Dundee, migration, and the historic jute trade: interweaving Bengali-Dundee cemetery practices and spaces

Beebeejaun, Y., House, D. and Maddrell, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2941-498X (2023) Dundee, migration, and the historic jute trade: interweaving Bengali-Dundee cemetery practices and spaces. In: Maddrell, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2941-498X, Kmec, S., Uteng, T. P. and Westendorp, M. (eds.) Mobilities in Life and Death. Negotiating Room for Migrants and Minorities in European Cemeteries. IMISCOE Research Series (IMIS). Springer, Cham, pp. 87-103. ISBN 9783031282836 doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-28284-3_5

Abstract/Summary

In this chapter we draw on both postcolonial and mobilities scholarship to engage with the neglected intersections between mobilities and colonialism. Specifically, we argue this colonial legacy set the conditions for present day Bengali and other Scottish Muslims to create their understandings of home and belonging. We explore this idea through the development and negotiation of Muslim burial space in the city, and see how the claiming of rights, in this case the right to a dignified burial, is entangled with multi-generational senses of belonging, practices of faith, and experiences of bureaucracy. We first explore the legacy of colonial connections between Dundee and the Bengal Delta and outline the history of the jute trade between these regions. After a brief discussion on methodology, we secondly discuss Dundee’s Muslim communities and their histories and experiences of migration. Finally, we trace the development of Muslim burial in the city to situate ethnic difference within a wider landscape of citizenship and belonging. We argue that through situating the death practices and decision-making of ethnic minority communities within a wider understanding of how mobilities impact upon their life experiences, and within a larger postcolonial context, we understand spaces of death as part of the making of minority identities in Scotland.

Item Type	Book or Report Section
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/112487
Item Type	Book or Report Section
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Geography and Environmental Science
Publisher	Springer, Cham
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