Migrating Knowledges. Dynamics of Adaptation, Colonization of Memory, and Strategies for Preserving the Sikh Musical Heritage in the Diasporas

Abstract

Based on long-term ethnographic research among two Sikh communities settled respectively in Long Island (USA) and Agro Pontino (Italy), this paper discusses the teaching of Gurbani Sangit in the diaspora, with a reflection on ethnomusicology’s contribution to the preservation of the Sikh tangible and intangible heritage. By comparing two diasporas, distant in time and space, what can we learn about the dynamics of adaptation, the colonization of memory, and the effective strategies and collaborations for sustaining the Sikh musical heritage outside India? The ample literature about the Sikh diaspora in the USA (Roy 2019; Hawley 2016; Singh 2011; Tatla 1999; Barrier 1989) indicates an established presence of Sikh communities in the country since the mid-20th century, which results in the institutional support to research and scholarship in the field of Sikh Studies. On the other hand, the recent Sikh migration to Southern Europe faces different challenges to recognizing the importance of sustaining the indigenous knowledge in the host (and sometimes hostile) country. Looking at the role of singing Sikh devotional hymns as a ‘faithscape’ (Singh 2013) and as a practice to embody indigenous knowledge, the presenter actively collaborates with these two communities to teach heritage repertories at both institutional and informal levels. Acknowledging the non-monolithic phenomenon of Sikh diasporas across times and places, this paper addresses the necessity of targeted strategies for reintroducing traditional repertories as a decolonial practice, in ways that however must resonate with the specific social context and needs of each community.