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Imagining the Other. Orientalism and Occidentalism in Tamil-European Rela- Tions in South India

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Imagining the Other. Orientalism and Occidentalism in Tamil-European Rela- Tions in South India JYVÄSKYLÄ STUDIES IN HUMANITIES 47 Jukka Jouhki Imagining the Other JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO Copyright © , by University of Jyväskylä ABSTRACT Jouhki, Jukka Imagining the Other. Orientalism and Occidentalism in Tamil-European Rela- tions in South India. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2005, 233 p. (Jyväskylä Studies in Humanities ISSN 1459-4323; 47) ISBN 951-39-2527-7 Finnish summary Diss. The theoretical approach of this study concentrates on the images of the Other manifested in Orientalism and its counterpart Occidentalism. Orientalism as a discourse was first described by Edward Said who in his book Orientalism de- fined it as hegemonic Western popular and academic discourse of “the Orient.” Said analyzed the relationship between European colonialism and the inter- twined discursive formations constructing the European experience of “the Ori- entals.” Occidentalism, respectively, is a more recent field of study of the dis- course constructing Europe or “the West.” My study of Orientalism and Occi- dentalism is based on ethnographic fieldwork during which I collected material on the relationship between Europeans and Tamils in Auroville, a multinational intentional community and Kuilapalayam, a rural Tamil village in India. According to the material gathered, the Europeans of Auroville followed the traditional Orientalist discourse in desribing their Tamil neighbors. In ac- cordance with Said’s findings, I found Europeans emphasizing certain key ele- ments of “being Tamil,” namely the ancientness of Tamil people and the image of Tamil culture as a significantly confining entity. On the other hand, in the discourse images of Tamil intuition, spontaneity and freshness were applauded although they were seen viewed as in opposition with Western qualities like organizational capabilities. The Occidentalism of Tamil villagers, in which “the West” was interpreted mainly through observing the behavior of other Tamils living in Auroville, constructed an image of Europeans as a highly financially oriented group with little or no spiritual qualities. The cultural impact of Auro- ville was lamented but its economic impact was welcomed. On the whole the two discourses seemed to produce a simplified and ex- aggerated image of the Other. The traditional Orientalist binary ontology was visible in European discourse whereas in Tamil discourse perhaps the lack of Occidentalist tradition and thus the significantly limited archive in the Fou- cauldian sense was reflected in less binary views of Europeans and Tamils. Keywords: Auroville, discourse, Edward Said, India, Occidentalism, Orientalism, Tamils. Author’s address Jukka Jouhki [email protected] Supervisor Prof. Ilmari Vesterinen Department of History and Ethnology University of Jyväskylä Reviewers Prof. Emer. Matti Sarmela University of Helsinki Prof. René Gothóni University of Turku Opponent Prof. Emer. Matti Sarmela University of Helsinki PREFACE “This is the strangest life I’ve ever known.” I have studied the relationship between Auroville, an experimental multina- tional community, and Kuilapalayam, an urbanizing Tamil village. One could say this equation is anthropologically and as a context of everyday life rather exotic, quite unique and most challenging. Hence my understanding of both sides of the equation is far from excellent, poor at worst and, hopefully, suffi- cient at best. However, I have been most fortunate to have such ready and will- ing participants whose significance in my study would be understated if they were to be called mere informants. Hence I am most grateful for the kind and abundant help of the people of Kuilapalayam and Auroville. I owe them greatly, and I can only wish I wish that all anthropologists had such enthusias- tic people to work with during their fieldwork. It is perhaps not surprising that my fieldwork in the Tamil land of South India often made me recall the line above quoted from James Douglas Morrison. My nine months in India were a voyage to the unity and diversity of humans, and are now in all their strange- ness and familiarity a significant part of me as a person and an anthropologist. Moreover, I am most grateful for the support I have enjoyed here in Finland. The funding arranged by the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and the grants and the post provided in the University of Jyväskylä by rector Aino Sallinen and professor Petri Karonen, the Head of the Department of History and Ethnology gave me an opportunity to concentrate on my research full-time. As for invaluable anthropological advice I am indebted to professor René Gothóni and professor emeritus Matti Sarmela, the reviewers of my study, and professor Ilmari Vesterinen, the supervisor of my study. For the meticulous work as a language consultant I would like to thank Mrs. Eleanor Underwood, lecturer at Department of Languages of the University of Jyväskylä. For the most thought-provoking discussions and insightful opinions about my research I am most obliged to my father Mr. Yrjö Jouhki. In the end I would like to give special thanks to Ms. Riitta Hänninen for the encouragement during my writing process, my dear friend Ms. Maija Jouhki for her faith in me, and the distinguished gentlemen and fellow researchers Mr. Joensuu, Mr. Tuikka and Mr. Peltola for sharing massive doses of caffeine at lunch breaks during which all but research was discussed. On the first day of 2006, Jyväskylä Jukka Jouhki CONTENTS ABSTRACT PREFACE CONTENTS 1 IMAGINING US AND THEM .........................................................................11 Edward Said Applied in South India ..............................................................11 Aim and Method of the Study ..........................................................................16 The Question .............................................................................................16 Reflections ..................................................................................................19 2 ORIENTALISM ...................................................................................................23 Introduction ........................................................................................................23 The Realm of Orientalism .................................................................................27 Epistemological questions .......................................................................27 Authority, Domination and the White Man .........................................29 Orient, Occident and Orientalism in change ..................................................34 Constructing Orientalism ..................................................................................38 3 CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF ORIENTALISM ...............................................42 Said’s Theoretical Authorities ..........................................................................42 Gramsci’s Cultural Hegemony ...............................................................43 Foucault’s Power/Knowledge and Orientalism ..................................45 The Individual in Foucault and Said .....................................................49 Evaluating Critique and Defense .....................................................................52 4 OCCIDENTALISM ............................................................................................59 The West Imagining itself .................................................................................59 The Occidentalism of Orientals ........................................................................63 Discussion ...........................................................................................................68 5 ORIENTALISM AND INDIA ...........................................................................74 Introduction ........................................................................................................74 The Essential Ancientness of India ..................................................................77 Imagined India? ..................................................................................................81 6 THE TAMIL VILLAGERS OF KUILAPALAYAM ........................................85 The Tamil People................................................................................................ 85 The Tamil Way of Life ..............................................................................85 Religion, Caste and Politics .....................................................................89 Changing Kuilapalayam ...................................................................................93 The Old Days..............................................................................................93 Economic Growth and Culture Change ................................................96 7 THE COMMUNITY OF AUROVILLE ..........................................................103 The Birth and Growth of Auroville ...............................................................103 The Motivation of Aurovillians...................................................................... 110 Children of the Sixties and Tamil Aurovillians ..................................110 Ideological and Economic Divisions ....................................................113 The First Aurovillians ......................................................................................117 The Significance of Labor ......................................................................117 The Inevitable Class
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