occassionally, for example in the marine world around the Seychelles Islands. Harvesting of coral for souvenirs is a problem that now plagues these islands. This is not a unique problem to the Seychelles, since many island tourist destinations have experienced the same troubles. Take Key West, Florida for example, where the coral beds were damaged for decades in the middle of the twentieth century by unscrupulous tourist shops selling a piece of the ocean to the growing influx of tourists. No matter how much government may try and protect the coral reef with rules, fines, and regulations, there will always be some greedy people out there trying to make a fast buck off unsuspecting tourists.
The Arts
The arts are alive and well in the Seychelles Islands, and you can find plenty of evidence that the arts are important to the local residents, and to the Seychelloise government. There are plenty of funded arts groups, as well as artists who specialize in creating Seycehlles-inspired fiction, poetry, art, and music. Since the dominant traditional culture here is heavily African-influenced, you'll find an African flavor in almost every artistic creation on these islands. For literature, there's the Kreol Institute, which supports the Creole language and artists who develop the art form in the way of fiction and other forms of literature. The Kreol Institute publishes books by local Creole writers, and translates foreign books into Creole as well. Some local writers of note are Christian Sevina, Jean-Joseph Madeleine, Glynn Burridge, and Maria-Theress Choppy.
The beautiful tropical locale and easy pace of life in the Seychelles attracts artists to the islands, and many come, set up shop, and sell beautiful arts, crafts, and all sorts of souvenirs. There is lots of great talent here, and you can take home a unique and lovely souvenir quite easily by perusing gift shops and boutiques. Look for paintings, sculpture, collages if you're into serious art. Around the capitol, Victoria, you can see lovely statues creatd by local artisans, too.
Music and Dance in the Seychelles Islands bring together a wonderful blend of African, Chinese, Arabic, and European instruments and traditions. You'll find diverse instruments used in Seychelloise music: banjo, accordian, African drums,violins, and unusual instruments like the makalapo, the zez, and the bom. There are itinerant bands that go around the islands playing traditional music, often accompanied by traditional dancers. They sometimes visit the larger hotels on the main islands. One traditional dance incorporates African tradition. It's the moutia, with strong rhythms and danced around a fire, chanting prayers. Look for sega dances, too.
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