religious maintenance and adaptation: an example from the south australian hindu diaspora

© 2008 The AuthorJournal Compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Religion Compass 2/3 (2008): 316–330, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00073.x

Religious Maintenance and Adaptation: An Example from the South Australian Hindu Diaspora

Heather Foster*University of South Australia

AbstractRaymond Williams in A Sacred Thread: Modern Transmission of Hindu Traditions inIndia and Abroad (1992) identified different strategies within Hindu communitiesoutside India, specifically in the USA, which enabled adaptation to the hostcommunity to occur while maintaining (and adjusting) religious beliefs andpractices within the diaspora. J. R. Hinnells subsequently proposed ten factors forchange and continuity in diaspora religion. These approaches form a usefulanalytical tool for understanding the manner in which Hinduism has developed,and is developing, in South Australia. This article examines the development ofdiaspora Hinduism in the Australian cities of Adelaide and Whyalla, in the lightof both Williams’ and Hinnells’ categories. A comparison of the strategies of thesmaller Whyalla community is juxtaposed against the more developed and largerAdelaide Hindu community, highlighting the similarities and differences betweendistinctive communities in different circumstances. Scholarship by Williams andHinnells is useful in providing a framework for understanding the developmentswithin these communities in Australia.

Introduction

RAYMOND WILLIAMS’ STRATEGIES

Williams contributed to an understanding of Hindus within the USAthrough his scholarship (1992, 2004). In a chapter entitled ‘SacredThreads of Several Textures: Strategies of adaptation in the United States’(Williams 1992), he identified different strategies within the Indiancommunity, with an emphasis on the Hindu community, which enabledadaptation to the host community to occur while maintaining (albeitadjusting) religious beliefs and practices within the USA. He suggestedthat five different strategies for the adaptation of Hinduism in the USAhad occurred. They were as follows: (i) individual; (ii) national; (iii)ecumenical; (iv) ethnic; and (v) hierarchical.

© 2008 The Author Religion Compass 2/3 (2008): 316–330, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00073.xJournal Compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Religious Maintenance and Adaptation 317

Individual StrategyThe individual strategy, as the name suggests, is concerned with personalreligious maintenance. It is operative when individuals involved in theimmigration process preserve their ‘. . . religious identity through acts inprivate or its opposite in the private disregard for any religious heritage’(Williams 1992, p. 232). Maintained private practices included mainte-nance of a home shrine and the performance of family rituals.

National StrategyThe national stage that Williams described takes as its reference thecolonial legacy, which superimposed a national identity on Indians. Wil-liams described the development of and support for numerous culturalorganisations by the community. This was only possible once thecommunity expanded sufficiently to be able to maintain these organisa-tions. Cultural organisations have a variety of different forms as theysponsor ‘. . . performances in film, dance, theater, and music, honorpoliticians and bureaucrats from India, observe all-India political andcultural holidays’ (Williams 1992, p. 235). Although these organisationsare theoretically secular in nature and promoting an Indian identity,Williams reports that, indeed, they tend to become unofficially Hinduand include religious aspects within them and therefore function to assistin the maintenance of Hinduism in the diaspora.

Ecumenical StrategyThe ecumenical strategy includes a pan-Hindu emphasis. In this strategy,there is an emphasis and construction of the commonalities within Hin-duism over diversity, including regional diversity. Temples are constructedaround pan-Indian deities rather than regional deities, universallyaccepted texts such as the Bhagavad Gita are highlighted, and the festivalsthat are celebrated are also pan-Hindu (Williams 1992, p. 239).

Ethnic StrategyThe ethnic strategy emphasizes diversity, which occurs when a significantnumber of individual ethnic (regional/ language) groups are foundwithin the same location. Williams suggests that the combination of‘. . . ethnic and religious elements in personal and group identity has apowerful attraction for first-generation immigrants, more powerful thanthe union of Indian national elements with either secular elements orwith an ecumenical Hinduism’ (1992, p. 241).

Hierarchical StrategyThe final strategy of adaptation is hierarchical, which Williams describesas being concentrated upon loyalty to a living religious leader. Heincluded Sathya Sai Baba among these leaders. This loyalty to a leadercuts across regional/ethnic groups (Williams 1992, p. 243).

