are descendants of predominantlyBhojpuri-speaking migrants from the Indian State ofBihar who moved toMauritius. A majority ofIndo-Mauritians of which they are a subgroup of are ofBihari origin, and mostMauritians are Indo-Mauritian. Caste-wise, many BihariMauritians areVaishyas, with notable groups includingBhumihars,Brahmins,Rajputs,Koeri,Chamars,Yadav,Kurmis,Banias, andKayastha. Except for one, all Mauritian Prime Ministers have been of BihariVaishya descent.[1][2][3]The community includes aHindu majority with aMuslim minority. About 65.7 % of the 1.3 million population of Mauritius is of Indian origin, most of them from Bihar, with Bhojpuri language as their ancestral tongue.[citation needed]
Though the island is divided on ethnic and religious grounds, 'Hindu' Mauritians follow a number of original custom and tradition, quite different from those seen in the Indian subcontinent. The Indian Brahminical caste structure is based on the varna system, which categorizes society into four main groups:Brahmins,Kshatriyas,Vaishyas, andShudras. Within this system,Brahmins (referred to as Maraz),Kshatriyas (referred to as Babujee), andVaishyas (referred to as Vaish) are classified as "grand nasyon" or high castes. These groups correspond to the Hindu concept of dvija, or "twice-born." In contrast, all other castes are classified asShudras, also known as "ti nasyon" or low castes, which include groups such asRavived and Rajputs. This classification can apply to individuals, neighborhoods, or shrines. In certain contexts,Vaishyas may also be regarded as intermediary castes.[4][5]
^Bates, Crispin (2016).Community, Empire and Migration: South Asians in Diaspora. Springer. p. 14.ISBN978-0333977293. Retrieved2020-07-01.Some 'castes' in Mauritius in particular are quite unrecognizable from a subcontinental perspective, and may incorporate mutually antagonistic castes from an Indian setting into a single group. A 'Rajput' in Mauritius is of aShudra caste, the title having been usurped by this group in the nineteenth century. Ethnolinguistic distinctions differentiateBhojpuri/Hindi speakers fromTamil,Telugu speakers andMarathi speakers despite all being Hindus they maintain certain regional endogamy. EvenGujarati speakers are seen as a separate community, from a trading rather than an indenture background, and maintain a social distance from descendants of 'coolies'. The formerBrahmin elite are referred to as the 'Maraz' and together with the formerRajputs and otherKshatriyas, now called 'Babujis', enjoy the prestige conferred by high-caste status, whilst politically they complain of marginalization.
Hinduism (majority),
Islam (minority)