Hindu sanctuary at L’Anglais, Guadeloupe

Reconfiguring Hinduism 

In the French West Indies, religious life became the primary site of cultural continuity and transformation. Indo-Creole Hinduism largely reflects the village-based Hinduism of Tamil Nadu’s lower castes, with a pantheon dominated by female divinities. Goddesses such as Mariyamman, Sitala, and Kali coexist with intermediary deities like Hanuman and Maldevilin, who receive animal sacrifices and serve as guardians of temples.

Strikingly, the Sufi saint Nagur Mira remains embedded within this religious landscape, revered alongside Hindu gods. His presence stands as a living relic of the syncretic faith forged during the voyage.

Ritual, Language, and Memory

Religion also became a vessel of memory and survival. Ritual language, especially Tamil, acquired sacred status, transforming from vernacular speech into a language of remembrance and spiritual return. Through chants, songs, and ceremonies, migrants symbolically reconnected with a lost homeland.

Ritual time created a space outside colonial marginalisation. In moments of worship, indentured labourers ceased to be “coolies” and became once more the “ship family”. Faith offered dignity, cohesion, and psychological refuge amid the harsh realities of plantation life.

An Identitary Rebirth

The great crossing was not merely a physical journey but an identitary rebirth. Indo-Creole Hinduism emerged as a product of displacement, constraint, and resilience. It represents not the simple transplantation of Indian culture, but its profound redefinition under duress.

Forged in the holds of ships and rooted in the sugar islands of the Caribbean, this syncretic faith bears enduring witness to the courage of those who crossed forbidden waters and, in doing so, reshaped belief itself.