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J. R. HINNELLS’ TEN FACTORS for change and continuity

Hinnells suggested ten ‘[f]actors for change and continuity in DiapsoraReligion’ (1998, p. 821). As with Williams’ work, it is clearly focussedon the developing community rather than subsequent growth of matu-ration. This latter area of research Hinnells addresses in the same chapterby using the work of Kim Knott (1998). The ten factors Hinnells’proposes are summarized as:

1. Where people come from2. The perceptions of the new country with which people come3. The nature of the immigration process4. What people were before they migrated5. When people migrated6. With whom they migrated7. To where people migrated8. What people do in their lives after they have settled9. Who people are10. External factors.

(Hinnells 1998, pp. 821–6)Hinnells suggests that both the country and region from which indi-

viduals migrate influence the changes and continuity of their religionwithin the diaspora. This includes such aspects as the degree to whichtheir religion may have previously evolved, whether they came from arural or urban setting and the ‘twice migrant’ (via another diaspora)experience. Perceptions of the new country may include feelings ofconcern and negativity, for example, ill feeling towards Britain due to itscolonial past in India, to concerns about strong conservative Christianinfluences.

The motivation for migration is also an influencing factor. As Hinnellssuggests, those who migrate in order to advance their education or careerare inclined to adapt more readily than those who feel forced to movefor economic reasons. Education levels and religious knowledge alsoinfluence what occurs in the diaspora.

There is a significant difference between those who migrated in theearly stages of a community and those who came at a later stage. ‘Whenpeople migrated’ and ‘with whom they migrated’, also includes suchfactors as whether they came as a group, family or individual. The areain which they settled and the religious resources, if any, that may havebeen available to them, were also determining factors.

Hinnells further suggests differing experiences for individuals due tothe paths they follow. For example, women who remain in the domesticsphere differ in the way in which they retain or change their practices,from women who work outside the home. Professionals will have differingexperiences from non-professionals. Gender, education and specific



careers were determining factors for Hinnells. Finally, external circum-stances such as the media or negative stereotyping were importantinfluences on the diaspora community.

When looking at the ways the members of the Hindu community inSouth Australia have maintained their religion, it is interesting to do so inthe light of the strategies of adaptation Raymond Williams identified andthe factors for change and continuity proposed by Hinnells. A consider-able amount of data regarding the maintenance of Hinduism among theHindu community in South Australia was collected during research formy thesis entitled Accommodating difference: the Cultural Construction of theHindu Women of South Australia (Foster 2002). My own findings regardingthe manner in which Hinduism has been maintained within the SouthAustralian context will be discussed in the light of Williams’ strategies andHinnells’ factors. As this article is concerned primarily with the estab-lishment of the community rather than its maturation, early datacollected are relevant to this process rather than more recent updatedresearch, although this will be tapped into to enhance the material wherenecessary.

Indian Migration to South Australia

The history of Indian migration to Australia has been extensively dealtwith by scholars, including Bilimoria (1989, 1996, 1998) and De Leper-vanche (1984), and a history of Indian migration to South Australia wasreconstructed from primary sources for a 1994 conference paper (Fosterunpublished); however, a brief summary of the major events is requiredin order to understand the development of the Hindu community. AsHinnells suggests, the profile of the people who came, their motives andcircumstancess influences the changes that occur.

There have been a number of small groups of Indians in South Australiafrom the mid-nineteenth century. Initially, South Australia was one of thedestinations for indentured labourers, followed by the arrival of smallnumbers of free labourers in the 1860s (Cigler 1986, p. 11; De Leper-vanche 1984, Foster 1994). Indian immigration to South Australia was,however, effectively curtailed due to the introduction of the ImmigrationRestriction Act in 1901, more commonly known as the White AustraliaPolicy. This policy was originally designed to stem the flow of Chinesemigrants who were attracted to the Australian goldfields, but all non-whitegroups were denied access to Australia through the administration of adictation test. Not only did it disadvantage the Chinese but other indi-viduals termed ‘non-white’. Although the application of the policy wasdiluted in its last two decades of operation, it was not rescinded until theearly 1970s and only remnants of the original wave of Indians werepresent in South Australia prior to the rescission (De Lepervanche 1984;Foster 1994; Bilimoria 1996).

