Reviewed by: The Other Hybrid Archipelago: Introduction to the Literatures and Cultures of the Francophone Indian Ocean Karen U. Lindo The Other Hybrid Archipelago: Introduction to the Literatures and Cultures of the Francophone Indian Ocean By Peter Hawkins Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2007. xvi + 205 pp. ISBN 13-978-0-7391-1676-0 cloth. In The Other Hybrid Archipelago, author Peter Hawkins charts onto the postcolonial landscape a long overdue analysis of the rich and complex literatures of the francophone Indian Ocean. Scholars and newcomers to this body of work will appreciate Hawkins's pedagogical approach in mapping out both the vast literary production in this region as well as the detailed historical narratives that are specific to Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, the Comoros, and the Seychelles, and the extent to which the diverse cultural production of these territories (with the exception of the Comoros) continue to reflect alternating French and British colonial rule of the not so distant past. The Comorian archipelago, located in the Mozambique Channel between the African mainland and Madagascar, is distinct in that this region has remained predominantly Islamic since the tenth century; and even Mayotte, which is today an Overseas territory (TO M, or Territoire d'Outre-Mer) attached to the French Republic, bears witness in its literary output to its adherence to Islamic tradition. Nerf de boeuf, Le calvaire des baobabs, and La fille du polygame, by Nassur Attoumani, provide insightful examples of the ways in which Muslim practices are negotiated within a French legal and linguistic system. The Creole language, a legacy of the plantation years, ardently defended as part of the cultural specificity of the Seychellois, Reunionese, and Mauritians, does not inform the cultural production of Mayotte and far less so the other islands in the Comorian Union, for whom their involvement with slavery remains a taboo subject. Hawkins further explores the different territories through the musical production and instruments used to make the sounds of salegy, sega, and maloya. In this work, music elaborates on cultural heritage and the exportation or else insularity of sounds produced are equally indicative of the relations among these islands and their former colonial masters. In the case of Mauritius, described as [End Page 217] an example of an island that is "outward-looking" (167), sega, the musical heritage of former slaves, is today integrated into the global economy as part of an enticing tourist package to this region. The fact of the internal rivalries among the different ethnic communities who continue to wrestle with the legacies of both slavery and indentured labor does not impede the pride of place of cultural performance for incoming visitors. The final chapter, "Trouble in Paradise," nevertheless provides a sobering perspective on what might have otherwise read as an ode to "cultural métissage." Undoubtedly, this convergence of the many different ethnic groups and cultural and religious practices do offer a complex mosaic that yields a remarkable cultural output. Yet, as Hawkins makes clear, the issues stemming from nationalism, communalism, and parochialism also shape the political landscape of these islands in the Indian Ocean such that they too are implicated in the larger questions of multiculturalism and ethnic integration that are today global concerns. The anglophone community will discover in The Other Hybrid Archipelago a welcome introductory work and an important resource for future scholarly endeavors. Karen U. Lindo Bowdoin College Copyright © 2008 Indiana University Press