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| omnipoetics:they_came_in_ships [2025/04/02 22:55] – [Connection to "The Brazilwood Poetry Manifesto": Holding Onto Identity] sydney | omnipoetics:they_came_in_ships [2025/04/24 00:49] (current) – admin |
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| ====== Author: Mahadai Das ====== | ====== The Coolies by Mahadai Das ====== |
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| | ===== Author: Mahadai Das ===== |
| Mahadai Das was a Guyanese poet born in Eccles, Guyana in 1954 ("Mahadai Das"). While Das is better known for her poetry, she was also a teacher, actress, and beauty queen (Staff Reporter). After earning a degree at the University of Guyana, Das earned her Masters at Columbia University ("Mahadai Das"). Later, she would begin work on her doctorate at the University of Chicago ("Mahadai Das"). Unfortunately, Das would die before completing the program in April 2003 from health issues ("Mahadai Das"). | Mahadai Das was a Guyanese poet born in Eccles, Guyana in 1954 ("Mahadai Das"). While Das is better known for her poetry, she was also a teacher, actress, and beauty queen (Staff Reporter). After earning a degree at the University of Guyana, Das earned her Masters at Columbia University ("Mahadai Das"). Later, she would begin work on her doctorate at the University of Chicago ("Mahadai Das"). Unfortunately, Das would die before completing the program in April 2003 from health issues ("Mahadai Das"). |
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| She was part of a Messenger Group that prompted "coolie" art during a time when it was not acknowledged in the national culture. She was also part of the Working People's Alliance that worked toward resolving political and social problems in Guyana. | Das was part of a Messenger Group that prompted "coolie" art during a time when it was not acknowledged in the national culture. She was also part of the Working People's Alliance that worked toward resolving political and social problems in Guyana. |
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| Some of the major themes presented in her writing include establishing ethnic identity and bringing light to unfair conditions in the Caribbean. | Some of the major themes presented in her writing include establishing ethnic identity and bringing light to unfair conditions in the Caribbean. |
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| ====== "The Coolies": An Erasure of Identity ====== | ====== "The Coolies": An Erasure of Identity ====== |
| The term [[https://www.coolitude.shca.ed.ac.uk/word-%E2%80%98coolie%E2%80%99|"coolie"]] was "first used by the British to designate the inhabitants of Kula, India, but later used to refer to any hired 'unskilled' worker" (496). This term today is known for being offensive, due to the negative implications beyond its dictionary definition, and was used in the past as "a [[https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/11/25/247166284/a-history-of-indentured-labor-gives-coolie-its-sting|slur]] against low-wage, immigrant laborers in the United States" (Gandhi). | The term "coolie" was "first used by the British to designate the inhabitants of Kula, India, but later used to refer to any hired 'unskilled' worker" (496). This term today is known for being offensive, due to the negative implications beyond its dictionary definition, and was used in the past as "a [[https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/11/25/247166284/a-history-of-indentured-labor-gives-coolie-its-sting|slur]] against low-wage, immigrant laborers in the United States" (Gandhi). |
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| While immigrant laborers often endured harsh treatment and conditions, similar to that of slaves, they were known for being indentured, meaning they were under an agreed upon contract. However, these contracts were often misleading by saying the [[https://www.striking-women.org/module/map-major-south-asian-migration-flows/indentured-labour-south-asia-1834-1917#:~:text=The%20indentured%20workers%20(known%20derogatively,harsh%20and%20their%20wages%20low.|indentured laborers]] would receive wages and land, when this rarely happened. The motivation behind signing such contracts was escaping poverty, which was a common experience when the British had colonial rule in India. Along with this, many laborers were lied to about where they would be taken, with the travel time being presented as much shorter than the reality. This deception made a difference in the terms of their [[https://www.striking-women.org/glossary/letter_i#Indentured_labour|contract]], as the agreements usually included that they had to work to cover the cost of their transport and keep on the ship. | While immigrant laborers often endured harsh treatment and conditions, similar to that of slaves, they were known for being indentured, meaning they were under an agreed upon contract. However, these contracts were often misleading by saying the [[https://www.striking-women.org/module/map-major-south-asian-migration-flows/indentured-labour-south-asia-1834-1917#:~:text=The%20indentured%20workers%20(known%20derogatively,harsh%20and%20their%20wages%20low.|indentured laborers]] would receive wages and land, when this rarely happened. The motivation behind signing such contracts was escaping poverty, which was a common experience when the British had colonial rule in India. Along with this, many laborers were lied to about where they would be taken, with the travel time being presented as much shorter than the reality. This deception made a difference in the terms of their [[https://www.striking-women.org/glossary/letter_i#Indentured_labour|contract]], as the agreements usually included that they had to work to cover the cost of their transport and keep on the ship. |
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| The poem "They Came in Ships" presents the story of [[https://www-jstor-org.uncfsu.idm.oclc.org/stable/40654698?seq=1|women]] who were taken away from their homeland, India, and transported to Trinidad, Tobago and Guyana in 1845, where they lost both their identity and their hope for a better life. The poem references the image of "hearts brimful with hope," connecting to the reasoning why many Indian women chose to be taken to a new, strange land during this time (496). | The poem "They Came in Ships" presents the story of women who were taken away from their homeland, India, and transported to Trinidad, Tobago and Guyana in 1845, where they lost both their identity and their hope for a better life. The poem references the image of "hearts brimful with hope," connecting to the reasoning why many Indian women chose to be taken to a new, strange land during this time (496). |
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| ====== Meaning: Enforcing Memories ====== | ====== Meaning: Enforcing Memories ====== |
| ====== Connection to "The Brazilwood Poetry Manifesto": Holding Onto Identity ====== | ====== Connection to "The Brazilwood Poetry Manifesto": Holding Onto Identity ====== |
| Similar to "They Came in Ships," "The Brazilwood Poetry Manifesto" (149-151) by [[omnipoetics:brazilwood_poetry_manifesto|Oswald de Andrade]] enforces a theme of remembering past identities. | Similar to "They Came in Ships," "The Brazilwood Poetry Manifesto" (149-151) by [[omnipoetics:brazilwood_poetry_manifesto|Oswald de Andrade]] enforces a theme of remembering past identities. |
| * "They Came in Ships" brings the history of the "the coolies" to life by transporting their cries into the present, emphasizing the point that their past must be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4CIHXULdxw|remembered]] and made a part of current identities. | * "They Came in Ships" brings the history of the "the coolies" to life by transporting their cries into the present, emphasizing the point that their past must be remembered and made a part of current identities. |
| * "The Brazilwood Poetry Manifesto" presents the importance of true Brazilian culture and identity being remembered beyond the Portuguese influences from colonization. | * "The Brazilwood Poetry Manifesto" presents the importance of true Brazilian culture and identity being remembered beyond the Portuguese influences from colonization. |
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