Multi-dimensional perspectives of South Indian coolie life in selected memoirs by the European plantocracy of colonial Malaya

IF 0.5 Q3 AREA STUDIES
S. Pillai
{"title":"Multi-dimensional perspectives of South Indian coolie life in selected memoirs by the European plantocracy of colonial Malaya","authors":"S. Pillai","doi":"10.1080/19438192.2022.2129645","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper traces the multi-dimensional aspects to South Indian coolie life in nineteenth and early twentieth century Malaya to interject into decades of scholarship that has trained on a homogenous focus on plantation fieldwork. In search of the nuances of diasporic diversity, I located three memoirs written by European planters of the Malayan plantocracy, set in rubber plantations and selected primarily for their reflections of South Indian coolie life from various socio-cultural angles. My reading of the three memoirs uncovered a host of various micro-narratives surrounding South Indians in the plantation, including references to cattle rearing, legacies of ancient ayurveda practices as well as the participatory communal network between coolie women as wage earners, wives, midwives and mothers. I conclude by arguing that such a host of eclectic tones can effectively bring other stories, to the surface and dismantle monotonous perceptions of South Indian coolie life in Malaya.","PeriodicalId":42548,"journal":{"name":"South Asian Diaspora","volume":"68 1","pages":"17 - 30"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South Asian Diaspora","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19438192.2022.2129645","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"AREA STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper traces the multi-dimensional aspects to South Indian coolie life in nineteenth and early twentieth century Malaya to interject into decades of scholarship that has trained on a homogenous focus on plantation fieldwork. In search of the nuances of diasporic diversity, I located three memoirs written by European planters of the Malayan plantocracy, set in rubber plantations and selected primarily for their reflections of South Indian coolie life from various socio-cultural angles. My reading of the three memoirs uncovered a host of various micro-narratives surrounding South Indians in the plantation, including references to cattle rearing, legacies of ancient ayurveda practices as well as the participatory communal network between coolie women as wage earners, wives, midwives and mothers. I conclude by arguing that such a host of eclectic tones can effectively bring other stories, to the surface and dismantle monotonous perceptions of South Indian coolie life in Malaya.
在马来亚殖民地的欧洲种植园统治的精选回忆录中,多维视角的南印度苦力生活
本文追溯了19世纪和20世纪初马来亚的南印度苦力生活的多维方面,以插入几十年来一直专注于种植园实地工作的学术研究。为了寻找移民多样性的细微差别,我找到了三本由马来亚种植园统治下的欧洲种植园主撰写的回忆录,这些回忆录以橡胶种植园为背景,主要是因为它们从不同的社会文化角度反映了南印度苦力的生活。我在阅读这三本回忆录时,发现了大量关于南印度人在种植园生活的各种微观叙述,包括养牛、古代阿育吠陀实践的遗产,以及苦力妇女作为工薪阶层、妻子、助产士和母亲之间的参与性公共网络。我的结论是,这样一系列折衷的色调可以有效地将其他故事带到表面,并消除对马来亚南印度苦力生活的单调看法。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
South Asian Diaspora
South Asian Diaspora AREA STUDIES-
CiteScore
1.60
自引率
16.70%
发文量
24
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信