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Gujarati Hindus in Portugal. The Community of Santo António dos

Cavaleiros (Loures, Lisbon)

*Inês Lourenço (CRIA/ISCTE-IUL; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia)

At present, there are approximately

33000 Hindus residing in Portugal –

according to the Report of the High Level

Committee of the Indian Diaspora – most of

whom originated from the state of Gujarat,

Saurashtra region, region of western India,

located on the Arabian coast of Gujarat

state. This region, can trace its involvement

in trading around the Indian Ocean back to

the very earliest records, thanks to the

strategic location of its ports. In the late 15th century, the Sultanate of Gujarat was

going through a period of expansion and encouraged the settling of the first Indian

communities in Sofala, Mozambique. At that time, the ports of Diu and Surat played a

key role in the context of Cambay region trading, being the island of Diu a strategic port

for Gujarati trade and serving as the main hub for the most important Indian Ocean

trading routes (Pearson 1976, Rita-Ferreira 1985).

When the Portuguese rounded the Cape of Good Hope in the late 15th century,

they entered an Indian Ocean dominated by Indian traders with settlements along the

East African coastline controlling trade with the Gulf of Cambay. Trading ambitions in

this region led the Portuguese to conquer the island of Diu in 1535 and hold onto it

throughout the next five centuries. By the early 16th century, the Portuguese had

already seized the main strategic ports on the Indian Ocean. In this context,

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Mozambique played a central role in the trading route stretching from India to the

colonial power.

The settlement of Hindu communities in Mozambique accelerated with the

establishment of both a trading system and Portuguese imperial domination. The first

groups to definitively settle on the East African coast were made up of rich Gujarati

traders, the Companhia de Baneanes de Diu (company of merchants from Diu created

in 1686) and controlled coastal trading in the first half of the 17th century, leading to a

substantial growth in the Mozambique community (Antunes 2001).

Diu stonemasons were also among this initial circle moving to Africa following

their recruitment to build fortresses for the Portuguese in 15th century Mozambique.

Migration through the contracting of these workers only took place later with state

construction projects in the late 19th century, of which the Mombassa railroad is a

prime example.

New Indian communities emerged in Mozambique in the 19th century. They

came mainly from cities in the Saurashtra province of Gujarat and represented a move

towards penetrating and developing Mozambique’s more inland regions. Engaging in

different migratory routes, some chose to make a final return to India after

accumulating capital while others settled permanently along with their extended

families in Mozambique. The latter communities adopted their own specific community

strategies in setting up social, family and cultural networks.

Settlement

The abrupt interruption of these systems brought about by Portuguese

decolonisation led to their reconstruction, mostly in Portugal. The first Hindu families

began settling in Portugal from the late 1970s. Their decision on where to live was

influenced by “strategies of spatial congregation” aimed at building up

“recommunitisation” processes (Bastos 1991). They chose to live mainly in three

rundown neighborhoods: Quinta da Holandesa in Areeiro close to the centre of Lisbon

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and Quinta da Vitória in the suburb of Portela de Sacavém and Santo António dos

Cavaleiros district (Loures), in tower blocks. The slum housing of Quinta da Holandesa

was later demolished with occupants rehoused mainly in Chelas. In Quinta da Vitória,

soon after the establishment, the community wished to build a place of worship where

they would be able to congregate and celebrate. In 1983, in addition to their small

domestic shrines, they began the construction of the Jay Ambé Temple in Quinta da

Vitória at the same time as they were building their own homes in this neighbourhood.

The Temple has recently been relocated to the building where many Hindu families

have been rehoused. Although only

recently officially recognized as a

place of Hindu worship, this was the

first Hindu place of worship in

Portugal and a statue of the goddess

Ambé could be found there which was

transferred from a previous temple in

Mozambique (Cachado 2008).

In 1985, the Hindu Community of Portugal was formally set up and immediately

embarked on building the

Radha-Krishna Temple in

Lumiar, completed around a

decade later. This is the

most high-profile Hindu place

of worship in Portugal,

located in Paço do Lumiar in

Lisbon.

