Gujarati Hindus in Portugal
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Transcript of Gujarati Hindus in Portugal
1
Gujarati Hindus in Portugal. The Community of Santo António dos
Cavaleiros (Loures, Lisbon)
*Inês Lourenço (CRIA/ISCTE-IUL; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia)
At present, there are approximately
33000 Hindus residing in Portugal –
according to the Report of the High Level
Committee of the Indian Diaspora – most of
whom originated from the state of Gujarat,
Saurashtra region, region of western India,
located on the Arabian coast of Gujarat
state. This region, can trace its involvement
in trading around the Indian Ocean back to
the very earliest records, thanks to the
strategic location of its ports. In the late 15th century, the Sultanate of Gujarat was
going through a period of expansion and encouraged the settling of the first Indian
communities in Sofala, Mozambique. At that time, the ports of Diu and Surat played a
key role in the context of Cambay region trading, being the island of Diu a strategic port
for Gujarati trade and serving as the main hub for the most important Indian Ocean
trading routes (Pearson 1976, Rita-Ferreira 1985).
When the Portuguese rounded the Cape of Good Hope in the late 15th century,
they entered an Indian Ocean dominated by Indian traders with settlements along the
East African coastline controlling trade with the Gulf of Cambay. Trading ambitions in
this region led the Portuguese to conquer the island of Diu in 1535 and hold onto it
throughout the next five centuries. By the early 16th century, the Portuguese had
already seized the main strategic ports on the Indian Ocean. In this context,
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Mozambique played a central role in the trading route stretching from India to the
colonial power.
The settlement of Hindu communities in Mozambique accelerated with the
establishment of both a trading system and Portuguese imperial domination. The first
groups to definitively settle on the East African coast were made up of rich Gujarati
traders, the Companhia de Baneanes de Diu (company of merchants from Diu created
in 1686) and controlled coastal trading in the first half of the 17th century, leading to a
substantial growth in the Mozambique community (Antunes 2001).
Diu stonemasons were also among this initial circle moving to Africa following
their recruitment to build fortresses for the Portuguese in 15th century Mozambique.
Migration through the contracting of these workers only took place later with state
construction projects in the late 19th century, of which the Mombassa railroad is a
prime example.
New Indian communities emerged in Mozambique in the 19th century. They
came mainly from cities in the Saurashtra province of Gujarat and represented a move
towards penetrating and developing Mozambique’s more inland regions. Engaging in
different migratory routes, some chose to make a final return to India after
accumulating capital while others settled permanently along with their extended
families in Mozambique. The latter communities adopted their own specific community
strategies in setting up social, family and cultural networks.
Settlement
The abrupt interruption of these systems brought about by Portuguese
decolonisation led to their reconstruction, mostly in Portugal. The first Hindu families
began settling in Portugal from the late 1970s. Their decision on where to live was
influenced by “strategies of spatial congregation” aimed at building up
“recommunitisation” processes (Bastos 1991). They chose to live mainly in three
rundown neighborhoods: Quinta da Holandesa in Areeiro close to the centre of Lisbon
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and Quinta da Vitória in the suburb of Portela de Sacavém and Santo António dos
Cavaleiros district (Loures), in tower blocks. The slum housing of Quinta da Holandesa
was later demolished with occupants rehoused mainly in Chelas. In Quinta da Vitória,
soon after the establishment, the community wished to build a place of worship where
they would be able to congregate and celebrate. In 1983, in addition to their small
domestic shrines, they began the construction of the Jay Ambé Temple in Quinta da
Vitória at the same time as they were building their own homes in this neighbourhood.
The Temple has recently been relocated to the building where many Hindu families
have been rehoused. Although only
recently officially recognized as a
place of Hindu worship, this was the
first Hindu place of worship in
Portugal and a statue of the goddess
Ambé could be found there which was
transferred from a previous temple in
Mozambique (Cachado 2008).
In 1985, the Hindu Community of Portugal was formally set up and immediately
embarked on building the
Radha-Krishna Temple in
Lumiar, completed around a
decade later. This is the
most high-profile Hindu place
of worship in Portugal,
located in Paço do Lumiar in
Lisbon.
