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]

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

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