Finally and completing this overview of Hindu religious diversity, the Shiva

Temple was opened in 2001 in Santo António dos Cavaleiros. This process began in

1991 when the Shiva Temple Social Solidarity Association was officially recognised as

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representing the Hindu residents of Santo António dos Cavaleiros. About ten years

later it had fulfilled its mission of building its own place of worship.

Composition of the Hindu Community of Santo António dos Cavaleiros

The district of Santo António dos Cavaleiros belongs to the municipality of

Loures, located in Lisbon Metropolitan Area. This place was the center of a housing

expansion that began in the 60s and 70s of last century, which called for the

establishment of many families from the former colonies from the late seventies.

Currently with 21,947 inhabitants Santo António dos Cavaleiros has a very diverse

population, originating from different countries with different religious and cultural

backgrounds.

The Hindus living in Santo António dos Cavaleiros constitute a community

highly heterogeneous from the socio-economic point of view. It is made up of people

from various points across Gujarat, some of whom were originally from the island of

Diu and others from the province of Saurashtra in South Gujarat (cities like Rajkot,

Porbandar or Junagadh), and therefore with diverse social groups and cultural

references. Service castes, from Diu, and merchant castes from other areas in the

state of Gujarat share the same residential space, as well as a common place of

worship, the Shiva Temple. The differences between castes – belonging to different

varna – also correspond to cultural divergences and diversities of worship, particularly

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manifested in the distinction between Vaishnavism and Shaivism. Nevertheless,

despite its internal differences, this community has a cohesive identity, reinforced by a

religious basis, Hinduism.

Such diversity has not prevented the building up of a common group identity.

Community references are maintained through concrete means of cohesion: a solid

religious base, a determining role for women as guarantors of cultural reproduction and

a transnational network of contacts reaching out across three continents: Europe, Asia

and Africa.

These mechanisms operate in both the public and private spheres. The public

sphere of the temple provides for socialization and group social control simultaneously.

In the same way, the domestic space ensures the continuity of a symbolic community

through internal rules defining the limits between individuals and groups in order to

ensure that common references persist.

Above all, a Gujarati identity prevails due to the common language and a solid

religious base; and women contribute to this by playing a fundamental role in fostering

a process of cultural reproduction. These women, considered the ‘guardians’ of the

group’s traditional identity, assume the responsibility of transmitting traditional

references involving the negotiation of social status and manipulation of the religious

structure, and taking upon themselves the task (in the sense of fulfilling their dharma)

of maintaining, and thus inevitably transforming what they consider to be the group’s

cultural identity in the diaspora.

Methodology and ethnography

This analysis is based on empirical data obtained from fieldwork conducted

among Hindu families in Santo António dos Cavaleiros constituting this the ‘object’ of

ethnographic research. The methodology applied throughout the extended fieldwork

was participant observation, thus implying participation in various religious events, in

public and private spaces, and informal interviews carried out with a broad selection of

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a majority of women, but also of men, belonging to this Hindu community. This

fieldwork was undertaken in Portugal, the United Kingdom and India, accompanying

the trans-national movement of the informants between 2000 and 2010.

My main PhD research was on the articulation oF gender and religion in this

particular diaspora setting. The "satsang group" was the privileged set of my

anthropological research. Satsang is a word to call the devotional meetings, often

almost exclusively female. This consists of a variable number of women, measured at

about 25, whose participants are over 50 years old. By extension, other contacts

provided by these women, particularly those of their or daughters or daughters-in-law

were also taken into account. Likewise, other satsang were subject of my investigation.

Women involved in cultural projects and activities of the community were also included

in my universe of analysis.

My participation in the various groups of satsang, along with conversations held

with my interlocutors, occupied the spaces and times of their everyday lives, over

which they reflected on their role in the community, their duties in their families and in

their group, as well as their place in the hierarchy of gender.

My mobility in the space, streets, places of leisure and commerce enabled me

to observe the population geography of Santo António dos Cavaleiros, the interaction

between people and their levels of exclusion, being evident the concentration of Hindu

population in a specific area of the disctrict: Cidade Nova.

