[1] After the abolition of slavery in 1848, plantation owners filled their need for laborers by importing Indians from the subcontinent, starting in 1853.
The symbols, gestures and myths of Hinduism were an important inspiration to the French artist Paul Gauguin, who visited Martinique in 1887.
[3] Maldevidan Spiritists is a syncretic religion in Martinique which combine aspects of the Hindu religion with Catholicism associating the principal deity, Maldevidan (Madurai Veeran), with Jesus Christ and the second most important deity, Mari-eman (Mariamman), with the Virgin Mary.
Rituals include playing drums, dancing on sharpened machetes, and sacrificing animals such as roosters and sheep.
[7][8] In recent years there has been a revival of Hinduism in Martinique, including Hindu mela programmes.