Fluctuating “Indianness” or “Belonging”
Singapore Indian Dancers and Their Encounter with Southeast Asia at Ramayana Festival
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/arv.2025.8Keywords:
Indian performing arts, Ramayana festival, cultural negotiation, Indian diaspora, indianess, identity and belonging, SingaporeAbstract
The Ramayana was introduced to Southeast Asia through commercial and cultural exchange between India and these nations, which was influenced by the historical process of Indianization. In each of these countries, the Ramayana played a significant role in the development of both the written language and oral tradition, and it also transformed into various art forms, including dance, drama, shadow plays, paintings, sculpture, and architecture. In Singapore, Ramayana traditions are predominantly maintained among the Indian diasporas. Today, Singapore Indian performing arts groups often represent Singapore as a symbol of a multicultural society at international arts events such as the Ramayana festival. This paper will focus on the incident of Singapore Indian dancers and their encounter with Southeast Asia at the Ramayana Festival in Bangkok. It will investigate the reflexive processes that occur in the construction and representation of identity among Singapore Indian dancers through their experiences.
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