Réveiller la mémoire. L’esclavage dans les fonds oraux des Archives départementales de Mayotte

Today, the memory of slavery is essentially non-verbal : it is present in musical instruments and rhythms imported from Mozambique, geographical and social structures inherited from the slave system. In words, the reality of slavery is often hidden, even if to speak, the Mahorais use words directly borrowed from the East African languages. Memory of slavery runs including the fact that it is difficult to conceive that the slave owner was not a stranger but one of them. In fact, it was Mahorais who reduced other Mahorais in slavery. In addition, this state of servitude is often confused with another phenomenon, that of indentured labor. After abolition, former slaves changed their status to be used as "committed volunteers" in the new sugar plantations. In the collective memory, the bosses involved (the settlers) are often confused with those responsible for the trafficking and use of slaves (regional or local notables). The Departmental Archives, through their section of oral archives, however, have managed to collect information on the memory of slavery, some evidence, unfortunately unverifiable, provide interesting elements on the history of the phenomenon, such as the existence trafficked illegal after abolition