Finally and completing this overview of Hindu religious diversity, the Shiva
Temple was opened in 2001 in Santo António dos Cavaleiros. This process began in
1991 when the Shiva Temple Social Solidarity Association was officially recognised as
4
representing the Hindu residents of Santo António dos Cavaleiros. About ten years
later it had fulfilled its mission of building its own place of worship.
Composition of the Hindu Community of Santo António dos Cavaleiros
The district of Santo António dos Cavaleiros belongs to the municipality of
Loures, located in Lisbon Metropolitan Area. This place was the center of a housing
expansion that began in the 60s and 70s of last century, which called for the
establishment of many families from the former colonies from the late seventies.
Currently with 21,947 inhabitants Santo António dos Cavaleiros has a very diverse
population, originating from different countries with different religious and cultural
backgrounds.
The Hindus living in Santo António dos Cavaleiros constitute a community
highly heterogeneous from the socio-economic point of view. It is made up of people
from various points across Gujarat, some of whom were originally from the island of
Diu and others from the province of Saurashtra in South Gujarat (cities like Rajkot,
Porbandar or Junagadh), and therefore with diverse social groups and cultural
references. Service castes, from Diu, and merchant castes from other areas in the
state of Gujarat share the same residential space, as well as a common place of
worship, the Shiva Temple. The differences between castes – belonging to different
varna – also correspond to cultural divergences and diversities of worship, particularly
5
manifested in the distinction between Vaishnavism and Shaivism. Nevertheless,
despite its internal differences, this community has a cohesive identity, reinforced by a
religious basis, Hinduism.
Such diversity has not prevented the building up of a common group identity.
Community references are maintained through concrete means of cohesion: a solid
religious base, a determining role for women as guarantors of cultural reproduction and
a transnational network of contacts reaching out across three continents: Europe, Asia
and Africa.
These mechanisms operate in both the public and private spheres. The public
sphere of the temple provides for socialization and group social control simultaneously.
In the same way, the domestic space ensures the continuity of a symbolic community
through internal rules defining the limits between individuals and groups in order to
ensure that common references persist.
Above all, a Gujarati identity prevails due to the common language and a solid
religious base; and women contribute to this by playing a fundamental role in fostering
a process of cultural reproduction. These women, considered the ‘guardians’ of the
group’s traditional identity, assume the responsibility of transmitting traditional
references involving the negotiation of social status and manipulation of the religious
structure, and taking upon themselves the task (in the sense of fulfilling their dharma)
of maintaining, and thus inevitably transforming what they consider to be the group’s
cultural identity in the diaspora.
Methodology and ethnography
This analysis is based on empirical data obtained from fieldwork conducted
among Hindu families in Santo António dos Cavaleiros constituting this the ‘object’ of
ethnographic research. The methodology applied throughout the extended fieldwork
was participant observation, thus implying participation in various religious events, in
public and private spaces, and informal interviews carried out with a broad selection of
6
a majority of women, but also of men, belonging to this Hindu community. This
fieldwork was undertaken in Portugal, the United Kingdom and India, accompanying
the trans-national movement of the informants between 2000 and 2010.
My main PhD research was on the articulation oF gender and religion in this
particular diaspora setting. The "satsang group" was the privileged set of my
anthropological research. Satsang is a word to call the devotional meetings, often
almost exclusively female. This consists of a variable number of women, measured at
about 25, whose participants are over 50 years old. By extension, other contacts
provided by these women, particularly those of their or daughters or daughters-in-law
were also taken into account. Likewise, other satsang were subject of my investigation.
Women involved in cultural projects and activities of the community were also included
in my universe of analysis.
My participation in the various groups of satsang, along with conversations held
with my interlocutors, occupied the spaces and times of their everyday lives, over
which they reflected on their role in the community, their duties in their families and in
their group, as well as their place in the hierarchy of gender.
My mobility in the space, streets, places of leisure and commerce enabled me
to observe the population geography of Santo António dos Cavaleiros, the interaction
between people and their levels of exclusion, being evident the concentration of Hindu
population in a specific area of the disctrict: Cidade Nova.