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The most significant group for the development of Hinduism in SouthAustralia, and the last to migrate, consists of those who immigratedas individuals or small family units commencing when the ImmigrationRestriction Act was less stringently applied in the 1960s (Tinker 1977,pp. 8–9; De Lepervanche 1984; Bilimoria 1996), accelerating duringthe 1970s and continuing today. These immigrants tend to be urbanIndians and, until recently, predominantly professionals. This profes-sional group has immigrated to a number of countries, including theUSA and Australia, hence the similar profile between Hindus in theUSA and South Australia.

The initial urban professionals filled a niche within Australian society,specifically within those professions in which insufficient numbers of Aus-tralian graduates were available in such fields as medicine and tertiaryeducation. In more recent times, it would appear that the niche haschanged, and Indians have been allowed to immigrate in order to fillpositions within the computer industry, as well as in semi-skilled posi-tions. There has also been a significant increase in the number ofindividuals coming to study at South Australian Universities. Hence, theprofile of the community has started to change in the twenty-first century,although Hindus are still migrating to South Australia individually or insmall family units (Foster 2007).

The different strategies Williams found within the USA can beverified in South Australia. As Williams suggests, a combination ofthese strategies can be identified at any time, with different strategiesbeing applicable to different phases in the development of thecommunity. It is interesting to look at the development of thecommunities and also to compare the urban setting of Adelaide withthe smaller industrial city of Whyalla, northwest of Adelaide, in thelight of Williams’ categories. The changes and adaptations in thesecommunities will also be discussed in light of Hinnells’ ten factors forchange.

It is the group of educated professionals who came as individuals fromthe 1960 who will be the focus of this analysis of the development ofHinduism in South Australia. I will be drawing primarily on data col-lected as part of my doctoral studies, although subsequent research willalso be included. The doctoral research consisted of an ethnographic studyof the community generally with a concentration on the women in thecommunity. This involved participant observation of community events,both religious and secular, observations in domestic settings, and question-naires and interviews, specifically with women, in both locations.

Adelaide and Whyalla

Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and has a population of just overone million people. At the time of the study in the late 1990s, there were



just over 1,000 people identified as Hindus, with the numbers increasingsince that time. Whyalla is the second largest city in South Australia. It issituated 396 km north of Adelaide on the upper Spencer Gulf. Althoughthe Hindu population of Whyalla has since declined, the data werecollected from the time when there were around 100 Hindus in theregion.

The Development of Hinduism in South Australia

Many of the early migrants to Adelaide and Whyalla, from professionalgroups, continued Hindu practices individually, and in private, throughthe establishment and maintenance of home shrines and the celebrationof festivals. Although this was a primary feature of Hinduism in the earlystages when the community was very small, it remains the preferredmeans of practice by some individuals, even when a larger communitywas formed. Hinnells suggests that the area in which Hindus settle, as wellas with whom they make the journey, influences the development ofHinduism and, in the case of both Adelaide and Whyalla, the lack of anestablished Hindu community and migration taking place individually oras a nuclear family, affected the initial form in which Hinduism wasmaintained. In Adelaide, individual private religious maintenance stillexists alongside other strategies and it is important for Hindu students,who live outside family units, and have come to study in South Australia,of late in increasing numbers. Many of these students frequently use theHindu temple for their individual religious and cultural maintenance(Foster 2007).

With the fluctuating Hindu population in Whyalla, the maintenance ofHinduism has gone full cycle from being individual, through communal,to reverting to an individual activity as the numbers of Hindus in Whyalladeclined with the restructuring of the industries attracting Indian profes-sionals.

As the communities in Adelaide and Whyalla increased in size, fromthe early stages, Hinduism was developed with pan-Indian and ecumenicalparameters, and differences were glossed over in order for some sense ofsimilarity to be highlighted (Foster 2002). Organisations evolved withpan-Indian cultural agendas. As the community expanded, Indian culturalevents became a frequent part of the Adelaide landscape. Families vied tohost visiting Indian dignitaries and artists, while community and privatedinners for such Indian officials as the Indian Consul to Australia havealways attracted great interest and support from the Indian community.

The very active Indian Australian Association of South Australia(IAASA) was established by three families in 1967, and by 1971 haddeveloped and become formalized with a constitution (http://www.iaasa.asn.au/). It remains one of the prime voices for Indians inSouth Australia, as well as a spring-board for leadership within the

http://www.iaasa.asn.au/

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community. Most recently (August 2007), the current President, MrsPromila Gupta, was honoured by the South Australian Premier at a pres-tigious reception celebrating the 60th anniversary of Indian independence.