While Hindus are still scattered

from the base of the slope to the top of the

Torres da Bela Vista it is in the area of

Cidade Nova that most of the Hindu

population is concentrated. This area was

the privileged space for collecting

ethnographic data. In addition to the dispersion of the population referred above, the

temple of Shiva - the Hindu temple that brings this population - is about 1.5 kilometers

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away from this agglomeration, which, among

other factors, reduces the frequency of

Hindus’ participation in its religious

community life1.

Initially my walking through the district allowed

me to observe, along with the residential concentration

of Hindus, the concentration in the same space, of the

religious daily activities. Thus proving the centrality of

domestic space in the performance of religious activity

and, consequently, in the social and cultural

reproduction of the group.

Cidade Nova is characterized by a typical town landscape with tall buildings of

many storeys, with many tenants, with small green areas, complemented by a larger

green space surrounding the sport complex that separates Cidade Nova from Torres

da Bela Vista.

1 Apart from distance, the prevalence of religious practice in the domestic space, contributes to the low turnout to the temple daily.

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The area of

Cidade Nova Mall (a

small shopping

centre) and the

surrounding area is

the center of the

daily activities of the

Hindus who remain

in Santo Antonio

dos Cavaleiros during the day. Men here are few in number compared to women who

cross this space daily. In addition to retirees, men who use this space are those

working either in shops or itinerant markets, who only cross this space to access their

warehouses and transport vehicles. While workers just cross the space between their

workplaces and their homes, older men occupy most of their days among the Indian

shops and park benches in the area surrounding the Mall. It is usual to see them

socializing in small groups at mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Women are more active in this intersection of space. They begin in the morning,

taking their children or grandchildren to school or kindergarten2. From mid-morning until

lunchtime, they visit the various Indian shops in Cidade Nova to buy food or other

products from India, or, most often to chat. Before lunch time they return home and go

out around 3 or 4 pm again to the Shopping centre area for sightseeing, shopping or

take youngsters to the playground. They also visit the places of each other, often for

devotional meetings they organize. Late afternoon they return home, often

accompanied by children or grandchildren who leave school.

The saris characterize the landscape of Cidade Nova, expressing visually the

presence of an Indian community - with a closer look, Hindu – in Santo Antonio dos

2 There has in recent years, an increasing influx of Sikh women to the park, following its children, in the afternoon.

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Cavaleiros through its women. The youngsters also circulate daily through this space,

given the location of two schools in Cidade Nova as well as the kindergarten and a

small playground.

The observation from the outside allowed me to grasp the dynamics of female

mobility and their social networks. This shows the importance of female external

elements (like clothing and ornaments), along with the physical characteristics (skin

color, hair type). In addition to daily activities, religious and cultural public expressions

that take place in outer space contribute to the stereotyping that consolidate an image

(often reified) of the Hindus by the others. This is also a means of expression and

identity construction, with certain elements that influence local and global fashions and

condition the modes of thinking about society, through reciprocal inclusions and

exclusions in which the female body is central.

The Hindu-owned shops, of the Cidade Nova Shopping Centre, or more

dispersed throughout the district, are centers of information exchanging in the

community. Women actively contribute to this network, which puts them in contact with

other group members, making circulate reports of events not only in Portugal but also

in India, Mozambique, the United Kingdom or other countries where they have their

transnational networks. In these places, they also organize future activities, publicize

events, gather donations (in cash or in kinds) and call people for religious

performances organized by them.

Shiva Temple, despite its daily activity, only gathers large part of the community

members in festive moments of Hindu calendar. The domestic sphere overrides the

importance of the temple as a place of regular religious activity. In addition, its distance

from Cidade Nova, where most of the Hindus concentrate, decreases the frequency of

visits by their devotees, who continue to elect the home as a preferred palce of

religious performance and devotional and ritual activities. Anyway, the Shiva Temple is

still the most visible symbol of group identity, representing the presence of a number of

Hindu religious practices and beliefs in that district.

