The African Diaspora in Asian Trade Routes and Cultural Memories

221 Pages·2010·7.637 MB·English

by  Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya

_:2AN DIASPC:2A
IN ASIAN TADE ROUTES
AND CULTURAL MEMORIES
Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya
With a Foreword by
Richard Pankhurst
The Edwin Mellen Press
Lewiston.Queenston.Lampeter
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jayasuriya, Shihan de S.
The African diaspora in Asian trade routes and cultural memories / Shihan de Silva
Jayasuriya ; with a foreword by Richard Pankhurst.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-3651-0
ISBN-10: 0-7734-3651-0
I. Africans—Asia—History. 2. African diaspora. 3. Africans--Migrations. 4. Asia--
Civilization--African influences. I. Title.
DS28.A35J385 2010
305.896'05—dc22
2010010454
hors serie.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Front cover photo: Japanese Nanban Screen Paintings showing Africans with Portuguese in Japan
Courtesy of Kobe City Museum, Japan
Copyright © 2010 Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya
All rights reserved. For information contact
(cid:9)
The Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press
(cid:9)
Box 450 Box 67
(cid:9)
Lewiston, New York Queenston, Ontario
(cid:9)
USA 14092-0450 CANADA LOS ILO
The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd.
Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales
UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8LT
Printed in the United States of America
DEDICATION
To
My Uncle
Vernon Wijetunge, QC
who encouraged me to investigate the
African presence in Asia
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations(cid:9) iii
Foreword(cid:9) Professor Richard Pankhurst, OBE
Preface(cid:9) vii
Acknowledgements(cid:9) ix
Chapter 1(cid:9) Movement of Africans in the Indian Ocean World(cid:9) 1
Free and Forced Migration(cid:9) 7
Patterns of Migration(cid:9) 4
Crossing Continents(cid:9) 14
Chapter 2(cid:9) Africans in Japan and China(cid:9) 17
Africans in Japan(cid:9) 17
Africans in China(cid:9) 20
Africans in the Pacific(cid:9) 27
Chapter 3(cid:9) A Slave Route to Southeast Asia(cid:9) 29
Delaware in Saint Augustine's Bay, Madagascar(cid:9) 32
Delaware at Anchor in Morandava(cid:9) 33
Delaware at Anchor in Massaleige(cid:9) 35
Delaware at Anchor in MannegaroHarbour:
A Rebellion(cid:9) 35
Delaware sails towards Madras (South dia)(cid:9) 38
Delaware at Anchor in Madras(cid:9) 38
Delaware sails from Madras to Point de Calle (Sri Lanka) 39
Delaware sails from Point de Calle towards Bencoolen
(Sumatra)(cid:9) 39
Delaware at Anchor in Bencoolen(cid:9) 39
Oceanic Crossings(cid:9) 39
East India Company in Sumatra(cid:9) 40
Establishing and Maintaining the Bencoolen Factory(cid:9) 42
East India Company Slaves in Sumatra(cid:9) 81
Chapter 4(cid:9) Emancipation of East India Company
Slaves in Sumatra(cid:9) 83
Emancipation and the Effects of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty 83
Pensioners of the East India Company(cid:9) 93
The Fate of the East India Company Slaves(cid:9) 112
Chapter 5(cid:9) Africans in Sri Lanka(cid:9) 115
Portuguese Carriers(cid:9) 116
Africans in Dutch Ceylon(cid:9) 118
Africans and the British Regime(cid:9) 121
Effect of Abolition(cid:9) 125
Afro-Sri Lankans in a Post-Independent Setting(cid:9) 127
Chapter 6(cid:9) Africans as People-in-Between(cid:9) 131
Linguistic Adaptations(cid:9) 134
Languages in Contact (cid:9) 146
Linguistic Advantages(cid:9) 151
Chapter 7(cid:9) Cultural Memories:
Roots and Routes of Migration(cid:9) 155
Spread of African Music and Dance(cid:9) 157
Significance of Artistic Expressions(cid:9) 171
Chapter 8(cid:9) Crossing Borders:
Old Issues, New Perspectives(cid:9) 173
Bibliography(cid:9) 183
Index(cid:9) 195
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Cover Illustration
Japanese Nanban Screen Paintings showing Africans with Portuguese in Japan
(Courtesy of Kobe City Museum, Japan)
Number of Slaves in Eighteenth and Nineteenth century Sumatra and Penang
(Courtesy of Johan de Silva Jayasuriya)
Afro-Sri Lankans playing Manhas in Sirambiyadiya, Puttalama
(Collection: Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya)
Map of Sri Lanka showing Puttalama, home of the largest community of Afro-Sri
Lankans (Source: Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya, Portuguese Cultural Imprint on Sri
Lanka. LUSOTOPIE, Journal of the University of Sorbonne, Paris, 2000).
Egyptian Tanburah Player (Courtesy of Nubia Museum, Aswan, Egypt)

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ASP(cid:9) Aspect
EIC(cid:9) East India Company
GEN(cid:9) Genitive
IF(cid:9) Indo-Portuguese
IPC(cid:9) Indo-Portuguese of Ceylon
Noun
0(cid:9) Object
Subject
SP(cid:9) Standard Portuguese
SLPC(cid:9) Sri Lanka Portuguese Creole
V(cid:9) Verb
VOC(cid:9) Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie