Oral naratives of the Indian migrants in Singapore

• Main Author: Vu, Giang Thanh
• Other Authors: Pang Lee San, Natalie
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/54544
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Oral history in Singapore has been a function under the umbrella of National Archives with the focus on capturing primary data that could fill in the gaps in national history and memory. However, there is one gap missed out in the existing oral history projects carried out by Singapore Oral History Centre: oral history of the Indian migrants in Singapore. A multi ethnic country, Singapore is the host to generations of migrants from all over Asia with the Indian community being the third largest ethnic group in Singapore. This particular community has a complex and valuable heritage that is facing the threat of disappearance due to lack of documenting and preservation efforts. This dissertation serves as a pilot study proposed to bridge that gap by collecting oral narratives of a small sample size of Indian migrants using thematic interview method instead of biographic interview method. Ten interviews were conducted and audio recorded in this study. The collected oral history recordings were then transcribed and analyzed to explore the oral stories exchanged between different generations of Indian migrants for the purpose of (but not limited to) adaptation, building family/community bonds, preserving Indian culture and traditions. Religion, family origins, wedding and funeral rituals emerged as a dominant themes in the narratives told. Also through this finding, age was identified as the demographic factor that affects the types of stories exchanged. A classification method was also proposed to organize the collected recordings.