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The Shiva Temple Association, the entity that assumes the leadership of the

temple, was established in 1984 (not oficially) in Santo António dos Cavaleiros, with the

aim of bringing together the Hindu population of the district and promote the

development of religious, cultural and

social activities. The Hindu community

living there grew substantially, making it

urgent to obtain its own space to allow its

congregation and socialization. In 1991,

the association was legalized and a ten

year project started: the construction of a Hindu temple in the district, in a plot of land

given by the Municipality of Loures, in Torres da Bela Vista. Despite there wasn’t a

place of worship, the community kept meeting before in rented spaces, such as the

Neighborhood Association of Santo António dos Cavaleiros or the local abandoned

High School. In 2001 the process of constructing a temporary building began,

preceded by the blessing of the land (bhumipujan) by Swami Satyamitranand, pending

future construction of a temple with traditional architectural features of the northern

Indian temples.

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The temple is open every day but do not have a resident priest, and laity,

particularly women are responsible for the religious activities of this community. Its

activities include fixed pooja on Mondays. In the days of great festivities, such as the

Navratri, local Hindus and others coming from other communities in the metropolitan

area of Lisbon, attend the religious performances at Shiva Temple. In addition,

weddings and religious ceremonies

and cultural programs are sponsored

by the management of the temple.

This is also the meeting space for

groups that develop religious and

cultural activities such as: youth

groups, Gujarati school, dance

rehearsals, women group and the

management of the temple itself.

The existence of a temple

introduced new forms of community

organization, facilitating the

formalization of groups and activities. It also contributed to the consolidation of a

diaspora consciousness that was until recentky underdeveloped. Unlike other contexts

where Hindu communities settled and have developed solid social, economic and

cultural strategies some time ago, the Portuguese case demonstrates that, only

recently, an investment in

building a broader awareness

of diaspora was started. In the

case of Santo António dos

Cavaleiros, the recent

increase of visits of gurus and

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spiritual leaders from India or elsewhere in the diaspora and their ideologically

energizing speeches contributed to this. (Rameshbhai Oza, Shiva Temple, in:

http://www.shiva-pt.org/fotoGallery.php)

Despite the weight of the temple as the focus of Hindu religious identity of the

devotees (Knott, 1987: 161), the domestic space was privileged for this research. The

daily lives of women takes place from house to house, visiting each other regularly,

being the satsang the highest

expression of their familiarity. There are

different kinds of devotional meetings:

those that occur regularly, according to

the dates of religious Hindu calendar,

and those that are promoted by certain

religious movements.

The case of the devotional meetings that occur cyclically, promoted by "satsang

group" and, for example, the Sai Baba satsang, promoted by particular devotees. The

first is held on

auspicious days of

Hindu calendar, as is

the case or agiyaras /

Ekadashi (The eleventh

day of each month), or

days dedicated to the

worship of certain

deities (generally

celebrating their birth or wedding). They also gather in times associated with domestic

and ritual rites of passage, particularly the death of people of the community. In the

second case, the meeting happens in days dedicated to their spiritual leader and deity

worship, is the case of Thursdays in the worship of Sai Baba. In these days the

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devotees organize the

devotional meetings in

their homes,

sporadically or

sequentially3, according

to the type of satsang.

The space of

everyday life, from the

street to the house, is

predominantly occupied by women, while most men are working outside the district.

They return only at night, leaving women free to devote themselves to their domestic

chores and socializing with other women during the day. These everyday activities

exclude, as we have seen, prolonged

contact with the men, giving the

almost exclusively female gender

relations. In this sense, the

ethnography of everyday life was also

a female ethnography.

The Hindu community of Santo António dos Cavaleiros: population

diversity

To talk about the Hindu community of Santo António dos Cavaleiros means

talking about a group of more than 2000 people residing in an area of 3.62 km2,

coming to occupy, sometimes, twenty dwellings per building in the Cidade Nova area.

They are divided into 13 castes originating from different locations in Gujarat, with

3 The fact that organize these meetings or sequentially devotional sporadic relates to the nature of some of these meetings. In the case of Sai Baba satsang, for example, there are devotional meetings that are repeated over several weeks always on Thursdays. In other cases, satsang not necessarily need to be conducted on specific days, or else may be on holidays from the Hindu calendar.

