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‘No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.’ Mahatma Gandhi

Today we started off with introducing the course and culture. After a brief discussion session about culture and what we already noticed about it in the Island or Reunion we went for a small tour through the market place. I recognize a lot about the other islands I visited. A lot of local crafts, like instrument, clothing and beverages.

After the market visit we drove to another important part of the island culture: rhum! We paid a visit to the Saga of Rhum museum. With an audiotour we strolled along the different phases of making rhum. It was very interesting to hear where the rhum making on Reunion differs from, for example, the West-Indian rum making. Reunion was an island that was unpopulated until the Portuguese discovered it. During the years culture was ‘introduced’ by the different people who live there. That’s what I learned again today: culture is not an exclusive thing of a certain group of people or a certain area. Culture is a hybrid thing, that develops and adjusts from time to time, influenced by the people and different era’s. Like the sugar cane that was brought to Reunion, resulting in the rhum culture there is nowadays. Culture, it’s constantly moving, changing and redefined. That’s what makes and keeps it fascinating, everywhere you go.

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It is important to understand that there is as much variation within cultures, as between them and that individuals express their cultures in various ways depending on the circumstances.

Today was all about understanding culture and the cultural heritage domains. We were given explanations and examples about all domains and we discussed how we will learn more about this through experience in the coming week and later in our lessons at school.

We looked at the various arts and crafts at the local market of Saint Pierre. We saw, for example, woven baskets, various musical instruments and woodwork. There were also countless types of rum to be found. We are going to learn certain cultural techniques ourselves in the coming week, such as weaving baskets and playing musical instruments.

We then visited the rum museum. Through an audio tour we received information about the importance of rum in the culture on the island of Reunion and what skills are needed to make these special types of rum. A hodgepodge of cultures and skills have created a special type of rum.

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Yesterday we started the day with our educational session
We went to the office Ms. Rita, the official of the educational league and guided us to the contents of the league and then we went to the market heritage to know the heritage of the people in this picturesque island and then we went to the museum and the production of alcoholic drinks and Lim was wonderful.

It was amazing to see my own culture (Indian) here on island and at the market. It was great and educational first day.

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On Monday we started with the introduction to the course at Rita's place. We talked about culture and how we will be digging deeper into the non-tangible culture of Réunion. Réunion has a mixed population and expresses its culture mainly through language, music and dance. The language creole is a very visual and gently undulating language, which is widely spoken among the population and it is still constantly evolving.  Afterwards we visited the marketplace of St-Pierre and the rhum distillery. The process of making rhum has a long history and consists of multiple steps which were cleary explained by the audio tour. There are many different companies around the Island, which results in a 40% rhum production by the France. Thereby being an important export product to the Island.

Looking forward to learn more about other aspects of the non-tangible culture of Réunion.

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DDCD+ Session 1
The first day of our educational  session
Today I visited the popular market  of the city Le Saint-Pierre in Reunion Island
And was amazed by manual work done the people who lived  on this multi-cultural island
I also visited a factory and museums producing alcoholic products (Rum)
It was very nice day.

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"Social practices, rituals and festive events are habitual activities that structure the lives of communities and groups and that are shared by and relevant to many of their members."

Monday 15th July we started our course Digital Dynamic Cultural Dialogue with a meeting with Rita. She took us to her appartement in downtown St-Pierre. Culture is a perception depending on the person you are, the place you were born in and about your interests. The upcoming 8 days we will learn about mosly non-tangible culture in La Réunion. La Réunion, which was called Île de Bourbon until 1848, is a so called Départment d'outre mer of the French Republic. It has a mixture of "Métropolitain"France, Indian, Chinese, Arab and African culture. These cultural examples are all of over the island. Today we visited a Rhum Distillery, just outside St-Pierre. There we learnt a lot about the process of making typical 'Rhum Réunionnais.' This local rum has a long history, because on every part of the island, you will find different companies. 40% of the Rum production is coming from France.

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"Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed". Photo: the symbol of infinity that tells the story of rum.

THE NAME - reflection of the politics:
From 1507 the name of the island was  the "Mascarenes" after the Portuguese explorer Mascarenhes. They also called it "Santa Apolonia".
In 1649, the island was named "Île Bourbon" after the French royal House of Bourbon.
In 1793 it became "Île de la Réunion". The name commemorates the union between the revolutionaries and National Guard on 10 August 1792.
In 1801, the island was renamed "Île Bonaparte".
in 1810, it was "Bourbon" once again.
Since 1848, once again,  the name was "Île de la Réunion".