Nursemaids of Empire: A Digital Journey of Ayahs and Amahs

Abstract

In British colonial domestic life, the central mechanism for the smooth running of the household was entrusted to the multitudes of servants. Among the coterie of domestic servants of houseboys, bearers, butlers, cooks, water carriers, guards, gardeners, and sweepers were the ayahs or amahs. These were the nursemaids or nannies that colonial families with children employed. The term ayah was used in India and amah in other Southeast Asian colonies and these terms are used interchangeably in this exhibition. Ayahs and Amahs: Transcolonial Journeys is an online exhibition created by three historians, Victoria Haskins (University of Newcastle), Claire Lowrie (University of Wollongong) and Swapna Banerjee (City University of New York), and is funded by the University of Newcastle. The exhibition is part of the Ayahs and Amahs: Transcolonial Servants in Australia and Britain 1780–1945 project, funded by the Australian Research Council. It is designed by historian Lauren Samuelsson with research assistance by Srishti Guha. Ayahs and Amahs narrates the stories, memories and histories of Indian, Chinese, and other Asian care workers who travelled across the British colonies and settlements. The exhibition explores the mobility of their lives through representations and memories of the itinerant domestic workers in the last two centuries. The three historians have published widely on domestic service in the colonies and have collaborated with each other on numerous projects. Their expertise on cross-cultural histories of gender, labour, intersection of gender, class, race, and ethnicity in Asia shines through the incisive scrutiny of objects exhibited. It is no surprise that they have curated this outstanding virtual exhibition, which includes a treasure trove of ephemera, photograms, video films and oral interview recordings. These are sourced from archives, museums, libraries and