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different migratory routes and with variable cultural patterns. We cannot perform a

statistical analysis of this community, given the lack of population data that compose it.

The municipalities do not have this type of information and the only existing numbers

are advanced by the management of the Shiva Temple Association, which states that

there are about 2000 Hindus living in Santo António dos Cavaleiros, but warning that

these data are not consistent, given the frequent mobility of its members. The

association has proposed the holding of a census of the community, but it is waiting for

an agreement on the parameters to be applied4.

The population of Indian origin residing in this district is divided into three

distinct regional references. The majority is from Gujarat and includes Hindus, Muslims

and Christians, followed by a small group of Goan Christians and Sikhs from Punjab.

The diversity of languages spoken by the different groups (Gujarati, Punjabi and Hindi

together with Portuguese and English) shows that the situation of pluralism exists not

only in this district, but also within the group of people of Indian origin.

Thus, besides the splitting of this group into subgroups, also the Hindu

community itself is divided, as we saw, according to the regional, cultural and social

belonging of its members. The ethnographic observation suggests that the community

is divided into 13 castes. Two of these are numerically dominant: Lohana and Vanja.

Apart from the three minority castes, consisting of only a few families (Brahmin, Dobhi

and Valand), the remaing castes are evenly distributed throughout the district.

Unlike other neighborhoods of Hindu concentration analyzed in the Lisbon area,

this is geographically more dispersed and with a much more diverse and complex

population (cf. Bastos, 1991; Cachado, 2003). However, when compared with other

contexts of the broader Hindu diaspora, this group, originating in the same state, has a

common identity: Gujarati. The study of Hinduism in Leeds developed by Kim Knott, for

example, presents a very diverse universe of where we have, for example, a linguistic 4 The youngest sector of the association is against the holding of a census according to the varieties of individuals. It is argued against this classification in your community and proposes a more homogeneous characterization of the group.

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variety, corresponding to different states of individuals’ origin (Knott, 1987: 22). Unlike

the case presented by Knott, the group in question shares a single language, the

Gujarati, associated with the same state of origin, sharing common Gujarati identity.

The main occupation

of these Indians is

commerce. Despite the

stereotype of Indians usually

correspond to business, this

being the most significant, it

is not exclusive. Many

Hindus are professionals in

various sectors of the Portuguese society: services, education, medicine and

engineering. Others work in the construction. The trade yet, is dominant. It is an activity

that takes on different branches, between fixed and itinerant trade: appliances, food,

clothing, watches, perfumes, stationery, jewelry, household items, restaurants, mini

markets. Despite the abandonment of traditional caste activities among the majority of

Hindus, some still preserve these specializations. Thus, among the castes of cobblers,

masons and tailors, some individuals retain their traditional activity: the former have

usually their own establishments, the latter working in construction. Tailors, work

primarily for Indian customers, making traditional costumes, but this is not generally the

only activity of the household. Some members of the Brahmins caste (priests) and

barbers officiate particularly in ritual moments.

With regard to standards of education of youngsters, they tend to transform in

recent years, with an intensification of the continuity of secondary and above

education. Education is the area where contact with members of the surrounding

society is more inevitable (cf. Knott, 1986: 49). This inevitability is considered by some

families to be a risk to the preservation of Hindu identity of the youngsters, being the

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youth exposure to Western values sometimes seen as a threat to their integrity,

particularly for girls5.

We cannot define a standard level of education among the community under

study. This may range from early withdrawal from school, compulsory schooling, or

higher education that, increasingly, is the choice of many young people. Apart from this

type of training young people, there is currently an educational structure aimed at Shiva

Temple, directed to teaching the gujarati language and Hindu religious principles. This

structure was formed due to the need to provide children with a moral base that wasn’t

found at school and often neither in their homes. Given the lack of knowledge about

religious fundamentals and rituals, and the detachment to the Gujarati language found

amongst the second and third generation, the Gujarati School of Shiva Temple

promotes, since 2006, the learning of mother tongue at the same time as fostering the

consolidation of social networks between youngsters, through the assertion of common

references, being the language one of the central elements in the reproduction identity.

