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Global Girmit Museum

Coordinates: 17°38′30.02″S 177°25′15.33″E / 17.6416722°S 177.4209250°E / -17.6416722; 177.4209250
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 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

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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

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The museum has been in the current location in Lautoka since the opening in May 2018 with the introduction of a library.

Collections

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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

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References

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  1. ^ Long, Maebh (November 2018). "Girmit, postmemory, and Subramani" (PDF). Pacific Dynamics: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research. 2 ( 2 ): 161–175. ISSN 2463-641X.
  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.
  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. doi:10.1386/macp.3.2.131_1.
  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.
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17°38′30.02″S 177°25′15.33″E / 17.6416722°S 177.4209250°E / -17.6416722; 177.4209250