- YEMEN
UPDATE
-
- YEMEN
ARTICLES
SOAS
WORKSHOP ON HADRAMI EMIGRATION
- by Linda Boxberger
- University of Texas at
Austin
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- [Yemen Update 37
(1995):27]
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- A workshop entitled "South Arabian
Migration Movements in the Indian Ocean: The Hadhrami Case, c.
1750 to c. 1967" was held at the School of Oriental and African
Studies of the University of London from April 27 through 29,
1995. The workshop focused on the unique culture and history of
Hadramaut and its emigrant communities which span the Indian Ocean
region. The event, organized by Dr. Ulrike Freitag and Dr.
William Gervase Clarence-Smith of the Centre of Near and Middle
Eastern Studies at SOAS, was sponsored by the European Science
Foundation, with assistance from the British Academy, Inchcape
PLC, and SOAS. Participants came from the U.K., the U.S., France,
the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia,
Australia, East Africa, and Saudi Arabia, representing the
disciplines of Islamic studies, anthropology, history, sociology,
and literature. The subject of Hadrami migration crossed not only
disciplinary boundaries, but also the conventional geographic
boundaries which divide the area studies of Asia, Africa, and the
Middle East.
-
- More than thirty papers contributed by
participants formed the foundation for three days of round-table
discussions on the following topics: Economic Origins of
Emigration from Hadramaut and the Economic Impact on Hadramaut of
the Diaspora; Political Origins of Emigration from Hadramaut and
the Political Impact on Hadramaut of the Diaspora; Social
Divisions within Hadrami Society; Religious Divisions Between
Hadramis; Hadrami Social Identity in Relation to Host Societies in
the Diaspora; Hadrami Roles in the Internal Politics of Host
Societies; Economic Niches Occupied by the Hadramis in Host
Societies; Relations of the Hadramis with other Diaspora; the
Hadramis and Colonial Rule. Each topic was introduced by a
discussant who gave a summary overview of the topic, indicating
salient points from various workshop papers and raising issues for
further discussion.
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- During the three days of lively and
sometimes contentious discussions, new questions were continually
raised and old assumptions were questioned. How do you define
Hadrami communities of the diaspora? Do you count number of
generations away from the homeland and how do you take into
account self-identity of the community members? What were the
political and economic "push and pull" factors contributing to
emigration? How did they differ for emigrants of different social
strata and economic class? How was emigration affected by the
economic cycles of the host communities and the Indian Ocean
region as a whole? What were the relationships between the
homeland and the diaspora communities and among different Hadrami
communities of the diaspora? Between emigrants and the host
communities? Between new emigrants and the foreign-born in the
emigrant communities? To what extent was the social
stratification system prevalent in the homeland replicated in the
diaspora? How did marriage function as a means of assimilation
into the host communities and how did different marriage patterns
of host communities affect the process of assimilation? What was
the religious influence of Hadrami emigrants in the region? How
much of their influence was direct, due to proselytizing, and how
much indirect, due to their example and intermarriage? What were
the advantages and disadvantages of colonial rule for Hadrami
emigrant communities? How did the colonial powers' perception of
the Hadrami communities correspond to those communities
self-perceptions and to reality? What role did Hadrami
communities play in anti-colonial and nationalist movements of
their adopted countries?
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- Discussions were frequently punctuated
with calls for additional research in order to provide a fuller
picture of this unique culture of migration. Further study of
Hadramaut and its emigrant communities is needed to identify the
"social technologies" available in the "cultural tool-kits" (in
Abdalla Bujra's terms) employed by Hadrami emigrants which enabled
them to survive and thrive in different host communities,
economies, and colonial environments. At the same time, further
study of the emigrant communities and the social, economic, and
political conditions surrounding them in the host community
environment is needed to elucidate the differing courses of
development which took place in different areas of the region.
This workshop provided a first step in the process of bringing
together those familiar with the Arabian homeland of Hadramaut
with specialists in the societies which hosted Hadrami emigrants.
One hopes that there will be more opportunities in the future for
collaboration across disciplinary and area studies boundaries in
order to illuminate this unique aspect of Indian Ocean
history.
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