The Grand Lodge of Mauritius

La Grande Loge de Maurice

* A brief history by L. Descombes

* Une brève histoire par L. Descombes

Mauritius Takes A Leap Forward

Extract from MQ magazine (UK),  April 2006,  written by Michael Allan

On 12 March 2005, the 37th anniversary of National Independence Day, the first Grand Lodge of Mauritius was consecrated and RW Brother Lindsay Descombes was installed as Grand Master. MW Brother Jean-Charles Foellner, Grand Master of the Grande Loge Nationale Française, carried out the Installation. This was the pinnacle of the island’s distinguished history of Freemasonry stretching back more than 200 years.

The week of celebration that followed in the presence of Grand Masters and delegations from four continents, laid the foundation of what is set to be an outwardlooking fraternity whilst observing the true traditions of the Craft.

At present, the seven Lodges previously under the banner of the Grande Loge Nationale Française have been transferred to the new Grand Lodge of Mauritius and consequently re-numbered 01 to 07.

The Grand Lodge has defined its Vision, its Mission Statement and its Objectives. The Action Plan’s first priority has been to seek recognition from, and exchange Lodge Representatives with, Grand Lodges in friendly countries. To date some 50 countries have been contacted and recognition received from a dozen.

As a Freemason born in Mauritius, but who has resided in England for the past 45 years, I was delighted and astounded to be made an Honorary Founder Member and a Very Worshipful Brother as Past Grand Deacon. This was in recognition of my recently published historical book, Freemasonry in Mauritius – A Chronological Compilation of Lodges 1778 – 2004, the only complete account of the Craft on the island.

Although when I started my research I had no idea that the formation of a Grand Lodge was under discussion, the book’s publication fortuitously coincided with the consecration. However, it was six months later, in September 2005, that I was at last able to attend my first Lodge meeting in Mauritius.

I was invited to Lodge Louis Auguste Ormières No.1 and to Friendship Royal Arch Chapter No. 160. This is the only Chapter on the island and is on the Roll of the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland.

At Lodge No.1 they performed a third degree, and I found that it is often customary in Mauritian Lodges for visitors to be announced and admitted well after the minutes of the previous meeting have been read and approved.

The Rite Emulation was the order of the day and it was a pleasure to hear the ceremony in French. Furthermore, I was astonished to find out that it was exactly the way we do it in England, virtually a literal translation. Being bilingual I felt I could easily have stood in for one of the officers.

For the Chapter Installation, the whole procedure was new to me. It was the first time I had witnessed a Scottish Ritual. The Friendship Royal Arch Chapter No. 160 was Chartered on 16 June 1875 and inaugurated in 1879. It became dormant between 1896 and 1918. Amongst the Founder Members and those on the Roll of First Principals were many well-known local Brethren, including early British administrators on the island.

I will forever remember and be most grateful for the warmth and friendship I received on both occasions, and the Festive Board was exceptional. At the end of the meeting a table full of gajacks (Mauritian for tit bits e.g., chilli cakes, samoussas, etc) and drinks greet you, then follows a threecourse meal including wine, all for £6!

Mauritius has several constitutions, some of which are not in amity with the United Grand Lodge of England. Being a small island, it follows that Masons, sometimes from the same family, may belong to different constitutions.

For this reason, although they do not visit one another’s Lodge, nevertheless they meet socially. Once a month they have a lunch under the umbrella of Dodo 50, a gathering that exhibits the ideology of fraternity as a common denominator. I was invited to such a lunch. Nothing Masonic is discussed, but speeches of topical interests are encouraged.

As the attendees consist of distinguished members of the community – and ladies are occasionally invited – the tone of the assembly is both stimulating and educational.

After the lunch, I was invited to visit the Samuel Barbé Museum, which is in the Loge La Triple Espérance. The latter is under the banner of the Grand Orient de France, but of course was in amity with us previous to the 1877 modification of the Constitution by France. The Lodge became dormant in the 1950s and a few brethren from various constitutions met to revive it.

When it came to choose whether it should be French or English constitutionally, the vote was a draw. It was Samuel Barbé, a pharmacist and friend of my family who had originally encouraged me to become a Freemason, who made the casting vote.

Loge La Triple Espérance is the oldest Lodge on the island and dates from 1778. It was interesting to see relics, paintings etc of our past brethren on display, including the portrait of Lord Moira who, in 1813, as the Deputy Grand Master of the UGLE and Governor-General of India, visited the newly captured colony.

Also among the portraits is that of Sir Robert Farquhar, a Freemason and the first Governor of Mauritius following its capture by Britain in 1810. Some months earlier, in a minor naval skirmish – the Battle of Grand Port – which is recorded at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, both the French and English commanders were seriously wounded.

The nearby elegant house of Jean de Robillard was turned into a hospital where Rear-Admiral Victore Duperre and Admiral Sir Nesbit Willoughby convalesced alongside each other and shook hands, symbolising the beginning of an entente cordiale. Later it was found that they were both Freemasons.

Today, the house is a naval museum and contains portraits of both men. In all, the museum and the rebirth of Loge La Triple Espérance typify what can be achieved when brethren have determination and conviction, just as with the dogged persistence of establishing the Grand Lodge that has taken some hundred years in the founding.

