Traditional festivals folklore and fairs Mauritius

Like the abolition of slavery, this festival is more of a symbolic anniversary than a large gathering. It commemorates the arrival of the first Indian immigrants on Mauritian soil. It is celebrated at the Aapravasi Ghat in Port-Louis, precisely where hundreds of thousands of immigrants landed between 1849 and 1920 to work in the sugarcane fields in place of former slaves, a period known as "engagism".

Like that of the Arrival of the Indian Immigrants in November, it is a commemorative festival which does not give rise to major events, but which has a national resonance. It celebrates the end of slavery in Mauritius in 1835 and at the same time recalls the sufferings endured by Mauritians of African origin. It is celebrated at the International Monument of the Slave Route on the Morne Peninsula, where several colonies of slaves hid to escape their dark condition. Le Morne is itself a Unesco World Heritage Site.