A slice of Kerala’s slave-trade history

  • | Thursday | 13th December, 2018

Slave trade is a slice of Kerala history that has been little explored. Williamson has also another exhibit at biennale ‘Message from the Atlantic Passages’ that documents Atlantic slave trade KOCHI: Between 1660 and 1860, tens of thousands of slaves were captured from countries like India, Indonesia Madagascar and brought to Cape Town in South Africa by the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) or Dutch East India Company . “When I started explaining the concept behind the work to art mediators they said they were unaware of that bit of history,” said Williamson, who has engaged with slave trade, truth and reconciliation process in the postapartheid era through her art.For the project Williamson relied on transaction records from Cape Town deeds office that accounted enslavement of Indians in the 17th century. The clothes have been dipped in muddy water around Cape Town Castle, a site of enslavement, to symbolize the oppression and hard labour they endeavoured.One Hundred and Nineteen Deeds of Sale, an installation by Sue Williamson, currently on show at Aspinwall House, is an effort to document the plight of these slaves who made the trip from Cochin to Cape Town in ships owned by Dutch East India Company.“I was stuck by parallel history of colonisation shared by both port cities,” said Williamson, whose installations, videos and performances shed light on neglected histories.

KOCHI: Between 1660 and 1860, tens of thousands of slaves were captured from countries like India, Indonesia Madagascar and brought to Cape Town in South Africa by the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) or Dutch East India Company . A good many of them were ‘sourced’ by them from Malabar coast and given Dutch Christian first names before being sold locally in the South African port town known as Cape of Good Hope.At the waterfront side of Aspinwall House, fluttering in the wind on a clothesline supported by traditional dobhi khana poles, are muddied white shirts that bear names like Carol, Jacob, David, Antoni – men and women brought and sold as chattel by colonial traders, who further dehumanized them by robbing them of their names.The shirts have been printed with details like their age and name of the slave owner. The clothes have been dipped in muddy water around Cape Town Castle, a site of enslavement, to symbolize the oppression and hard labour they endeavoured.One Hundred and Nineteen Deeds of Sale, an installation by Sue Williamson, currently on show at Aspinwall House, is an effort to document the plight of these slaves who made the trip from Cochin to Cape Town in ships owned by Dutch East India Company.“I was stuck by parallel history of colonisation shared by both port cities,” said Williamson, whose installations, videos and performances shed light on neglected histories. Slave trade is a slice of Kerala history that has been little explored. “When I started explaining the concept behind the work to art mediators they said they were unaware of that bit of history,” said Williamson, who has engaged with slave trade, truth and reconciliation process in the postapartheid era through her art.For the project Williamson relied on transaction records from Cape Town deeds office that accounted enslavement of Indians in the 17th century. Williamson has also another exhibit at biennale ‘Message from the Atlantic Passages’ that documents Atlantic slave trade

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Latest Kochi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles

Vyttila flyover concrete work over
  • Wednesday | 27th May, 2020
New normal for cops, prisoners
  • Wednesday | 27th May, 2020