Cultural Memory and the Shaping of Identity

Abstract

There are many nomadic groups that have lost their cultural identity during the processes of migrations. Such cultural groups often claim their identity through the cultural memory and the traditional aspects of their lives. Many scholars have taken up the cultural memory or the oral narratives of such communities as a valid proof to understand the cultural identity of the community. But in all the cases the cultural memory may not reflect upon the cultural identity of a community. Focusing on the cultural memory of the Gadaliya Luhar community of India, the present paper seeks to understand how the cultural memory shapes the identity of a community in the time of cultural amnesia. The Gadaliya Luhar community, a historical nomadic group, claims its association with the king of the Mewar region of Rajasthan, Maharana Pratap. After the defeat by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, the Mewar region came under the Muslim rule in the sixteenth century – later followed by the British rule in the nineteenth century. To save their religion from the attacks of the Muslim invaders, the members of this community left the Mewar and migrated to the different parts of the medieval India with a promise that they would come back to free their motherland. These double cultural amnesias, in the Mughal and later in the British Empire, demolished the identity of the Gadaliya Luhars. This paper also tries to assess the authenticity of the cultural memory in the light of some historical documents available on the history of the Gadaliya Luhar community. The paper also seeks to address the following query: can the cultural memory or oral narratives be taken as a valid proof for understanding the cultural identity of a community? If yes, to what extent?