Family, Gender, and Mobility among Passenger Migrants into Colonial Natal: The Story of Moosa Hajee Cassim (c.1840s–1921)

Abstract

Moosa Hajee Cassim of Porbandar on the west coast of India arrived in Natal on the south-eastern shore of Africa in 1881 as part of the ‘passenger’ migrant stream that followed in the wake of the recruitment of indentured labourers to the colony. Moosa was deeply involved in the political, economic, social and religious life of Indians in Natal. While there is a growing body of work on indentured migrants, the historiography of passenger Indians (those who came of their own volition) is in its embryonic stage. One reason is the dearth of obvious sources. This article proposes to overcome this limitation through biographical research that draws on archival sources such as estates’ records, immigration department records, court cases, and, where possible, oral history. This partial reconstruction of Moosa Hajee Cassim’s story underscores mobility between Indian Ocean port cities facilitated by new forms of transportation and communication, the strong connection between migrants and their places of origin, and how family and gender migration shaped and reshaped one another. The creative use of multiple archival sources and oral history to construct biographical research on other passenger migrants has the potential to provide a more comprehensive picture of the passenger migrant experience.