In October 2001, the Seychelles National Archives and the National Museum set up an exhibition based on “Telegraph Mouswar”. A silent ‘language’ used by our great grand parents to make others aware of their feelings and sentiments. These feelings could be friendship, rejection, hatred, but in most cases it was romantic feelings.

For example, if a woman holds the handkerchief between her teeth in the presence of a man, it means she wants to speak with him.	On the other hand if a man holds the handkerchief on his shoulder in the presence of a woman, it means he wants the woman to follow him.

These expressions came from the French tradition more than two hundreds years ago when they first colonized Seychelles.