Tuning through the various Indo-Caribbean radio stations at 2 in the morning is, I think, the strangest yet most insightful thing I’ve done all semester. Running into Dhantal Radio, I came across a lot of music I’d typically associate with my culture and heritage- a lot of energy, percussion, Tablas, Sitars and most importantly Hindi singers. Guyanese DJ Mahabir was ecstatic that one of his friends was getting married and so he played “the festive taste of Tassa” for all his fans out there feeling celebratory. I was delightfully surprised that our cultures had so much in common despite being across oceans and continents. The same sensations caused by music which ties me to my ethnic homeland, no doubt ties other listeners as well.

 

The music played above is from a famous Bollywood movie Zindagi Ka Safar (1970) popular even today in Indo-Guyanese and Trini communities. Many Indo-Caribbeans value Hindi films as much for their Indian-ness as for their intrinsic features. Hindi film music itself has  been the single most popular kind of music among Indo-Trinidadians and Guyanese for several decades, despite their “limited ability to understand the lyrics.”[1] Indian films, while serving  as icons of ethnic identity for many Indo-Caribbeans, were mainly produced to entertain and profit off their core audiences. Becoming popular in Indo-Caribbean communities and their diaspora was an unintended effect that can be observed echoing today. Just taking a trip down Atlantic and Liberty in Queens, we see that in many Indo-Caribbean homes and workplaces, Hindi music and their more modern remixes are playing almost constantly, whether from cassettes, videos, or broadcasts by Indian-owned radio stations. These radio stations are necessary for allowing the diaspora to connect to their homelands where they can keep up with what’s popular, in this case Hindi Music.

Not only does music bridge connections to homelands, but it is an important heritage of the Indo-Caribbean Diaspora which shapes their identity through connections to deep history. Hindi music was brought about originally from peasants and farmers transported as indentured laborers in sugar colonies in the British Empire. There was a need to replace the Afro-Caribbeans who had left the sugar plantations so they started bringing people from India. Most of these laborers came from one particular area of North India now called the Bhojpuri region. Indentured servants continuously coming in from India, refreshed the memory of different songs and music. With the development of communities, semi-professional musicians began to take position. These amateur musicians were mainly singers or drummers, as it requires less skill and effort to take role. They were invited to perform at weddings or prayer sessions where the audience wanted someone to sing specialized songs instead of a simple congregational song. As these Indo-Caribbean communities take shape, the music originating from them assume their own sort of direction and form whilst keeping the mold of Indian culture.

The music played by the DJ (end of this page) falls into one of the categories of songs brought over to the Caribbean by Indians: Tassa, which is played by semi-professional drummers in a drum ensemble originating from North India. It is absolutely essential at Hindu weddings in Trinidad, as well as at Trinidadian and Guyanese Hindu weddings in New York City.

There is an excellent interview that goes in depth to explain the ties between the History of North Indian Music travelling and eventually forming the Indo-Caribbean identity which I’d recommend:  https://soundcloud. com/afropop-worldwide/diaspora-encounters-the-indo

The DJ played the Tassa song in an obvious manner, pointing out that it was an overplayed song but still loads of fun, which was a fitting comment. Certain songs, such as music associated with weddings, through constant repetitive plays carries a lot of significance to the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It serves two roles: To bring them away from the host country and connect them to their culture. It also enforces the Indo-Centric identity locating genuine Indian-ness which is always appreciated in the diaspora. It seeks to solve the problem of those that seek to break from the heritage as well. Chutney, Dancehall and Soca is almost as frequently played as old Bollywood songs providing those in the diaspora a more Western musical experience. Whatever the case may be, the diverse music policies and preferences of the radio stations seek to enhance these various identity choices and reflect how Indian-ness can be variously communicated in the Indo-Caribbean region, the diaspora, and to all extensions of that. However, much of the music from the same ethnic population is shadowed by the popularity of Afro-Centric Caribbean music.

I grew up in a South Asian/Middle Eastern household and lived for a few years in Richmond Hill so I was exposed to Hindi music. I must admit, at first I had no idea of the existence of islands other than Cuba and Jamaica in the Caribbean. But hearing Soca loudly blasting in the streets of Liberty Ave introduced me to the vast heterogeneity of the Caribbean. This perception of Reggae and Samba being the entirety of Caribbean music categories hinders the formation of unique identities of those from Indo-Caribbean ethnicity and undermines the struggle to develop a musical identity that deviates from the Afro-Caribbean culture. However, there are plenty resources available for the diaspora to identify uniquely to their own homelands. The music played on Indo-Caribbean stations as well as the availability and accessibility of these stations are pertinent in validating their countries despite not being usually associated with Caribbean. It allows recognition and represents the homelands in the eyes of the public as a concrete ethnic heritage and not a subset of the apparent Afro-Caribbean image.

Music is no doubt a powerful tool; it can bring together cultures separated by geography and generations of time as well as be a tool for expressing newer developments within the diaspora. All these come together to shape the identity, whether it be from the expression of Indian-ness or separation from the Afro-Caribbean, the diaspora has a strong resource to benefit from. Here’s to the identity of the diaspora, the importance of music as a heritage and the celebrations that follow:

 

References

  1. Manuel, Peter. “Music, Identity, and Images of India in the Indo-Caribbean Diaspora.” Asian Music, vol. 29, no. 1, 1997, pp. 17–35., www.jstor.org/stable/834410.
  2. SWANSTON, JESSICA. “Latin American Music Review / Revista De Música Latinoamericana.” Latin American Music Review / Revista De Música Latinoamericana, vol. 33, no. 1, 2012, pp. 147–149., www.jstor.org/stable/23318362.