This project attempts to create a a spatial history archive to map events and places linked with histories of the Afro-Indian communities. While the project considers older histories of exchanges between between Africa and India, it primarily focuses on how connections with Africa are remembered, reimagined and reconstituted through the lived experiences of Afro-Indians and other communities. In the Indian subcontinent, while the history of Eurasian exchanges are narrated to the public using institutionalized media of knowledge dissemination such as heritage sites and museums, histories of Afro-Asian connections remains an obfuscated narrative. Unlike other histories of exchanges, the retention of African cultural elements through performances, spirit possession rituals, and healing practices amongst Africans in the past and Afro-Indians in the present, and also the rich material cultures of these communities and the architectural legacies have been an under-researched area. The central objective of this digital archive is to showcase how African presence in India are remembered, updated, and reinvented through scared landscapes, material cultures, and repertoires of ritual performances of Afro-Indian communities and other marginalized groups in the India.
Currently in the first phase of research and development, the digital humanities platform will soon be upgraded to include images and audio materials collected by members of the Sidi community with whom I have been collaborating. Further, works of scholars working on the African diaspora and spaces in India and the Indian Ocean littoral will be featured in the newly developed research section.