Hosay or Tadjah is a West Indian commemoration

Commemoration

Commemoration may refer to:*Commemoration , an observance of the Church of England*Commemoration , a prayer of the Roman Catholic Church...

, in which multi-colored model mausoleums are paraded, then ritually offered up to the sea, or any body of water. Some contemporary writers equate the multi-colored mausoleums with "mosques." In British Guiana, now Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

, and Suriname

Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...

, the festival was called Taziya or creolized into Tadjah in reference to these floats, the most visible and decorative element of this festival.