A variety of cultural events, the most significant being the annual Mela,are sponsored by the IAASA. It also organizes Indian representation inAustralia Day and Indian Independence Day events, both of which arecelebrated on 26 January. Another celebration under the auspices of theIAASA is that of Divali. Although Hindu in origin, this festivity is spon-sored as a pan-Indian event by the association, as well as being upheldwithin the family and ethnic/linguistic groups. It is an occasion whenIndian Australians invite non-Indian friends to share in their community’sculture.

A number of other cultural organisations were formed in Adelaide suchas Sruti, a group organizing concerts by local artists, as well as largerfunctions featuring overseas artists. The number and focus of these cul-tural organisations have expanded with the increased numbers within theIndian community.

The central role played by IAASA has been modified in recent yearsand today it tends to be an umbrella organization for cultural organiza-tions with specific foci. It does provide a generic Indian focus for themaintenance of an Indian identity; however, at times it also incorporatesreligious aspects. For example, Hindu devotion has preceded dancing ormusical performance at IAASA events and, therefore, although seeminglysecular, there are often religious undertones to the events. Christian Indi-ans have their own association called Club India, which functions as analternative to the IAASA. Club India has representatives who liaize, andare associated, with the IAASA committee. This seems to indicate thatreligion may well be a factor in the formation of Indian organizations inSouth Australia.

Indians from Whyalla, when the community developed in size andbefore the decline in numbers, also celebrated national events andconducted cultural performances, although in a limited form. This wasinitiated by individuals in the community on an informal basis as nostructured organization existed in the community. There was a connectionbetween Hindus in Whyalla and Adelaide in a number of areas, includingsome Whyalla Indians belonging to the IAASA in Adelaide.

Public religious activities for South Australian Hindus began with thecelebration of festivals. While the community was still small, festivals wereoften held in private homes where groups of Hindus congregated for jointcelebrations, regardless of individual difference in ethnic/linguistic identi-fication or caste. Venues outside the home were often too expensive forthe community to hire. Bhajan (devotional singing) sessions within the homesof individuals developed, with the wider community being involved. Asthe community expanded, fortnightly meetings and specific festivals wereheld in the government-owned migrant centre, free of charge.



The communities in both Adelaide and Whyalla included memberswith significant religious knowledge, and a number of Brahman men wereable to provide religious rituals for the communities. This was an impor-tant element in the establishment and maintenance of Hinduism in thediaspora.

By the mid-1980s, Hinduism had become more established, with theopening of a Hindu temple in Adelaide. The ecumenical nature of thistemple was demonstrated by choice of Ganesha as the main deity. Ganeshawas chosen as a compromise, being pan-Hindu rather than region specific.The temple represented compromise and focussed upon commonalitieswithin Hinduism, therefore reinforcing the ecumenical ideals. Theecumenical or pan-Indian focus of the temple has remained to this day,although it also functions as the site for celebrations by specific regionalgroups (Foster 2007).

The opening of the temple was important for not only communalworship, communal celebrations and private temple worship, but also forcultural activities such as dance, and as a centre for language teaching. Itpromoted an ecumenical form of Hinduism and, today, it has become afocal point for Indian students as the ecumenical nature of the temple hasenabled commonalities to be emphasized in the diaspora (Foster 2007).

In Whyalla, the emphasis on similarities rather than differences waseven more important. Individual Hindus connected with others, throughfinding commonalities within their religious practices and assumptions, asa larger group. What Hindus in Whyalla held in common took on primaryimportance, due to the limited number in their community. Although atemple has not been built there, central meeting places, both private andpublic, have been used in order to celebrate pan-Indian religious andsecular national events.

With the growth of the community, regional language affiliations havebecome increasingly important within the Hindu community in Adelaide.When the temple was extended, tensions arose as to the focus of thetemple, since it was then seen by some to reflect a south Indian focus.The incumbent temple priest is from a Tamil-speaking background, andthis has added to North Indians’ perception that it is becoming less ecu-menical and more ethnically oriented. Worship is often split betweentimes when Hindi or Tamil is the main medium for communication.Families often sponsor pujas (ritual worship), inviting members of theirown social groups, and this can highlight linguistic differences within thetemple.

