Ramleela in Trinidad: An enduring representation of ‘Indianness’

Story of girmitiyas

Britain banned slave trade in 1807, and finally abolished slavery in the British Empire in 1834. This created a labour crisis in many British colonies dependent on slave labour — including in Trinidad whose economy revolved around slave-run sugar plantations.

In 1838, the enactment of the emancipation legislation in Trinidad was followed by a large-scale emigration of emancipated slaves from the sugar estates. Plantation owners thus turned to indentured labour from India. The very first boatload of indentured Indians came to Trinidad on May 30, 1845.

While seen as more humane than slavery, indentured servitude was nonetheless brutal for labourers. ‘Agents’ back in India would lure unsuspecting Indians with the promise of riches and opportunity, but hold back a part of the labourer’s wages till the end of the contract.

This effectively ensured that labourers would be under bondage while working in back breaking conditions on plantations in faraway lands. These labourers were colloquially called girmitiyas, a corruption of the word “agreement” that the labourers had to sign.

“Use of indentured labour from colonies like India… unfolds a story of uneven power relations, between labour in the colonies and capital in the ruling country under State patronage,” economist Sunanda Sen wrote in ‘Indentured Labour from India in the Age of Empire’ (2016).

Indians arrived in Trinidad till about 1917, mostly from present-day eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Carrying Ram across seas

Indians travelling to distant lands were not able to bring much with them, except for their culture.

“Although Indian Hindus carried only a few belongings to Trinidad, they are said to have brought the Manas [Ramcharitmanas], either in memory or book form,” Paula Richman wrote in her paper ‘Ramlila in Trinidad’ (2010). Most, she wrote, grew up hearing the text recited and watching it enacted.

A girmitiya basket weaver in Trinidad, 1915. Wikimedia Commons

This is how Ramleela arrived in Trinidad. In villages in the countryside, thronged by Indians speaking Bhojpuri and eating chapatis, Ramleela saw widespread participation of the community.

“Elders who used to play particular roles coach new players. Experts supervise ritual preparation of the grounds. Someone with a large work shed or garage lets the stage crew use it to construct the effigy… Teams of women cook mouth-watering culinary specialties roasted over open fires and served hot each night of the performance,” Richman wrote.

Decline and rejuvenation

By the later half of the 19th century, however, the popularity of Ramleela began to wane. As formal education spread, Bhojpuri was slowly replaced by English among the Indian population — younger generations were simply not as familiar with the Manas.

Urbanisation also played a part. As Indians steadily migrated to urban spaces and erstwhile rural spaces became steadily more urban, many left behind their former social life that revolved around Hindu festivals.

But as audiences dwindled, innovation thrived. Today, gender and caste restrictions on participation have been loosened, new dramatic techniques embraced, and dialogue simplified to appeal to younger audiences. And with Indian-origin Trinidadians becoming richer and powerful in the country, Ramleela has enjoyed renewed patronage.

Despite changes, however, the essence of the story and performance remain the same. “The fundamental anchor of Ramlilas in Trinidad remains the Ramcharitmanas… Audiences continue to absorb the teachings of the Manas at Ramlila, whether they realise it or not, and whether they understand Hindi or not,” Richman wrote.

In Trinidad, Ramleela remains the foremost representation of one’s Indianness, an anchor to one’s roots which has evolved over time to become quintessentially Trinidadian.

This is an edited version of an article first published in 2023.