SLAVERY AND INDENTURE ARE central to understanding the Mauritian past. The forced and free labor diasporas that brought hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children from Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and China to the island during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries still constitute key elements in shaping modern Mauritian identity. These immigrants also brought their religious beliefs and practices with them, beliefs and practices that included traditional African religions, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.