A number of women who participated in the original interview processfor the thesis suggested that they did not attend the temple at certain timesdue to their lack of understanding of the main language used on theseoccasions. Therefore, they felt outside the group (Foster 2002). Fromthese accounts, it would appear that there were ethnic concerns withinthe temple. The temple was acting as a site of exclusion as well as of

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inclusion. That said, the main thrust of the temple is still ecumenical innature, and considerable effort is being made to maintain this. The templein this context performs a dual purpose as it is a site where an ecumenicalform of Hinduism is maintained but, alternatively, it enables specificregional/linguistic groups to use this sacred space in order to reinforce aspecifically ethnically oriented Hinduism.

It was not only in the temple that regional/linguistic affiliation was seento be important. It was clear that festivals, for which the whole commu-nity in Adelaide would gather when it was small, were celebrated bydifferent regional/linguistic groups once the Adelaide community becamelarge enough. For example, Bengalis come together to celebrate Durgapuja, and Marathis celebrate Ganesha Churturthy. Regional celebrationstook on a heightened importance outside the family group, as thecommunity expanded. For Divali, as previously suggested, a series ofcelebrations often occur. Family and friends may join together for onecelebration, another will be held by the regional/language group, and thewider community will have a final celebration hosted by IAASA. Themultiple allegiances and strategies for religious maintenance are evident inthis pan-Indian festival, but it seemed to lack the level of importance thatthe other more specifically religious festivals engendered.

The performance of regional practices has assisted in the maintenanceof a regional identity. There appeared to be a strong desire, withinAdelaide, for more regional specific Hinduism, rather than, or even aswell as, an ecumenical Hinduism. Ecumenical Hinduism seemed to beappropriate to a specific stage of development in the community andprovided an important strategy for religious maintenance, but it did notappear to supplant regional/language difference within Hinduism. Thatstated, subsequent generations may, in fact, reduce Hinduism to an ecu-menical form due to the lack of knowledge of the diversity within thereligion, and lack of knowledge of regional difference.

The use of regional languages may be a key to reinforcing regionalidentity. The lack of emphasis on teaching Indian languages to children,which was discussed by many of the early immigrants, may militate againstthe continuation of a regional identity. However, it does appear that, inmore recent times, a reassessment has occurred, with a greater emphasisbeing placed on teaching Indian languages. The extent to which this willbe taken up by subsequent generations is unknown.

The continued development of regional/linguistic groups may also bedetermined by the subsequent growth in migration to South Australiaand, therefore, the changes in size and regional configuration of theHindu community in that state.

A close association with India and ease of travel enable many Hindusto maintain contact with their ethnic identity. Pilgrimages to sacredsites in India connected to family and regional deities are common prac-tices for Hindus in the South Australian diaspora, and they assist the



maintenance of a regionally specific form of Hinduism, thus confirmingthe place of the individual within a familial and ethnic context. Thedevelopment, within the diaspora, of extensive gatherings of regionalgroups has facilitated an affiliation to a specific area of the subcontinent,and hence has reinforced diversity within the general South AustralianHindu community. Region-specific Hinduism appeared to be becomingmore important, rather than less, within the Hindu community inAdelaide, certainly for first-generation immigrants.

The celebration of festivals within the Marathi community provides aninteresting example of the way in which a regional language group func-tions within the larger Hindu community. For Marathis, the festivals ofGanesha Churturthy and Dashera hold important places, and specialcelebrations are held for the community within private houses. For exam-ple, Ganesha Churturthy, which continues for 5 days in Adelaide,involves, on the first night, a special puja at the temple, while thecommunity meet for the next four nights at a private home where elab-orate preparations have been made over a period of several months. Whenthe Marathi community first started to celebrate Ganesha Churturthy asa group, there were apparently eight to ten Marathi families in Adelaide,while it was reported that, at the time of the interviews, this number hadincreased to between 35 and 40 families (Foster 2002). One Marathifamily had taken on the responsibility of hosting Ganesha Churturthyeach year for the Marathi community, while another family hostedDashera. The family initially hosting the Ganesha Churturthy whennumbers were more manageable, would host a dinner on one night forMarathis while, on an alternative night, non-Marathis were invited. At thetime of the study, too many people (40 to 50 each night) attended to beable to host a dinner. An ethnic strategy is still an important means ofmaintaining Hinduism, although accommodations have occurred over theyears with increased migration.