While Hindus are still scattered
from the base of the slope to the top of the
Torres da Bela Vista it is in the area of
Cidade Nova that most of the Hindu
population is concentrated. This area was
the privileged space for collecting
ethnographic data. In addition to the dispersion of the population referred above, the
temple of Shiva - the Hindu temple that brings this population - is about 1.5 kilometers
7
away from this agglomeration, which, among
other factors, reduces the frequency of
Hindus’ participation in its religious
community life1.
Initially my walking through the district allowed
me to observe, along with the residential concentration
of Hindus, the concentration in the same space, of the
religious daily activities. Thus proving the centrality of
domestic space in the performance of religious activity
and, consequently, in the social and cultural
reproduction of the group.
Cidade Nova is characterized by a typical town landscape with tall buildings of
many storeys, with many tenants, with small green areas, complemented by a larger
green space surrounding the sport complex that separates Cidade Nova from Torres
da Bela Vista.
1 Apart from distance, the prevalence of religious practice in the domestic space, contributes to the low turnout to the temple daily.
8
The area of
Cidade Nova Mall (a
small shopping
centre) and the
surrounding area is
the center of the
daily activities of the
Hindus who remain
in Santo Antonio
dos Cavaleiros during the day. Men here are few in number compared to women who
cross this space daily. In addition to retirees, men who use this space are those
working either in shops or itinerant markets, who only cross this space to access their
warehouses and transport vehicles. While workers just cross the space between their
workplaces and their homes, older men occupy most of their days among the Indian
shops and park benches in the area surrounding the Mall. It is usual to see them
socializing in small groups at mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
Women are more active in this intersection of space. They begin in the morning,
taking their children or grandchildren to school or kindergarten2. From mid-morning until
lunchtime, they visit the various Indian shops in Cidade Nova to buy food or other
products from India, or, most often to chat. Before lunch time they return home and go
out around 3 or 4 pm again to the Shopping centre area for sightseeing, shopping or
take youngsters to the playground. They also visit the places of each other, often for
devotional meetings they organize. Late afternoon they return home, often
accompanied by children or grandchildren who leave school.
The saris characterize the landscape of Cidade Nova, expressing visually the
presence of an Indian community - with a closer look, Hindu – in Santo Antonio dos
2 There has in recent years, an increasing influx of Sikh women to the park, following its children, in the afternoon.
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Cavaleiros through its women. The youngsters also circulate daily through this space,
given the location of two schools in Cidade Nova as well as the kindergarten and a
small playground.
The observation from the outside allowed me to grasp the dynamics of female
mobility and their social networks. This shows the importance of female external
elements (like clothing and ornaments), along with the physical characteristics (skin
color, hair type). In addition to daily activities, religious and cultural public expressions
that take place in outer space contribute to the stereotyping that consolidate an image
(often reified) of the Hindus by the others. This is also a means of expression and
identity construction, with certain elements that influence local and global fashions and
condition the modes of thinking about society, through reciprocal inclusions and
exclusions in which the female body is central.
The Hindu-owned shops, of the Cidade Nova Shopping Centre, or more
dispersed throughout the district, are centers of information exchanging in the
community. Women actively contribute to this network, which puts them in contact with
other group members, making circulate reports of events not only in Portugal but also
in India, Mozambique, the United Kingdom or other countries where they have their
transnational networks. In these places, they also organize future activities, publicize
events, gather donations (in cash or in kinds) and call people for religious
performances organized by them.
Shiva Temple, despite its daily activity, only gathers large part of the community
members in festive moments of Hindu calendar. The domestic sphere overrides the
importance of the temple as a place of regular religious activity. In addition, its distance
from Cidade Nova, where most of the Hindus concentrate, decreases the frequency of
visits by their devotees, who continue to elect the home as a preferred palce of
religious performance and devotional and ritual activities. Anyway, the Shiva Temple is
still the most visible symbol of group identity, representing the presence of a number of
Hindu religious practices and beliefs in that district.
