Ritualizing on the Boundaries : Continuity and Innovation in the Tamil Diaspora

A comparative study of four Tamil resettlements, this work examines the rituals that have traveled with these South Indian communities - Hindu, Muslim, and Christian - and how these practices perpetuate or modify the heritages these groups claim for themselves in their new environs.

In his comparative study of four Tamil resettlements, Clothey examines the rituals that have traveled with these South Indian communities - Hindu, Muslim, and Christian - and how these practices perpetuate or modify the heritages these groups claim for themselves in their new environs. Clothey looks specifically at settlements in the cities of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore; Mumbai, India; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Describing such settlements as communities living on boundaries, Clothey explores how their existence illustrates divisions between ethnic, local, and global identities; between generations; and between imagined pasts and uncertain futures. He contends that one of the most visible ways expatriated communities negotiate these boundaries is through the use of ritual - the building of shrines and temples, the use of festivals and performances, and the enactment of ancient ceremonies.