Global Girmit Museum
TypeMuseum
Location
OriginsGlobal Girmit Museum Project Team
Area served
Fiji
ServicesResearch and curation of Fiji's Girmitiya national heritage
Websiteglobalgirmitinstitute.org

The Global Girmit Institute (GGI) Museum is co-located with the GGI Library at headquarters in Saweni, Lautoka, Fiji. Girmit is a corruption of the English word, “agreement” from 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 Girmitiyas.[2][3]

Background

Under the GGI organisation,[4] the Museum records Girmitiya history in Fiji from 1879 to 1916.[5]

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 important 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 colonial impact on the islands.[9][10] Various programmes including online resources for students and educational seminars will be implemented for the wider community.

Collaborative partnerships

It is hoped the Museum will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Museum, Auckland Museum and various British museums as well as the Fiji Museum. The Museum will seek to collaborate with museums championing the cause of Indian immigrants such as the Folk Museum of Indian Immigration in Mauritius, Lalla Rookh Museum in Suriname and the Indian Caribbean Museum of Trinidad and Tobago.

Notable people

A group of volunteers are engaged in the Global Girmit Museum project.

See also

References

  1. ^ Long, Maebh (November 2018). "Girmit, postmemory, and Subramani" (PDF). Pacific Dynamics: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research. Vol. 2 ( 2 ): 161–175. ISSN 2463-641X. ((cite journal)): |volume= has extra text (help)
  2. ^ Lal, Brij V. (1998). Crossing the Kala Pani: A Documentary History of Indian Indenture in Fiji. Canberra: Australian National University. ISBN 9780731528912.
  3. ^ Tinker, Hugh (1993). A New System of Slavery: Export of Indian Labour Overseas, 1830-1920 (2nd ed.). Hansib Publishing.
  4. ^ "Global Girmit Museum". FBC News. Retrieved 20 July 2021.((cite web)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Lal, Brij V. (2012). Chalo Jahaji: On a journey through indenture in Fiji. Canberra: ANU Press. ISBN 9781922144607.
  6. ^ Siegel, Jeff (2009). Language Contact in a Plantation Environment: A Sociolinguistic History of Fiji. Cambridge University Press, UK. ISBN 978-0521106160.
  7. ^ Lal, Brij V., ed. (2004). Bittersweet: the Indo-Fijian Experience (PDF). Canberra: Pandanus Books. ISBN 1-74076-117-0.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Gillion, Kenneth L. (1977). The Fiji Indians: Challenge to European dominance, 1920-1946. Canberra: ANU Press. ISBN 978-0708112915.
  10. ^ Prasad, Rajendra (2014). Tears in Paradise: Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji 1879-2004. Glade Publishers. ISBN 978-0473171148.

External links

List of museums in Oceania
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