The Role of Religion: Hinduism

Religion can be seen as a common identifier that will overcome the differences

that divide the group. However, Hinduism encompasses a set of religious beliefs and

practices: various types of devotion, preference of worship deities, and attachment to

certain festivities, according to regional and social belonging, that also transforms itself

in the diaspora. Using again the example of Knott, a context of complexity of social and

cultural belonging, and linguistic and religious diversity as Leeds, the transposition of

Hinduism (in its areas of "great "and "little" tradition) led to changes that take on greater

relevance in the introduction changes in ritual practice (see Knott, 1987: 163).

The individual religiosity should also not be forgotten. In this sense, it is

important to note that the experience of diaspora influences the way how each person

5 This is the main reason that lies behind the early abandonment of education for many girls, particularly among more conservative families or castes.

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thinks his own religion. The distance from the original religious standards and the

coexistence with other religions, leads to the need for interpretation and hence of

processing of Hinduism (cf. Knott, 1986, 1987, Williams, 1996, Kurien , 1998, Eck,

2000, Coward 2000). Moreover, the influence of Western conceptions of religion may

have originated, to some, a Hindu institutionalized and formalized Hinduism, with

greater emphasis on cyclical festivities and rituals of passage. For others, the most

popular, daily and domestic expression of the Hindu religion remains the centerpiece of

their religious beliefs and practices. By stating that, religion is a central element in the

construction of Hindu identity in the diaspora. It is necessary however, to resist the

tendency to stereotype and / or essentializing it.

The journey of Hindu residents in Santo António dos Cavaleiros from India or

Africa, carries with it an enormous symbolic significance, both geographical, cultural

and religious. This trip led, as is the case of many Indian communities established

outside of India, to the reformatting of references through which the community

represents itself.

Religion has, as noted, the function of unifying the group, becoming a central

reference in the identification of the community. In addition, Hinduism lived in diaspora

becomes a new reality, constructed from inclusions and exclusions that result, in this

case, the negotiation of identities in the Portuguese context.

Hinduism should be seen as a category that includes a wide range of

interconnected phenomena,

so that is not possible to

exist a unique Hinduism (or

Hindu community), even

within socio-cultural and

regional specificity. The

linguistic, historical or

regional diversity in India, certainly contributes to local religious practices and ideas.

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Transposed into the context of diaspora, this capacity of flexibility is even more

surprising: Hinduism should be seen as a constant negotiation of identity in different

contexts.

Women

As religion is a major

factor contributing to the

construction of the identity of

this group, it is impossible to

overlook the preponderance of

female role in this process. In

fact, older women are seen as

holders of traditional ritual and

religious practices, once they ensure their cultural reproduction to youngsters during

the religious moments.

In the domestic space of worship they are conservative, but also renovating

religious and cultural references that no longer belong to the male world. Their

exclusivity in this field of religious public

practice has made them privileged

elements within the community. The

absence of men during the day allows

women the freedom to socialize with each

other, on the one hand, and, on the other,

to establish a field of religious action that

belongs to them almost exclusively. Their

power is quite evident if we look at the

religious resources as the most relevant

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identity heritage of these people, contributing to the cultural reproduction of their group.

The appearance of this status of conservative of the considered traditional

knowledge and of substitutes of male ritualists leads to the construction of new gender

identities and, simultaneously, new ritual and social responsibilities to women.

1. The prominent presence of women in the

organization of religious moments is a recurring

phenomenon in several contexts of Hindu

diaspora. Similarly, the religious and cultural

activity in this community has become deeply

associated with their women. They are

considered, the holders of religious wisdom and

the guarantors of their cultural identity by the

group.

2. Other women act as the vehicles through

which goddesses manifest themselves. They are believed

to temporarily embody these divinities, which

communicate with the devotees through these women’s

words and body language in very specific ritual events

through the enactment of performances of possession.