10
The Shiva Temple Association, the entity that assumes the leadership of the
temple, was established in 1984 (not oficially) in Santo António dos Cavaleiros, with the
aim of bringing together the Hindu population of the district and promote the
development of religious, cultural and
social activities. The Hindu community
living there grew substantially, making it
urgent to obtain its own space to allow its
congregation and socialization. In 1991,
the association was legalized and a ten
year project started: the construction of a Hindu temple in the district, in a plot of land
given by the Municipality of Loures, in Torres da Bela Vista. Despite there wasn’t a
place of worship, the community kept meeting before in rented spaces, such as the
Neighborhood Association of Santo António dos Cavaleiros or the local abandoned
High School. In 2001 the process of constructing a temporary building began,
preceded by the blessing of the land (bhumipujan) by Swami Satyamitranand, pending
future construction of a temple with traditional architectural features of the northern
Indian temples.
11
The temple is open every day but do not have a resident priest, and laity,
particularly women are responsible for the religious activities of this community. Its
activities include fixed pooja on Mondays. In the days of great festivities, such as the
Navratri, local Hindus and others coming from other communities in the metropolitan
area of Lisbon, attend the religious performances at Shiva Temple. In addition,
weddings and religious ceremonies
and cultural programs are sponsored
by the management of the temple.
This is also the meeting space for
groups that develop religious and
cultural activities such as: youth
groups, Gujarati school, dance
rehearsals, women group and the
management of the temple itself.
The existence of a temple
introduced new forms of community
organization, facilitating the
formalization of groups and activities. It also contributed to the consolidation of a
diaspora consciousness that was until recentky underdeveloped. Unlike other contexts
where Hindu communities settled and have developed solid social, economic and
cultural strategies some time ago, the Portuguese case demonstrates that, only
recently, an investment in
building a broader awareness
of diaspora was started. In the
case of Santo António dos
Cavaleiros, the recent
increase of visits of gurus and
12
spiritual leaders from India or elsewhere in the diaspora and their ideologically
energizing speeches contributed to this. (Rameshbhai Oza, Shiva Temple, in:
http://www.shiva-pt.org/fotoGallery.php)
Despite the weight of the temple as the focus of Hindu religious identity of the
devotees (Knott, 1987: 161), the domestic space was privileged for this research. The
daily lives of women takes place from house to house, visiting each other regularly,
being the satsang the highest
expression of their familiarity. There are
different kinds of devotional meetings:
those that occur regularly, according to
the dates of religious Hindu calendar,
and those that are promoted by certain
religious movements.
The case of the devotional meetings that occur cyclically, promoted by "satsang
group" and, for example, the Sai Baba satsang, promoted by particular devotees. The
first is held on
auspicious days of
Hindu calendar, as is
the case or agiyaras /
Ekadashi (The eleventh
day of each month), or
days dedicated to the
worship of certain
deities (generally
celebrating their birth or wedding). They also gather in times associated with domestic
and ritual rites of passage, particularly the death of people of the community. In the
second case, the meeting happens in days dedicated to their spiritual leader and deity
worship, is the case of Thursdays in the worship of Sai Baba. In these days the
13
devotees organize the
devotional meetings in
their homes,
sporadically or
sequentially3, according
to the type of satsang.
The space of
everyday life, from the
street to the house, is
predominantly occupied by women, while most men are working outside the district.
They return only at night, leaving women free to devote themselves to their domestic
chores and socializing with other women during the day. These everyday activities
exclude, as we have seen, prolonged
contact with the men, giving the
almost exclusively female gender
relations. In this sense, the
ethnography of everyday life was also
a female ethnography.
The Hindu community of Santo António dos Cavaleiros: population
diversity
To talk about the Hindu community of Santo António dos Cavaleiros means
talking about a group of more than 2000 people residing in an area of 3.62 km2,
coming to occupy, sometimes, twenty dwellings per building in the Cidade Nova area.
They are divided into 13 castes originating from different locations in Gujarat, with
3 The fact that organize these meetings or sequentially devotional sporadic relates to the nature of some of these meetings. In the case of Sai Baba satsang, for example, there are devotional meetings that are repeated over several weeks always on Thursdays. In other cases, satsang not necessarily need to be conducted on specific days, or else may be on holidays from the Hindu calendar.
