COMMUNITIES TODAY

After girmit

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What we know

  • Many Girmitiyas remained in Fiji, farming and building communities; others returned to India.
  • Fiji Hindi grew out of the languages they brought with them.
  • Hindu temples, mosques and churches built by their descendants are found across Fiji.

The story

Some migrants returned to India; many remained and built homes, farms, businesses and institutions in Fiji. Family ties, resources and the conditions of return shaped those decisions. Staying cannot be explained as one simple choice shared by everyone.

Languages, religious practices, food and community life developed across generations. Fiji Hindi became a distinctive part of that history. Girmit belongs to the story of Fiji as a whole: it connects the survival and creativity of migrant families with the land, labour and political arrangements of the colony.

Words in this chapter

Fiji Hindi — this chapter is where the museum explains this word. See the whole glossary →

Pictures in this chapter

Sources

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This chapter’s text is awaiting cultural and historical review. Pictures keep the credit and licence of the collection that holds them.