3. In Portugal, where the

temple ritualists are

scarce –while in other

contexts such as the UK the public religious activities

are carried out by male priests - women are holders of

a privilege that made them essential to the cultural

reproduction of this group, acting as priestesses.

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Hindu women in Portugal took over the role of public religious space and by

adopting new religious roles, they assign to themselves new social status. Women’s

role transformation within the Hindu universe in Portugal is the result of a negotiation of

gender identities and, consequently, of social status in a space that is conducive to the

reconstruction and the reinvention of identity references: the diaspora.

The Hindu community and the surrounding society

Despite the visibility that the group have in the district for public festivities, the

presence of a temple, or the exuberance of women’s clothes, the relationship of Hindus

with the other members of the surrounding society is, in most cases, superficial. The

contacts occur on a day-to-day basis, but in simple activities such as shopping, public

transportation, in the trade-in or, amongst the younger generation at school, in the

university or at work.

The fact that many of the Hindus of the first generation, particularly women, do

not master Portuguese language, seems to be the most obvious factor for the lack of

contact with other members of the society. Their days are spent with other Hindus in

Indian stores, in the temple or in their own houses. They are therefore confined to

activities and spaces where the dominant language is Gujarati, Portuguese remains a

secondary language, used only for basic contacts with non-Gujaratis. But beyond this

factor, there is also the intention of protecting the community by closing it towards the

surrounding society. This reflects a process of resistance to the possible excessive

Westernization and thus the disappearance of the traditional elements that are being

preserved.

This phenomenon is quite complex and should be subject to a careful analysis

that does not produce generalizations which would reflect the ambitions and feelings

that lie behind the perpetuation of traditional patterns.

There is a predominance of contacts within the community, but the daily

activities involve the establishment of social networks between Hindus and non-Hindus.

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This occurs with greater intensity in professional and neighbourly contacts. But if

among the elderly, establishment of social relationships outside the community is

restricted, among youth it is much broader since, they’re born in Portugal, they

established friendship and companionship ties at school and then at work or university.

And if earlier, marriages with non-Hindu were rare, now they are becoming more

frequent6.

For the first generation, the Hindu ideas of purity and pollution are very present

in everyday activities. In this sense, contact with non-Hindu represents always a risk of

transmission of impurity, which acts like a lock to sociability outside the group. This is

the reason why the domestic space is usually preserved from the outsiders. The front

door represents a passage of a polluted area to a place protected from the pollution

and therefore more auspicious7.

The experience of diaspora leads, however, to adjustments and to the

transformation of cultural and religious norms more stringent given the inevitability of

contact with the outside. This phenomenon is particularly visible in two areas: in trade

and cultural and religious activities of the temple. In the first case, the constant and

daily contact with customers is essential for business success and some of these

become often proximity relationships. However, ignorance of the lifestyles of most

customers, their states of pollution carries a high risk of ritual contagion8. In the case of

public activities taking place in the temple, often involve the presence of individuals

from outside the community, and however received with enthusiasm, they are feared

for the pollution they may carry. This was sometimes commented to me by my

6 It should be noted that in the case of marriages between Hindus and non-Hindus or non-Indian Hindus are men who marry women outside their community, but not the opposite, namely, Hindu women who marry men with non-Hindus or non-Indians. 7 Inauspiciousness pollution and are also associated with the notion of moral corruption of the West. 8 Influenced mainly by death, by birth or by the menses. Transport of pollutants considered foods like pork or beef is also a source of transmission of pollution.

22

interlocutors, concerned mainly with the possibility that women having their menstrual

period may show up. As their presence in the temple in that condition is prohibited.

Other dangers that concern elders are the youth’s future. Western values are

sometimes seen as an obstacle to the education of their offspring according to

traditional religious principles, potentially acquiring risk behaviors in the future. It is for

this reason that families invest in educating their youngsters at home and in family

space, so that there is a balance between the contact with the surrounding society and

the principles of Hindu education.

