Caribbean Hinduism on the Move

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2018-04-10

Authors

Pillai, Rupa

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Oregon

Abstract

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of how members of the Indo-Guyanese community traveled from Guyana to New York City, carrying with them distinct understandings of Hinduism informed by their multiple dislocations and how they utilize religion as ideology and practice to help cultivate their identities as Indo-Guyanese Americans. I argue religion as a mobile concept, what I have termed as ‘religion on the move,’ gives a theoretical frame to understand how devotees adapt religion to help them navigate their identities in unknown territories. By studying more than devout individuals in places of worship, I have followed Caribbean Hinduism and Indo-Guyanese Hindus in New York City to various sites to appreciate how religion informs their experiences, operates on different scales (spatially, politically, and temporally), and negotiates power structures. I found that the Indo-Guyanese Hindu community asserts their ethnicity through Caribbean Hinduism to become visible, to overcome marginalization and to claim belonging in the United States.

Description

Keywords

Anthropology of religion, Migration and mobilities, Postcolonialism, Race and ethnicity

Citation