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Recollecting Africa: Diasporic Memory in the Indian Ocean World

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Edward A. Alpers
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Abstract:

The African presence in the Indian Ocean world represents one of the most neglected aspects of the global diaspora of African peoples. Yet very significant numbers of people of African descent today inhabit virtually all the countries of the western Indian Ocean littoral. It is evident, however, that African voices have been actively silenced in this diaspora both by the cultural contexts of their host societies and by the way in which the scholarly production of knowledge has reflected such cultural domination. Consequently, to get at the experiences of Africans in the Indian Ocean world and assess their sense of being of or belonging to Africa, we must look to popular culture. In this paper I examine some of the evidence for recollecting Africa in the Indian Ocean world, citing examples of music, song, dance, religion and healing, language, and folkways from both first generation diaspora Africans and their descendants. I conclude by cautioning us not to impose paradigms developed from the experience of Africans in the diaspora of the Atlantic world, with its particular forms of Euro-American racism and concomitant black responses.

Résumé:

Résumé:

La présence africaine dans les régions de l'Ocean Indien représente un des aspects les plus négligés de la diaspora globale des peuples africains. Pourtant, un nombre important de peuples d'origine africaine habitent aujourd'hui virtuellement tous les pays du littoral ouest de l'Océan Indien. Il est évident toutefois que les voix africaines ont été activement réduites au silence dans cette diaspora, à la fois par les contextes culturels de leurs sociétés hôtesses, et par la façon dont la production de savoir universitaire a reflété une telle domination culturelle. En conséquence, pour obtenir un témoignage des expériences des africains dans les régions de l'Océan Indien et pour évaluer leur sentiment d'être ou d'appartenir à l'Afrique, nous devons nous tourner vers la culture populaire. Dans cet article, nous examinons quelques unes des preuves remémorant l'Afrique dans les régions de l'Océan Indien, en citant des exemples parmi la musique, le chant, la danse, la religion et la médecine des guérisseurs, la langue et le folklore, à la fois chez les Africains de la diaspora de première génération et chez leurs descendants. Nous concluons en mettant en garde de ne pas imposer de paradigmes développés de par l'expérience des Africains dans la diaspora du monde atlantique, avec ses formes très particulières de racisme euro-américain et ses réponses noires concomitantes.

Type
Special Issue on the Diaspora
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 43 , Issue 1: Africa's Diaspora: A Special Issue , April 2000 , pp. 83 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2000

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