14
different migratory routes and with variable cultural patterns. We cannot perform a
statistical analysis of this community, given the lack of population data that compose it.
The municipalities do not have this type of information and the only existing numbers
are advanced by the management of the Shiva Temple Association, which states that
there are about 2000 Hindus living in Santo António dos Cavaleiros, but warning that
these data are not consistent, given the frequent mobility of its members. The
association has proposed the holding of a census of the community, but it is waiting for
an agreement on the parameters to be applied4.
The population of Indian origin residing in this district is divided into three
distinct regional references. The majority is from Gujarat and includes Hindus, Muslims
and Christians, followed by a small group of Goan Christians and Sikhs from Punjab.
The diversity of languages spoken by the different groups (Gujarati, Punjabi and Hindi
together with Portuguese and English) shows that the situation of pluralism exists not
only in this district, but also within the group of people of Indian origin.
Thus, besides the splitting of this group into subgroups, also the Hindu
community itself is divided, as we saw, according to the regional, cultural and social
belonging of its members. The ethnographic observation suggests that the community
is divided into 13 castes. Two of these are numerically dominant: Lohana and Vanja.
Apart from the three minority castes, consisting of only a few families (Brahmin, Dobhi
and Valand), the remaing castes are evenly distributed throughout the district.
Unlike other neighborhoods of Hindu concentration analyzed in the Lisbon area,
this is geographically more dispersed and with a much more diverse and complex
population (cf. Bastos, 1991; Cachado, 2003). However, when compared with other
contexts of the broader Hindu diaspora, this group, originating in the same state, has a
common identity: Gujarati. The study of Hinduism in Leeds developed by Kim Knott, for
example, presents a very diverse universe of where we have, for example, a linguistic 4 The youngest sector of the association is against the holding of a census according to the varieties of individuals. It is argued against this classification in your community and proposes a more homogeneous characterization of the group.
15
variety, corresponding to different states of individuals’ origin (Knott, 1987: 22). Unlike
the case presented by Knott, the group in question shares a single language, the
Gujarati, associated with the same state of origin, sharing common Gujarati identity.
The main occupation
of these Indians is
commerce. Despite the
stereotype of Indians usually
correspond to business, this
being the most significant, it
is not exclusive. Many
Hindus are professionals in
various sectors of the Portuguese society: services, education, medicine and
engineering. Others work in the construction. The trade yet, is dominant. It is an activity
that takes on different branches, between fixed and itinerant trade: appliances, food,
clothing, watches, perfumes, stationery, jewelry, household items, restaurants, mini
markets. Despite the abandonment of traditional caste activities among the majority of
Hindus, some still preserve these specializations. Thus, among the castes of cobblers,
masons and tailors, some individuals retain their traditional activity: the former have
usually their own establishments, the latter working in construction. Tailors, work
primarily for Indian customers, making traditional costumes, but this is not generally the
only activity of the household. Some members of the Brahmins caste (priests) and
barbers officiate particularly in ritual moments.
With regard to standards of education of youngsters, they tend to transform in
recent years, with an intensification of the continuity of secondary and above
education. Education is the area where contact with members of the surrounding
society is more inevitable (cf. Knott, 1986: 49). This inevitability is considered by some
families to be a risk to the preservation of Hindu identity of the youngsters, being the
16
youth exposure to Western values sometimes seen as a threat to their integrity,
particularly for girls5.
We cannot define a standard level of education among the community under
study. This may range from early withdrawal from school, compulsory schooling, or
higher education that, increasingly, is the choice of many young people. Apart from this
type of training young people, there is currently an educational structure aimed at Shiva
Temple, directed to teaching the gujarati language and Hindu religious principles. This
structure was formed due to the need to provide children with a moral base that wasn’t
found at school and often neither in their homes. Given the lack of knowledge about
religious fundamentals and rituals, and the detachment to the Gujarati language found
amongst the second and third generation, the Gujarati School of Shiva Temple
promotes, since 2006, the learning of mother tongue at the same time as fostering the
consolidation of social networks between youngsters, through the assertion of common
references, being the language one of the central elements in the reproduction identity.