Regional/language groups are also active across diaspora communities,echoing Bilimoria’s findings regarding the importance of global diasporanetworks (2007). Attendance by members of the Adelaide community wasreported at a conference for Marathis living outside India in Boston, inthe USA, in 1997. In Australia, similar but smaller gatherings haveoccurred, drawing Marathis together from across Australia. For many, thedesire to participate in ethnic cultural events is certainly evident.

Although caste did not appear to be operative in maintaining Hinduismor the formation of groups, one Tamil woman interviewed suggested that,because the Tamil community in Adelaide was now a large community,it was difficult for it to gather as a whole for festivals, and she believed ithad split into lower and higher caste groups. There was no other evidenceof specific caste gatherings in South Australia.

In Whyalla, the community was so small that it did not appear thatregional/language groups or castes were particularly operative.

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The original study found interest in, and organization around, differentneo-Hindu concepts and gurus. In South Australia, one of the mostprominent groups was organized around Sathya Sai Baba, who was thefocus of worship and community activity for Hindu women and men, aswell as attracting non-Indian devotees. For Hindus, Sai Baba worship wasnot a replacement for other forms of religious maintenance but, generally,an addition to them. A number of Sai Baba groups existed in Adelaide atthe time of the study, attracting approximately 500 to 600 people, a thirdof them being Indian, with a total of seven centres being mentioned.Some had a greater number of Indians than non-Indians, although allwere mixed. Worship, bhajan singing, the celebration of festivals and host-ing guest speakers were all activities that were part of the centres.

There has been considerable division within the Sai Baba groups overthe years, with different factions arising. New groups have formed whenproblems have arisen. The size of individual groups has fluctuated, withthe Elizabeth (an outer Adelaide suburb) group at one stage acquiring achurch in which to worship. When problems occurred over the incorpo-ration of the group, the church was subsequently sold. Joint celebrationswere held for such occasions as Sathya Sai Baba’s birthday and these couldattract around 200 people, with approximately half from an Indianbackground.

The situation in Whyalla was extremely interesting, as the community’sreligious life seemed to be organized by one individual, who could bedescribed as an extraordinary woman. Her family was traditionally devo-tees of Shirdi Baba but she did not see any distinction between Shirdi andSathya Sai Baba. As she was extremely revered and respected within thecommunity, due to her influence, Sai Baba had ipso facto become a centralfigure in the religious life of Hindus in Whyalla. Even for those membersof the community who did not identify themselves as adherents to SaiBaba, community activities and worship were organized around Sai Baba.

In the absence of a formal temple, the woman’s family home hadbecome the community temple. The deities were attended to on a dailybasis and, when the woman was absent from Whyalla, other womenattended the shrine. Her house (which she referred to as Whyalla’stemple) was the centre for religious activity in Whyalla. Bhajan sessions,prayers, offerings of prasad, the celebration of festivals and specialoccasions, including such samskaras as first feeding, were all performed atthis ‘temple’.

The main focus of the ‘temple’ was Sathya Sai Baba, although deitiesother than Shirdi Baba (an earlier incarnation of Sathya) and Sathya SaiBaba were represented in the shrine. Not everyone who used this space,or attended the functions, was a Sathya Sai Baba adherent, but it appearsthat the convenience of having a religious centre to use was more impor-tant than the specific orientation of the centre. The leaning towards SaiBaba was not considered anathema to the Hinduism of the non-Sai Baba



adherents. Women interviewed were often at pains to make the point thatSathya Sai Baba was not inconsistent with their Hinduism, although theymay not have been adherents.

The woman responsible for setting up the centre and the temple washighly revered within the community as both a leader and as the drivingforce behind the establishment of the centre. She was clearly loved withinthe community, and there were glowing testaments to her position in thecommunity, including her contribution to its spiritual life. She has subse-quently moved from Whyalla and, although the temple and centre havebeen taken over by another woman, the situation has changed since thetime of the study. The number of Hindus in the city has decreased and,without the strong influence of this woman, other means of maintainingHinduism seem to have evolved or returned. It was clear, however, thatat the time of the study the respect for this woman and the energy sheput into helping with the spiritual life of the Whyalla community was animportant factor for maintaining Hinduism.

