LIAS Kolloquium: Decolonizing African Identity and History: Institutional Practices, State Intervention, and Artistic Sovereignty in Germany and India
Koyal Verma, LIAS Fellow
20. Jan
In the winter semester 2026/27, the LIAS Colloquium will open its doors to the university community for the first time. The Fellows will present their current research projects, offering insights into the questions, methods and perspectives that shape their work. The weekly colloquium provides a space for focused exchange on the diverse research projects pursued at LIAS. All members of the university community are warmly invited to discover the programme and engage with the Fellows’ research.
Date: Wednesday, 20 Jan 2027, 12:15-1:45 p.m.
Location:Campus | Central Building C40.704
How does the Indian state position the African-Indian community and its cultural heritage? How does the commercialization of the ‘Dhamal dance’ affect cultural heritage and art forms? Global discussions of the African diaspora often overlook South Asia. Even the Indian textual archives have kept Siddi history at the margins. This research attempts to decolonize African identity by shifting the focus to the Siddi practitioner. Dhamal, as a dance form, symbolizes embodied cultural memory and descent. However, the African-Indian community (Siddi) is recognized as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) by the Indian state. These categories overlook the Siddi’s enslavement, military service and spiritual authority. This suggests a loss of heritage. But traces of Siddi history appear in the Tribal Research Museum (Ahmedabad), Kutch Museum (Bhuj), Darbar Hall Museum (Junagadh), and the National Museum (New Delhi). The museums are entangled with the colonial gaze through their anthropological taxonomies. In this context, this research first outlines the taxonomies the Indian state uses to represent the Siddi community and its cultural heritage. Second, it outlines the anthropological frameworks used by the ethnological museums to represent Siddi identity and history. Third, it outlines the changes in the art form due to commercialization and marketisation of Dhamal. It outlines how commercialization leads to the loss of cultural heritage. Fourth, it outlines the ritualistic interpretations and cultural meaning of Dhamal dance for the Siddi community. It revisits the African-Indian heritage positioning in Dhamal. This research argues that the colonial construction of race and tribe has influenced the post-colonial identity of the African diaspora. It also outlines how Dhamal dance can contribute to decolonization by recentering on South Asian Siddi practitioners. Dhamal dance serves as a site for producing counter-archives and counter-narratives of African identity and history.