The Role of Religion: Hinduism
Religion can be seen as a common identifier that will overcome the differences
that divide the group. However, Hinduism encompasses a set of religious beliefs and
practices: various types of devotion, preference of worship deities, and attachment to
certain festivities, according to regional and social belonging, that also transforms itself
in the diaspora. Using again the example of Knott, a context of complexity of social and
cultural belonging, and linguistic and religious diversity as Leeds, the transposition of
Hinduism (in its areas of "great "and "little" tradition) led to changes that take on greater
relevance in the introduction changes in ritual practice (see Knott, 1987: 163).
The individual religiosity should also not be forgotten. In this sense, it is
important to note that the experience of diaspora influences the way how each person
5 This is the main reason that lies behind the early abandonment of education for many girls, particularly among more conservative families or castes.
17
thinks his own religion. The distance from the original religious standards and the
coexistence with other religions, leads to the need for interpretation and hence of
processing of Hinduism (cf. Knott, 1986, 1987, Williams, 1996, Kurien , 1998, Eck,
2000, Coward 2000). Moreover, the influence of Western conceptions of religion may
have originated, to some, a Hindu institutionalized and formalized Hinduism, with
greater emphasis on cyclical festivities and rituals of passage. For others, the most
popular, daily and domestic expression of the Hindu religion remains the centerpiece of
their religious beliefs and practices. By stating that, religion is a central element in the
construction of Hindu identity in the diaspora. It is necessary however, to resist the
tendency to stereotype and / or essentializing it.
The journey of Hindu residents in Santo António dos Cavaleiros from India or
Africa, carries with it an enormous symbolic significance, both geographical, cultural
and religious. This trip led, as is the case of many Indian communities established
outside of India, to the reformatting of references through which the community
represents itself.
Religion has, as noted, the function of unifying the group, becoming a central
reference in the identification of the community. In addition, Hinduism lived in diaspora
becomes a new reality, constructed from inclusions and exclusions that result, in this
case, the negotiation of identities in the Portuguese context.
Hinduism should be seen as a category that includes a wide range of
interconnected phenomena,
so that is not possible to
exist a unique Hinduism (or
Hindu community), even
within socio-cultural and
regional specificity. The
linguistic, historical or
regional diversity in India, certainly contributes to local religious practices and ideas.
18
Transposed into the context of diaspora, this capacity of flexibility is even more
surprising: Hinduism should be seen as a constant negotiation of identity in different
contexts.
Women
As religion is a major
factor contributing to the
construction of the identity of
this group, it is impossible to
overlook the preponderance of
female role in this process. In
fact, older women are seen as
holders of traditional ritual and
religious practices, once they ensure their cultural reproduction to youngsters during
the religious moments.
In the domestic space of worship they are conservative, but also renovating
religious and cultural references that no longer belong to the male world. Their
exclusivity in this field of religious public
practice has made them privileged
elements within the community. The
absence of men during the day allows
women the freedom to socialize with each
other, on the one hand, and, on the other,
to establish a field of religious action that
belongs to them almost exclusively. Their
power is quite evident if we look at the
religious resources as the most relevant
19
identity heritage of these people, contributing to the cultural reproduction of their group.
The appearance of this status of conservative of the considered traditional
knowledge and of substitutes of male ritualists leads to the construction of new gender
identities and, simultaneously, new ritual and social responsibilities to women.
1. The prominent presence of women in the
organization of religious moments is a recurring
phenomenon in several contexts of Hindu
diaspora. Similarly, the religious and cultural
activity in this community has become deeply
associated with their women. They are
considered, the holders of religious wisdom and
the guarantors of their cultural identity by the
group.
2. Other women act as the vehicles through
which goddesses manifest themselves. They are believed
to temporarily embody these divinities, which
communicate with the devotees through these women’s
words and body language in very specific ritual events
through the enactment of performances of possession.