When I asked the MW Grand Master what was in the pipeline for future development, he said: “Mauritius is destined to play an outstanding role in the development of Freemasonry both within the neighbouring francophone group of countries which includes Madagascar, Reunion, Commoros, Seychelles, Rodrigues and the Anglophone countries including South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand.

“Mauritius, by the diversity of its Masonic culture and its unique geographical position, almost in the centre of the Indian ocean, is an enviable situation to bring together the Lodges and Grand Lodges of the region. Mauritians are trilingual with English and French as common languages.

“Our society is multi-racial, pluriethnical and multi-religious. Our Lodges practice no less than eight different Rites: Emulation, York, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Scottish Rectified Rite, Scottish Standard, Irish Standard, Modern French Rite and Egyptian Rite. In the name of the Great Architect of the Universe, we unite Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists in prayers.

“From that perspective, I think we are unique in the world and I foresee Mauritius as a showcase of the universality of Freemasonry for the world. We are hoping to increase our membership by twofold in five years and have a Grand Temple. As you see we are a little Grand Lodge with great ambitions. We are also pragmatic and know that to succeed we need to work hard”.

The Grand Lodge of Mauritius is a new venture, but it is rooted in the bond of friendship not only fraternally, but that which exists between the multi-cultural people who inhabit the island. Giant strides have already been taken along the way.

I can only urge anyone who may be going to the island, and has the opportunity, through the proper channels, to visit and experience the hand of friendship themselves.

LA FRANC-MACONNERIE A MAURICE         ……      en bref

• Connue des arabes dès le 10eme siècle, colonie holandaise de 1598 à 1710, française à partir de 1715 pour environ un siècle et capturée en 1810 par les Britanniques, l’Île Maurice a accédé au statut d’État indépendant en 1968 avant d’être une République en 1992

• Les Français et les Britanniques ont fortement influencé la société mauricienne, enrichie aussi d’apports malgaches, africains et asiatiques, de sorte qu’aujourd’hui l’Île Maurice est un lieu de rencontre de plusieurs peuples, de plusieurs cultures, de plusieurs civilisations. La dimension de Maurice pourrait donc bien être celle de l’homme universel

• La Franc-maçonnerie fut introduite à Maurice en 1778 par les Français. Depuis elle n’a cessé d’essaimer et de s’épanouir. Il a fallu attendre jusqu’à vers 1860, soit 50 ans après leur arrivée, pour voir les Britanniques constituer leurs premières Loges

• Sir Robert Farquhar, premier gouverneur anglais de l’île, lui-même Franc-maçon, s’affilia, dès le début de son mandat qui commença en 1810, à une des loges françaises existantes à l’instar des premiers Franc-maçons britanniques venus avec lui

• Plusieurs loges françaises et britanniques furent par la suite constituées. Certaines eurent une vie relativement courte et disparurent. Parmi les plus anciennes qui ont survécu, citons la loge française ‘La Triple Espérance’ (1778); l’écossaise ‘Friendship’ (1864) et l’anglaise ‘Friendship’(1877)

• La Grande Loge de Maurice fut constituée le 23 mars 2005 quand sept loges mauriciennes sous tutelle de la Grande Loge Nationale Française, avec l’accord de celle-ci, acquirent leur indépendance maçonnique. Depuis sa création en 2005 la Grande Loge de Maurice a consacré une nouvelle loge, portant le nombre de loges sous sa juridiction à huit

• Aujourd’hui, plus de 10 Obédiences maçonniques groupant environ 25 Loges oeuvrent à Maurice, parmi lesquelles:

FREEMASONRY IN MAURITIUS      ……      in a nutshell

• Mauritius was put on the world map by the Arabs in the 10th century. It was a Dutch colony from 1598 to 1710. The French came in 1715 and stayed for nearly a century. In 1810 the British took over the island and Mauritius became a British colony until its independence in 1968. The country acceded to the status of Republic in 1992

• The French and the British have greatly influenced the Mauritian society and its people who came also from Madagascar, Asia and Africa. Mauritius is a meeting place of many peoples, of many cultures, of many civilizations. The dimension of Mauritius may then well be that of the universal man

• Freemasonry was introduced in Mauritius by the French in 1778. Since then it has flourished. The first British Lodges were constituted around 1860, some 50 years after the arrival of the British

• Sir Robert Farquhar, the first British Governor, who was a Freemason, became an Affiliated member of one of the existing French Lodges, as did other British Freemasons who came with him

• Several French and British Lodges have since 1778 been constituted. Many ceased labour after a short period. Among the few that have survived are the French Lodge ‘La Triple Espérance’ (1778) , the Scottish ‘Lodge Friendship’(1864) et the English Lodge of Friendship’(1877)

• The Grand Lodge of Mauritius was constituted on 12th March 2005 when the seven lodges under the auspices of Grande Loge National Française, with the consent of the latter, acquired their Masonic independence. Since its creation in 2005 the Grand Lodge of Mauritius has consecrated a new lodge, bringing the total number of lodges under its jurisdictiction to eight.

• Today more than 10 Masonic Bodies, represented by nearly 25 Lodges, operate in Mauritius, among which:-

Mauritius, April 2006