Although it is common for shrines to Sathya Sai Baba to incorporatedifferent deities, one development to occur in Adelaide appears to havetaken this further with the installation of Lord Murukan. The meetingcentre was in a stable at a private residence in suburban Adelaide and wassponsored by a wealthy family with a South Indian background who wereadherents of Sathya Sai Baba. The explanation given was that a numberof those attending the Sai Baba centre at their home were very fond ofLord Murukan and were keen to have him placed within its centre. Thepriest from the Ganesha Temple, also from a South Indian background,conducted the elaborate instillation and, continued to attended the Godon a weekly basis. It would appear that this demonstrates a more ethnicinfluence on community sacred space in this centre. It is difficult to tellif this centre would become a substitute for the Ganesha temple for theSouth Indian devotees, or an addition to it. In this case, Sai Baba did notcut across ethnic grounds but tended to reinforce them.

This development contrasts with the temple that was established uponpan-Indian or ecumenical lines. It will be interesting to see whether theethnic thrust will eventually subordinate the role of Sai Baba in the centre.

Summary

Williams’ strategies of religious maintenance did provide a useful startingpoint for understanding the manner in which members of the Hinducommunity in South Australia maintained their religion in this specificdiaspora. The different strategies were evident within the community inAdelaide; however, the Whyalla community, due to its smaller size, onlyengaged with some of these. Williams’ strategies were only a starting pointand did not reveal the whole range of maintenance strategies used. It isessential to acknowledge the importance of individuals and their particular

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interests and the influence they can have on the wider community. Theseindividuals were not the strong personalities normally associated withcommunity leadership but common individuals who gained respect dueto their religious practices and piety. They filled a void in the communityin quite a unique way, demonstrating the manner in which the diasporacommunity provides space for the non-traditional development and main-tenance of religion.

As my research involved interviews in both Adelaide and Whyalla, itprovided an opportunity to compare different stages of development intwo similar, although not identical, environments within South Australia.The Whyalla study may provide an insight into the way in which devel-opment took place in Adelaide during the very early stages of the Hinducommunity. This was confirmed, to a certain extent, by both the womenand men who spoke about the early community in Adelaide.

There was a strong focus on both Sathya Sai Baba and ecumenicalHinduism within Whyalla. The Sai Baba focus was due to specificcircumstances. The lack of emphasis on regional difference generally is animportant aspect of an emerging community. This is the case whereregional/linguistic diversity among the residents, rather than regionalsimilarity, is evident. Identity in Whyalla tended to be based on nationaland religious grounds, rather than regional or language difference. Thiscertainly appears to have been the situation during the early stages of thedevelopment of the Hindu community in Adelaide.

When looking at the maintenance and adaptation of Hinduism and itsdevelopment as a diaspora religion within Adelaide and Whyalla in lightof Hinnells’ ‘factors for change and continuity’, what has been importantis the profile of the Hindus themselves. The individuals who formed thecommunity from the mid-twentieth century were generally from similarurban educated, professional backgrounds, and had been exposed tomodernity and western concepts within India. The level of education washigh for both men and women and they were entering Australia in orderto take up professional positions. They tended to migrate in nuclearfamily groups or individually. Although some were ‘twice migrants’, theystill fitted the educated professional profile. The experiences of those whowent to live in Whyalla differed from those of the Adelaide Hindus, thusemphasizing the influence of destination or place and the existing envi-ronment on the development, maintenance and adaptation of Hinduism.

The general professional group undertook the migration process inorder to advance their own careers or education and were not forced todo so due to economic concerns. That said, some women were perhapsless enthusiastic than their husbands, although some men and women hadmade the journey alone. Even in the early stages of the community, beforeIndian students were actively sought after by Australian Universities, bothmen and women opted to come to Australia for study. There was highworkforce participation by women due to their qualifications in this early



group and this, as indicated by Hinnells, was an important factor in theadaptations that occurred.