3. In Portugal, where the
temple ritualists are
scarce –while in other
contexts such as the UK the public religious activities
are carried out by male priests - women are holders of
a privilege that made them essential to the cultural
reproduction of this group, acting as priestesses.
20
Hindu women in Portugal took over the role of public religious space and by
adopting new religious roles, they assign to themselves new social status. Women’s
role transformation within the Hindu universe in Portugal is the result of a negotiation of
gender identities and, consequently, of social status in a space that is conducive to the
reconstruction and the reinvention of identity references: the diaspora.
The Hindu community and the surrounding society
Despite the visibility that the group have in the district for public festivities, the
presence of a temple, or the exuberance of women’s clothes, the relationship of Hindus
with the other members of the surrounding society is, in most cases, superficial. The
contacts occur on a day-to-day basis, but in simple activities such as shopping, public
transportation, in the trade-in or, amongst the younger generation at school, in the
university or at work.
The fact that many of the Hindus of the first generation, particularly women, do
not master Portuguese language, seems to be the most obvious factor for the lack of
contact with other members of the society. Their days are spent with other Hindus in
Indian stores, in the temple or in their own houses. They are therefore confined to
activities and spaces where the dominant language is Gujarati, Portuguese remains a
secondary language, used only for basic contacts with non-Gujaratis. But beyond this
factor, there is also the intention of protecting the community by closing it towards the
surrounding society. This reflects a process of resistance to the possible excessive
Westernization and thus the disappearance of the traditional elements that are being
preserved.
This phenomenon is quite complex and should be subject to a careful analysis
that does not produce generalizations which would reflect the ambitions and feelings
that lie behind the perpetuation of traditional patterns.
There is a predominance of contacts within the community, but the daily
activities involve the establishment of social networks between Hindus and non-Hindus.
21
This occurs with greater intensity in professional and neighbourly contacts. But if
among the elderly, establishment of social relationships outside the community is
restricted, among youth it is much broader since, they’re born in Portugal, they
established friendship and companionship ties at school and then at work or university.
And if earlier, marriages with non-Hindu were rare, now they are becoming more
frequent6.
For the first generation, the Hindu ideas of purity and pollution are very present
in everyday activities. In this sense, contact with non-Hindu represents always a risk of
transmission of impurity, which acts like a lock to sociability outside the group. This is
the reason why the domestic space is usually preserved from the outsiders. The front
door represents a passage of a polluted area to a place protected from the pollution
and therefore more auspicious7.
The experience of diaspora leads, however, to adjustments and to the
transformation of cultural and religious norms more stringent given the inevitability of
contact with the outside. This phenomenon is particularly visible in two areas: in trade
and cultural and religious activities of the temple. In the first case, the constant and
daily contact with customers is essential for business success and some of these
become often proximity relationships. However, ignorance of the lifestyles of most
customers, their states of pollution carries a high risk of ritual contagion8. In the case of
public activities taking place in the temple, often involve the presence of individuals
from outside the community, and however received with enthusiasm, they are feared
for the pollution they may carry. This was sometimes commented to me by my
6 It should be noted that in the case of marriages between Hindus and non-Hindus or non-Indian Hindus are men who marry women outside their community, but not the opposite, namely, Hindu women who marry men with non-Hindus or non-Indians. 7 Inauspiciousness pollution and are also associated with the notion of moral corruption of the West. 8 Influenced mainly by death, by birth or by the menses. Transport of pollutants considered foods like pork or beef is also a source of transmission of pollution.
22
interlocutors, concerned mainly with the possibility that women having their menstrual
period may show up. As their presence in the temple in that condition is prohibited.
Other dangers that concern elders are the youth’s future. Western values are
sometimes seen as an obstacle to the education of their offspring according to
traditional religious principles, potentially acquiring risk behaviors in the future. It is for
this reason that families invest in educating their youngsters at home and in family
space, so that there is a balance between the contact with the surrounding society and
the principles of Hindu education.
