The management of the dead and their burial grounds raises a number of religious, social and political, town planning and sanitary issues; colonial society on Bourbon had to take concerted action in order to cope with its constantly growing population.
Short history of cemeteries
The first cemeteries were located around churches and planned according to Christian practices, or away from residential areas in accordance with health standards. Lack of space in many towns led to the creation of isolated burial areas where the graves of baptised black and white people were strictly separated by low walls. Shared single cemeteries were the rule except in Saint-Paul and Saint-Leu, where no slaves were buried within the site enclosure.
Until the order of 1820 listing 12 official partitioned cemeteries, burial grounds could be sited anywhere. More and more cemeteries on private land were created near residences to bury slaves.
Slavery was abolished in 1848 and, with the rise of republican cemeteries, separating walls were no longer allowed. Despite this, indentured labourers continued to be buried in their own burial grounds.
Skeletons under the sand
Cyclone Gamède, which hit Réunion island in 2007, uncovered a large number of skeletons along its coastline. Two were found in Saint-André, buried outside an official cemetery according to what seems to be non-Christian practices. Others were found within the immediate vicinity of Marin cemetery in Saint-Paul, buried outside the walls on a site not found on any historical map, their unmarked graves completely forgotten.
