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Indo-Guyanese

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Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are Guyanese nationals who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent. They are the descendants of settlers who arrived between the 19th and 20th centuries from the former pre-partitioned sub-continent of India during the time of the British Raj.

Indo-Guyanese
India Guyana
Regions with significant populations
Guyana:
Overseas:
Languages
Colonial Languages:
South Asian Languages:
Religion
Majority: Hinduism
Minority: Islam, Christianity, and others
Related ethnic groups

Most of the Indian settlers who came to Guyana were from North India, specifically from the Bhojpur and Awadh regions of the Hindi Belt located in the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, however a significant minority came from South India. The vast majority of Indians came as contract laborers during the 19th century, spurred on by political upheaval, the ramifications of the Mutiny of 1857, and famine. Others arrived as merchants, landowners and farmers pushed out by many of the same factors.[2]

Indo-Guyanese are the largest ethnic group in Guyana identified by the official census, about 40% of the population in 2012. There is also a large Indo-Guyanese diaspora in countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.[3]

History

Indian immigration to the British West Indies was triggered by Great Britain's decision in the 1830's to outlaw the enslavement of labor brought from Africa. Newly emancipated Black slaves were suddenly able to choose where to live and what to do, which led sugar plantation owners to look elsewhere. After recruiting from Portugal and other countries, colonial recruitment turned to British India.

The indentured labor system, became the replacement system for slavery in British Guiana. Persisting for 75 years, this system of indentured servitude presented its own forms of injustices, many of which were heavily lobbied against by Indian nationalists leading to it finally being banned in 1917. One major distinction between slavery and the indentured immigrant experience was that the indentured laborers from India had agreed to immigration, signing contracts that bound them to a plantation for five years, while earning a small, fixed daily wage. After five additional years working in Guiana (for a total of 10 years), they would then be entitled to either receive passage back to India or to stay in Guiana and receive land and money to start their own businesses.[4]

396 Indian immigrants arrived from Calcutta in 1838,[5] but a reported total of over 230,000 indentured laborers arrived from India over the ensuing 80 years.[6]

For its first 25 years, indentured recruits were drawn from largely from small towns in and around Calcutta, but people were recruited from as far as Sri Lanka. Other groups of recruits spoke the Tamil and Telugu of South India.

The backbone of all recruiting operations were professional recruiters, assisted by paid local agents called "Arkatis" in North India and "Maistris" in South India. Intimidation, coercion, and deception were common, as were illegal practices, such as kidnapping and forced detention. An example of deception related to laborers who signed to immigrate to Surinam; recruiters would pronounce the country as "Sri-Ram," which then would become the names of two Hindu deities with complex but very positive connotations.[7]

In addition to having to deal with lack of freedoms, intense heat, and brutal working conditions, these indentured servants were largely met with hostility from the newly-freed Black slaves, whose opportunity to earn a living was undercut by the very low wages paid to the Indian immigrants.[8]

Culture

East Indian settlers retained their traditions. But the process of cultural assimilation has made the culture of the modern Indo-Guyanese more Westernized, than that of their immigrant ancestors.[9]

Cultural origins and religion

Between 1838 and 1917 over 500 ship voyages with 238,909 indentured Indian immigrants came to Guyana; while just 75,898 of them or their children returned. The vast majority came from the Hindustani (or Hindi) speaking areas of North India. The most popular dialect spoken was Bhojpuri (spoken in east Uttar Pradesh and west Bihar), followed by Awadhi (spoken in central Uttar Pradesh). 62% of the immigrants came from districts that are now part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh; 21% from districts that are now part of Bihar state; 6% were from pre-partitioned Bengal; 3% from what are today Orissa and Jharkhand states; 3% from what is today Tamil Nadu state; 3% from Central India, 1% from pre-partitioned Punjab - and the remaining 1% from the rest of India.[citation needed] (96.8% of all the Indian Immigrants to Guyana left the port of Calcutta in North India, and 3.2% from the port of Madras in South India)[10]

The religious breakdown was 85% Hindu, 15% Muslims.[10]

Indenture documents show Hindu by caste: 11% were Brahmin, Bhumihar, Chatri, Rajput and Thakur castes; 1% were of the merchant or writer castes; 30% were of the medium agricultural castes; 9% were of the artisan castes; 2% were of the petty trading castes; 2% were of fishermen and boatmen castes; 25% were from menial or dalit castes; 3% were Hindus who were Madrasis; 2% were Hill Coolies or Tribals.

Festivals and holidays

Guyanese Hindus continue to observe holidays such as Phagwah also known outside the country as Holi (burning of Holika) and Diwali (festival of lights) among others while Muslims celebrate the holidays Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.[11] Through British influence, celebrating holidays such as Christmas and Easter, is common regardless of religious beliefs. In Guyana, Indian Arrival Day is celebrated on May 5 commemorating the first arrival of indentured servants from India to the country, on May 5, 1838. On this day, the workers arrived to work in sugar plantations.[12]

