Tamil Weekends: Intergenerational Perspectives on Belonging

“Tamil weekends” describe how second-generation migrants are involved in an intensively packed mix of Tamil linguistic, cultural and religious activities, mostly on the weekends, as part of the first generation’s to (re)create home. Drawing from an ethnographic study in a Tamil Hindu temple, thi...

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Main Author: Perera, Niru
Other Authors: Kandasamy, Niro
Format: Book Chapter
Published: Palgrave Pivot 2020
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79456
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author Perera, Niru
author2 Kandasamy, Niro
author_facet Kandasamy, Niro
Perera, Niru
author_sort Perera, Niru
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description “Tamil weekends” describe how second-generation migrants are involved in an intensively packed mix of Tamil linguistic, cultural and religious activities, mostly on the weekends, as part of the first generation’s to (re)create home. Drawing from an ethnographic study in a Tamil Hindu temple, this chapter explores how adolescent students perceive the transmission efforts of the first generation, and what it means for their sense of belonging and their sense of Tamilness in the homeland of Sri Lanka and the new home of Australia. I highlight how first- and second-generation ideologies regarding Tamil identity and belonging are changing with time, largely due to new interpretations of “being Tamil” that vary between and within generations. At the same time, as a result of the threat to Tamil culture in Sri Lanka, there is an enduring sense of duty to maintain the language, religion and culture outside of the homeland.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-794562022-01-19T05:16:38Z Tamil Weekends: Intergenerational Perspectives on Belonging Perera, Niru Kandasamy, Niro Perera, Niru Ratnam, Charishma “Tamil weekends” describe how second-generation migrants are involved in an intensively packed mix of Tamil linguistic, cultural and religious activities, mostly on the weekends, as part of the first generation’s to (re)create home. Drawing from an ethnographic study in a Tamil Hindu temple, this chapter explores how adolescent students perceive the transmission efforts of the first generation, and what it means for their sense of belonging and their sense of Tamilness in the homeland of Sri Lanka and the new home of Australia. I highlight how first- and second-generation ideologies regarding Tamil identity and belonging are changing with time, largely due to new interpretations of “being Tamil” that vary between and within generations. At the same time, as a result of the threat to Tamil culture in Sri Lanka, there is an enduring sense of duty to maintain the language, religion and culture outside of the homeland. 2020 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79456 10.1007/978-981-15-1369-5_10 Palgrave Pivot restricted
spellingShingle Perera, Niru
Tamil Weekends: Intergenerational Perspectives on Belonging
title Tamil Weekends: Intergenerational Perspectives on Belonging
title_full Tamil Weekends: Intergenerational Perspectives on Belonging
title_fullStr Tamil Weekends: Intergenerational Perspectives on Belonging
title_full_unstemmed Tamil Weekends: Intergenerational Perspectives on Belonging
title_short Tamil Weekends: Intergenerational Perspectives on Belonging
title_sort tamil weekends: intergenerational perspectives on belonging
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79456