Sociability in plural contexts, as is the space under study, originates inclusions
and exclusions between groups. In the field of mutual influences between the Hindu
community and the general population, women have the leading role. In one hand,
Hindu women retain considered traditional forms of clothing; young women have
adopted Western styles9. On the other hand, non-Hindu women who share the same
space of residence, became fans of modern Indian clothing stores carry new and
renewed garments and accessories that are the result of a fusion of oriental and
western styles, in that the original Indian etiquette is often transformed.
Exclusions / Inclusions
The depth of religious reference in the
existing culture of this community - Hinduism
– does not only imply exclusions against the
Portuguese society in general. We have
witnessed a growing interest by the
philosophical and aesthetic of India from the
western countries. But we have also witnessed the interaction with the Western
9 The expression "wearing pants" has become popular among Hindu women in Portugal, as a way to release the conventions associated with traditional Indian dress codes. The women who 'wear the pants "- among other accessories or garments Westerners - symbolize the feminine modernity, in contrast to those who remain subject to the standards imposed by the conservative clothing of their families.
23
context. It happens in everyday relationships
between neighbors or customers who share
the same space in Santo Antonio dos
Cavaleiros, but also occurs in a religious level
– being the adoption of the image and the cult
of Our Lady of Fatima a clear example. They
organize several pilgrimages to Fatima's
Sanctuary, individualy or community; and lots
of domestic temples include an image (murti) of
Fatima, not only in Portugal but also in India
and UK and probably in other places were their
families live.
The process of identity construction in
the Hindu Community of Santo António dos
Cavaleiros is made of traditional reproductions, exclusions and inclusions that result
from their development and interaction with the space in which it resides.
The link to the origin
The identity construction of the community under study is also based on a broad
transnational network of contacts. This not only allows the connection between India
and Portugal, but also with Mozambique and the United Kingdom and has the active
participation of individuals moving between the four countries. This network supports
the dynamic binding references located at the origin, allowing contact between
relatives, the constant exchange of goods and information between countries, as well
as the establishment of marital ties between young people from various contexts.
From the perspective of individuals living in Portugal, this network of contacts
can be useful to them for bringing several references from their place of origin: phone
calls, correspondence or exchange orders and matrimonial exchanges are
24
mechanisms to revitalize identity. Using the Internet, as the circulation of videos of
weddings held outside Portugal or access to traditional or mythological TV series or
Indian cable channels, are examples of the technological contribution to global
communication.
In another sense, the contact with this Hindus’ cultural background is also
provided through regular travel to India. The permanent mobility between countries,
linked by networks of contacts, locates them into a logical and transnational affiliations
between them.
Travelling to the land of origin, can be harnessed to perform a series of ritual
ceremonies in order to deepen the ties between the two spaces of reference: Portugal
and India. In fact, these trips are always accompanied by religious moments and visits
to places and people invested with divine powers. From this point of view, it is possible
to verify the concern not to dishonor and to pay homage to deities, particularly the kul
devi, the protective goddesses of the lineage. Wedding ceremonies, rituals of
appeasement of the ancestors’ souls, visits to prominent places of worship are part of a
respect to the genealogical origin: the religious potential of India is never neglected. My
first stay at Fudam, following the journey of a family living in Santo António dos
Cavaleiros, allowed me to realize the importance of this identity origin.
For most Hindus, the connection
with India is very important to maintain an
identity reference. India is seen as a
sacred ground, from which emanates
purity greater than anywhere else in the
world. Religion is the greatest trait of
Hindu identity migrants, and is deeply connected to their home country, its soil and
rivers deified. For this reason, this is the place chosen for the realization of important
religious ceremonies. This privileged location, emanation of purity, where the rituals are
most effective, is seen as a source of spiritual wealth, a genuine religious potential.
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The belonging to India as a repository of ancestral and own religion and culture,
integrates a multiple identity, in which their belonging is constructed through the
articulation of multiple strands that make up a sense of belonging associated with both
the place of genealogical origin and to past (colonial) and present (postcolonial) of
Portuguese heritage. Heterogeneous in its interior, being composed of groups of
different regional, social, economic and religious origin, this community has, however, a
cohesive identity, reinforced by a religious basis. To internal differences, overlaps a
common unity due to the need of preservation of harmony and dharma within the
group.
26
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