Kantu, Asso'o Jeanne Rita2019-01-152019-01-152017Kantu, Rita Assoo (2018) Disgesting the tropics : the aura of indo-Mauritian spirituality implicit in the aestheticisation of coconut water's social life, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, https://hdl.handle.net/10539/26276https://hdl.handle.net/10539/26276A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts(Coursework and Research Report) in Social Anthropology By ASSO’OJEANNERITAKANTU Supervisor: Associate Professor SharadChari (CISA) UniversityoftheWitwatersrand &Centre for IndianStudies in Africa (CISA) August 2017BasedonanethnographicstudyoftwoIndo-MauritianfamiliesineasternMauritius,their gatheringsandtheirritualsbasedonanHindufaith,thisresearchreportstudiestherelationship betweenaesthetics,spiritualityandaurainthemasscommoditizationandadvertisingofbottled coconutwater.Usingparticipantobservation,in-depthinterviewsandsemioticimageryanalysis, thisreportsuggeststhatthecoconut,inHindubelief,hasavitalmaterialityandcariesanaurain itsphysicalcompositionandphysiologicalcontentwhich:1)allows it to travel across pace and time2)endowsitwitha‘divinity’thatvalidatesitseconomicexploitandrepresentationand3) standsasanOrientalistmacrocosmicsymbolforthemicrorealities,intimacies,socialrelations and lived experiences of every day life on a ‘paradise’ island. Keywords:aura ,aesthetic, spiritualty, Hindu, Indo-Mauritian, vitalmaterialityOnline resource (119 leaves)enReligionsEthnology--Religious aspectsDisgesting the tropic : the aura ofIndo-Mauritian spirituality implicit intheaestheticisation of coconut water’ssocial lifeThesis