University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/1161 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. COOLIE CARTOGRAPHY CROSSING FRONTIERS THROUGH COOLITUDE One Volume By Shivani Sivagurunathan A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature University of Warwick, Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural Studies September 2007 Table of Contents Preface ....................................................................................................................................... Chapter I: Introduction ............................................................................................................4 Beginnings a) ................................................................................................................... b) Colonialism its impact 9 and ........................................................................................ i) 1492 9 ........................................................................................................................ ii) European Capitalism 10 ........................................................................................... iii) Global Coolie Indentureship 13 .............................................................................. Representations Indians in the Caribbean, Malaysia Fiji 27 c) of and ........................ d) Coolitude 31 ................................................................................................................... i) The Coolitude 31 context and concept of .................................................................. ii) 'A diaspora. 41 new ................................................................................................. The Literary Landscape 43 e) .......................................................................................... Transnational Approach 43 1) ....................................................................................... ii) The texts 45 .............................................................................................................. Chapter 2: David Dabydeen's The Counting House Our Lady Demerara 48 and of ............. The Counting House a) ................................................................................................48 i) The 48 text's motivations ............................................................................................. i) The 55 poetics of nUgration....................................................................................... ii) The Voyage: A 67 theoretical assessment................................................................ The 72 novel's voyage ............................................................................................ The 79 iv) arrival and after ........................................................................................... b) Our Lady Demerara of ............................................................................................86 The text's 86 i) motivations .......................................................................................... ii) Rhythm Chaos 89 and .............................................................................................. iii) Place, Space Faith 92 and ........................................................................................ iv) The Infinite Rehearsal 101 ...................................................................................... v) The Redemptive Language 108 ................................................................................ Chapter 3: K. S. Maniam's The Return In A Far Country 112 and ......................................... The Return 112 a) .............................................................................................................. The text's 112 i) motivations ........................................................................................ ii) Place, Space Faith 117 and ....................................................................................... Processes 123 Iii) of self-identification ......................................................................... iv) Language 133 .......................................................................................................... The Retum 137 v) ......................................................................................................... Periathai's 138 vi) return .............................................................................................. Naina's 141 vil) return .................................................................................................. Ravi's 144 vill) return ................................................................................................... b) In A Far Country 147 ................................................................................................... i) The 147 text's motivations ........................................................................................ ii) The the 150 past, sea................................................................................................ iii) The 154 spiritual system ......................................................................................... Into tiger 161 IV) the ..................................................................................................... Reassessment traditional borders 169 V) of .................................................................. Chapter 4: Satendra Nandan's The Wounded Sea Lines Across Black Waters 178 and ........ The Wounded Sea 178 a) .................................................................................................. i) The 178 text's motivations ........................................................................................ ii) Ruins 184 ................................................................................................................. Islandscape 195 iii) ....................................................................................................... iv) Intercultural Communication 'Paradise' and .....................................................-102 Fonnal Hybridity 211 ............................................................................................... b) Lines Across Black Waters 219 ................................................................................... i) The text's 219 motivations ........................................................................................ ii) Water discourse 222 ................................................................................................. iii) The living dead 229 ................................................................................................. iv) Prophetic the 236 vision of past .............................................................................. Conclusion 242 ............................................................................................................................. Bibliography 249 ......................................................................................................................... Acknowledgments At the end of what has been a fortifying experience, I am grateful to a number of people whose support has been indispensable to the completion of this thesis. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor David Dabydeen, for his encouragement, intellectual vigour and inspiring ideas. A special thank you to Khal Torabully who has been tremendously helpful, generous and positive, apart from also being a beacon of patience! I am indebted to Veronique Bragard for her academic support and for being a fellow 'soldier' in the 'coolitude march'. I am grateful to K. S. Maniam for so warmly inviting me to his home and speaking openly about his work and his life. My sincerest appreciation goes to Steve Preston who has been a careful and supportive reader of this thesis. I am eternally grateful to Nimmi Prabakhar and the MABECS crew for having enough faith in me to financially support my Postgraduate studies. None of this would have been possible without Mr. and Mrs. Guard who were kind enough to meet with me in Oxford 4 years ago. I would also like to extend my wannest gratitude to Vishnu and Lakshmi Persaudfor their generosity and kindness. For their friendship, I am thankful to Paul McGregor and Martin Cox. Finally, a colossal thank you to Papa, Amma and Akka who have shown me that love and faith are crucial in the educationof the self. Declaration I declare that the research presented in this thesis is entirely my own work and that this thesis has not been submitted for a degree at any other university. Abstract Following the abolition of Transatlantic slavery, the British introduced a new scheme of labour to replace the former. 'Indian indentureship', as it was referred to, affected nearly 2 million Indian coolies who defied the traditional ban against crossing the kala pani (dark waters) in order to work on plantations in countries such as British Guiana, Trinidad, Malaya, South Africa and Fiji. In effect, the Indian labour diaspora