Global Girmit Museum Explained
| Global Girmit Museum |
| Type: | Museum |
| Location: | Lautoka |
| Origins: | Global Girmit Museum Project Team |
| Area Served: | Fiji |
| Services: | Research and curation of Fiji's Girmitiya national heritage |
The Global Girmit Institute (GGI) Museum is co-located with the GGI Library at its headquarters in Saweni, Lautoka, Fiji. Girmit is a corruption of the English word, “agreement” from the indenture agreement the British government made with Indian labourers that consisted of specifics such as the length of stay in Fiji.[1] The labourers came to be known as Girmityas.[2] [3]
Background
Under the GGI Organisation,[4] the Museum records Girmitiya history in Fiji from 1879 to 1916 when some 60,500 labourers came to Fiji.[5] One of the outcomes of the first conference organised by the GGI in 2017 was the establishment of a girmit museum.
History
The museum has been in the current location in Lautoka since the opening in May 2018 with the introduction of a library.
Collections
The museum will hold a collection of Fiji Indian artefacts as well as recordings of oral history of peoples from different linguistic backgrounds and cultures.[6] Objects relating to farming and the sugar industry, lifestyle, music, food preparation, clothing and religious events[7] [8] will be displayed as well as objects that record the impact of colonialism on the islands.[9] [10]
See also
References
- Long. Maebh. November 2018. Girmit, postmemory, and Subramani. Pacific Dynamics: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research. 2 (2). 161–175. 2463-641X.
- Book: Lal, Brij V.. Crossing the Kala Pani: A Documentary History of Indian Indenture in Fiji. Australian National University. 1998. 9780731528912. Canberra.
- Book: Tinker, Hugh. A New System of Slavery: Export of Indian Labour Overseas, 1830-1920. Hansib Publishing. 1993. 2nd.
- Web site: Global Girmit Museum. 20 July 2021. FBC News.
- Book: Lal, Brij V.. Chalo Jahaji: On a journey through indenture in Fiji. ANU Press. 2012. 9781922144607. Canberra.
- Book: Siegel, Jeff. Language Contact in a Plantation Environment: A Sociolinguistic History of Fiji. Cambridge University Press, UK. 2009. 978-0521106160.
- Book: Bittersweet: the Indo-Fijian Experience. Pandanus Books. 2004. 1-74076-117-0. Lal. Brij V.. Canberra.
- Chand. Asha. 2007. The Fiji Indian chutney generation : the cultural spread between Fiji and Australia. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics. 3. 2. 131–148. 10.1386/macp.3.2.131_1.
- Book: Gillion, Kenneth L.. The Fiji Indians: Challenge to European dominance, 1920-1946. ANU Press. 1977. 978-0708112915. Canberra.
- Book: Prasad, Rajendra. Tears in Paradise: Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji 1879-2004. Glade Publishers. 2014. 978-0473171148.
External links