Sociability in plural contexts, as is the space under study, originates inclusions

and exclusions between groups. In the field of mutual influences between the Hindu

community and the general population, women have the leading role. In one hand,

Hindu women retain considered traditional forms of clothing; young women have

adopted Western styles9. On the other hand, non-Hindu women who share the same

space of residence, became fans of modern Indian clothing stores carry new and

renewed garments and accessories that are the result of a fusion of oriental and

western styles, in that the original Indian etiquette is often transformed.

Exclusions / Inclusions

The depth of religious reference in the

existing culture of this community - Hinduism

– does not only imply exclusions against the

Portuguese society in general. We have

witnessed a growing interest by the

philosophical and aesthetic of India from the

western countries. But we have also witnessed the interaction with the Western

9 The expression "wearing pants" has become popular among Hindu women in Portugal, as a way to release the conventions associated with traditional Indian dress codes. The women who 'wear the pants "- among other accessories or garments Westerners - symbolize the feminine modernity, in contrast to those who remain subject to the standards imposed by the conservative clothing of their families.

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context. It happens in everyday relationships

between neighbors or customers who share

the same space in Santo Antonio dos

Cavaleiros, but also occurs in a religious level

– being the adoption of the image and the cult

of Our Lady of Fatima a clear example. They

organize several pilgrimages to Fatima's

Sanctuary, individualy or community; and lots

of domestic temples include an image (murti) of

Fatima, not only in Portugal but also in India

and UK and probably in other places were their

families live.

The process of identity construction in

the Hindu Community of Santo António dos

Cavaleiros is made of traditional reproductions, exclusions and inclusions that result

from their development and interaction with the space in which it resides.

The link to the origin

The identity construction of the community under study is also based on a broad

transnational network of contacts. This not only allows the connection between India

and Portugal, but also with Mozambique and the United Kingdom and has the active

participation of individuals moving between the four countries. This network supports

the dynamic binding references located at the origin, allowing contact between

relatives, the constant exchange of goods and information between countries, as well

as the establishment of marital ties between young people from various contexts.

From the perspective of individuals living in Portugal, this network of contacts

can be useful to them for bringing several references from their place of origin: phone

calls, correspondence or exchange orders and matrimonial exchanges are

24

mechanisms to revitalize identity. Using the Internet, as the circulation of videos of

weddings held outside Portugal or access to traditional or mythological TV series or

Indian cable channels, are examples of the technological contribution to global

communication.

In another sense, the contact with this Hindus’ cultural background is also

provided through regular travel to India. The permanent mobility between countries,

linked by networks of contacts, locates them into a logical and transnational affiliations

between them.

Travelling to the land of origin, can be harnessed to perform a series of ritual

ceremonies in order to deepen the ties between the two spaces of reference: Portugal

and India. In fact, these trips are always accompanied by religious moments and visits

to places and people invested with divine powers. From this point of view, it is possible

to verify the concern not to dishonor and to pay homage to deities, particularly the kul

devi, the protective goddesses of the lineage. Wedding ceremonies, rituals of

appeasement of the ancestors’ souls, visits to prominent places of worship are part of a

respect to the genealogical origin: the religious potential of India is never neglected. My

first stay at Fudam, following the journey of a family living in Santo António dos

Cavaleiros, allowed me to realize the importance of this identity origin.

For most Hindus, the connection

with India is very important to maintain an

identity reference. India is seen as a

sacred ground, from which emanates

purity greater than anywhere else in the

world. Religion is the greatest trait of

Hindu identity migrants, and is deeply connected to their home country, its soil and

rivers deified. For this reason, this is the place chosen for the realization of important

religious ceremonies. This privileged location, emanation of purity, where the rituals are

most effective, is seen as a source of spiritual wealth, a genuine religious potential.

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The belonging to India as a repository of ancestral and own religion and culture,

integrates a multiple identity, in which their belonging is constructed through the

articulation of multiple strands that make up a sense of belonging associated with both

the place of genealogical origin and to past (colonial) and present (postcolonial) of

Portuguese heritage. Heterogeneous in its interior, being composed of groups of

different regional, social, economic and religious origin, this community has, however, a

cohesive identity, reinforced by a religious basis. To internal differences, overlaps a

common unity due to the need of preservation of harmony and dharma within the

group.

26

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