Marriage

Among Hindus and Muslims, arranged, comparatively early marriages were common in rural areas until the modern period (early 1960s) but are rare now. Middle-class Indians had greater freedom in choosing a spouse, especially if the woman was a professional. As in most parts of the western world marriage now occurs later, and the family unit is smaller than in the past. Indo Guyanese families are patriarchal with an extended system, where family members assist each other, like many other groups in Guyana.[13] For individuals who are Hindu, wedding ceremonies are now performed with the bride and groom dressed in traditional Indian clothing, as an expression of their culture. If it can be afforded there is usually a Hindu wedding ceremony and also a western or "regular" wedding reception, or a small Hindu ceremony and a much larger "reception" so friends from the larger community can attend.[citation needed]

Cuisine

With the blending of cultures in the Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean dishes became one of the dominant notes throughout most of the English Caribbean, with dishes such as curry and roti and dhal bhat. Dishes include gulab jamun, mohanbhog (prasad), kheer (sweet rice), bara, pholourie and chutney or sour, bhaji (made with young moringa, spinach or spiny amaranth leaves), and seven curry, and other dishes associated with religious functions. In Guyana, among the Indo-Guyanese people, it is popular to eat curried or fried vegetables such as okra or okro, lablab beans or seim, pumpkin or kohra, bitter melon or karela, drumstick or saijan, long beans or bora, calabash or lauki, and eggplant known as baigan or balanjay. [citation needed]

Entertainment

The Indo-Guyanese community has always had great admiration for Bollywood, the Hindi film industry. Bollywood movies and songs have had a huge impact upon the Guyanese pop culture since the early 1950s. Many Bollywood stars have visited and performed in Guyana like megastars Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Preity Zinta, also very popular singers such as Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghoshal, Udit Narayan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kumar Sanu, Hari Om Sharan, and Anup Jalota have had very successful shows in Guyana. In 1980, Lata Mangeshkar, one of the most beloved singers in Guyana, was greeted with crowds of fans and was presented with the key of the city of Georgetown, Guyana on her visit. Indian soap operas have recently grown in popularity in Guyana. The most popular genres of music among Indo-Guyanese people include chutney, chutney soca, baithak gana, bhajan, Bollywood, Indian classical music, Indian folk music, and soca. Popular local singers include Chandarpaul Nathoo, Sundar Popo, Terry Gajraj, Mahendra Ramkellawan, Romeo "Mystic" Nermal, Kassri Narine, Joyce Ormela Harris, Komal Ram, Nisha Benjamin, Harry Panday, Ashni Matadin, Pita Pyaree, Ramdew Chaitoe, Dropati, Ravi Bissambhar, Rakesh Yankaran, Rikki Jai, Drupatee Ramgoonai, Rasika Dindial, and Babla & Kanchan. Indian instrumental influence can be seen in Guyana through the use of the tabla, harmonium, dholak, dhantal, and tassa drums.

Miss Guyana

Indo-Guyanese women have always been a great asset to beauty pageants in Guyana. Most notable Miss Guyana is Shakira Baksh, the 1967 Miss Guyana, who went on to become a runner-up at the Miss World 1967 pageant and later married popular British actor Michael Caine. Rafieya Husain, Miss Guyana World 2014, won the ‘Beauty With a Purpose Title’, received the Miss World Caribbean, and became a contestant in the Final 10 at the Miss World 2014 pageant. Alana Seebarran, Miss India Guyana, won the Miss India Worldwide 2012.

Notable Indo-Guyanese

Politics

 
Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997

Academics

Medicine

Arts and entertainment

Sports

 
Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Religion and philosophy

See also

References

  1. ^ "Many Guyanese Asian backgrounds speak Hindi, Urdu, Tamil. Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples.
  2. ^ Lomarsh Roopnarine, "Indian migration during indentured servitude in British Guiana and Trinidad, 1850–1920." Labor History 52.2 (2011): 173-191.
  3. ^ Lomarsh Roopnarine, "Indian social identity in Guyana, Trinidad, and the North American diaspora." Wadabagei: A Journal of the Caribbean and its Diaspora 12.3 (2009): 87.
  4. ^ Roopnarine, Lomarsh, "East Indian Indentured Emigration to the Caribbean: Beyond the Push and Pull Model," Caribbean Studies, 31:2, 106-107.
  5. ^ "Indian Labour in British Guiana - History Today". www.historytoday.com.
  6. ^ Despres, Leo, "Differential Adaptions and Micro-Cultural Evolution in Guyana," Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 25:1, 22.
  7. ^ Roopnarine, Lomarsh, "East Indian Indentured Emigration to the Caribbean: Beyond the Push and Pull Model," Caribbean Studies, 31:2, 105.
  8. ^ Roopnarine, Lomarsh, "East Indian Indentured Emigration to the Caribbean: Beyond the Push and Pull Model," Caribbean Studies, 31:2, 102
  9. ^ "Guyana - Indo-Guyanese". countrystudies.us.
  10. ^ a b From the Ancient Heartland of India to the New World by Aditya Prashad of Toronto, Canada; published on May 5, 2001
  11. ^ "Infosurhoy". infosurhoy.com.
  12. ^ "overseasindian.in". www.overseasindian.in.
  13. ^ "Culture of Guyana - history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social". www.everyculture.com.

Further reading

  • Roopnarine, Lomarsh. "Indian social identity in Guyana, Trinidad, and the North American diaspora." Wadabagei: A Journal of the Caribbean and its Diaspora 12.3 (2009): 87+.
  • Sen, Sunanda. "Indentured Labour from India in the Age of Empire." Social Scientist 44.1/2 (2016): 35-74. online
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