Religious knowledge was sufficient among the community to enablethe performance of important rituals, both within the household as wellas life cycle rites, ensuring maintenance of Hindu practices. As thecommunity was wealthy, they were able to establish a temple whereworship could take place and employ a religious expert from overseas.Although, as Hinnells discussed, religious knowledge was not always ameans of gaining a leadership position within the community and successin business or the professions often enabled individuals to gain positionswhere they provided a voice for their communities (1998, p. 833). InSouth Australia, involvement in organizations – religious, secular, culturalor multicultural – does promote individuals to leadership positions inthe Indian community generally, and elevates them within the widercommunity.

The external circumstances in South Australia enabled the communityto develop a comfortable relationship with non-Indians and this can beseen in the public events such as Divali, the Mela and Indian Inde-pendence Day celebrations. The large public celebration for the 60thanniversary of Indian independence is a recent acknowledgement ofthis comfort. That said, recent negative publicity concerning Indian doc-tors in Australia has caused unease within this particular group in SouthAustralia.

The findings regarding the development of Hinduism in SouthAustralia, although exhibiting some very specific characteristics did, ingeneral, mirror Bilimoria’s findings on the development of Hinduism inAustralia.

Conclusion

Both Williams and Hinnells provide a framework for interpreting andunderstanding the manner in which Hinduism developed, was maintainedand adapted within Adelaide and Whyalla.

As Hinduism is organic, it can retain relevance in different geographicalsettings, including diaspora communities. It not only connects thesecommunities to their heritage but also provides meaning for their currentlives while linking them with other diaspora communities undergoingtransformation. It will be interesting to see where this organic processleads in South Australia. Not only is religion developing a definite char-acteristic for subsequent generations of ethnic Indians in Australia, but thechildren of Hindus marrying outside their religious tradition also derivemeaning from their own construction of Hinduism. These groups, as wellas the increasing number of Indian students in South Australia (some stayon), and new migrants, will ensure the development of interesting anddiverse forms of Hindu assumptions and practices within South Australia.

330 Heather Foster


Short Biography

Dr Heather Foster is a lecturer in the School of Education at the Univer-sity of South Australia. After completing her undergraduate studies inanthropology and history at the University of Adelaide, she worked onvarious research projects at the University of South Australia and theUniversity of Adelaide, including working in the northwest of Thailand.Her PhD involved an exploration of the practice of Hinduism in thediaspora, focussing specifically on Hindu women. She works in the areaof the Study of Religions and has served on the Executive of the Austral-ian Association for the Study of Religions.

Notes

* Correspondence address: Heather Foster, School of Education, University of South Aus-tralia, Mawson Lakes Boulevard, Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 5095. Email:[email protected].

Works Cited

Bilimoria, P, 1989, Hinduism in Australia: Mandala for the Gods, Spectrum Publications,Melbourne, Australia.

——, 1996, The Hindus and Sikhs in Australia, Australian Government Publishing Service,Canberra, Australia.

——, 1998, ‘The Australian South Asian Diaspora’, in J Hinnells (ed.), The New PenguinHandbook of Living Religions, 2nd edn., pp. 728–55, Penguin, London.

——, 2007, ‘Transglobalism of Self-exiled Hindus: The Case of Australia’, Religion Compass,vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 305–28.

Cigler, M, 1986, The Afghans in Australia, A. E. Press, Melbourne, Australia.De Lepervanche, MM, 1984, Indians in a White Australia, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney,

Australia.Foster, HA, 1994, ‘Hinduism in nineteenth Century South Australia’, presented to the concurrent

national Conferences, Theology and The Study of Religions (Australian Association for theStudy of Religions) Adelaide, 3–7th July.

——, 2002, Accommodating Difference: The Cultural Construction of the Hindu Women of SouthAustralia, unpublished PhD thesis, University of South Australia.

——, 2007, ‘Hinduism, Identity and Education: A Conversation with Dilip Chirmuley AM’,Dialogue Australasia, Issue 17, pp. 34–6.

Hinnells, JR, 1998, ‘Comparative Reflections on South Asian Religion in International Migration’,in J Hinnells, (ed.), The New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions, 2nd edn., pp. 819–48,Penguin, London.

Tinker, H, 1977, The Banyan Tree, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.Williams, RB, (ed.) 1992, A Sacred Thread: Modern Transmission of Hindu Traditions in India and

Abroad, ANIMA Publications, Chambersburg, PA.——, 2004, Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Hamp-

shire, UK/Burlington, Canada.

religious maintenance and adaptation: an example from the south australian hindu diaspora

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