This is how Tamil identity is renewed in Norway

Tamil culture and language have existed and lived for thousands of years. But Norway is also experiencing a renewal of identity and culture.

The question was one of the managing themes that were taken up during the event “Tamil waves” at the National Library, where there were film screenings, dances and conversations about the history and life of the Tamils ​​in Norway.

During the discussion panel, Klassekampen journalist and author Yohan Shanmugaratnam led the conversation.

Along with Mira Thiruchelvam from the band 9 degrees north, food entrepreneur Godfrey Manoharan from the project Dinner with Godfreyjournalist and poet Rooban Sivarajah, archivist and designer Baheerathy Kumarendiran and science fiction writer Tharaniga Rajah, various questions about past and present Tamil identity were raised.

Rich cultural life

For Thiruchelvam, the experience is that one has a rich cultural and musical life in the Tamil diaspora environment.

– We have events every week here in Oslo with concerts. We have children who practice Tamil dance and who play traditional instruments. At the same time, we see that the part of “performative” art is reserved for the environment, and many Norwegians do not know how much cultural activity exists in the environment.

She says she has gained all her education and self-confidence through participating in the Tamil community.

– The teachers at the Tamil school have always encouraged us to stand on stage, and have confidence in our culture. For me, this was the start of my music career.

Wrote dystopian novel with Gaza inspiration

Tharaniga Rajah published the science fiction novel “It’s long until dusk” at Samlaget in 2018. The publication deals with a fictional war and genocide of the Sami in northern Norway, and drew inspiration from the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine, as well as the Tamil own experience of the war in Sri Lanka.

– I sat on the idea for the book for three years, and made much of the plot based on my own war experiences.

Experiences she believes have contributed to shaping the Tamil identity in Norway.

– Norwegians do not have the same understanding of war in the same way, since it was so long ago that they experienced it themselves.

From minority stress to new identities

In recent years, a cultural shift has also taken place internally. The Tamils ​​in Norway, who for a long time had war and minority stress as a formative experience, have had to find new ways to adapt their identity and culture.

Thiruchelvam believes this transition has not been painless, and refers to his own experiences. She understands that many may find what she considers to be “ugly”.

– In the Tamil diaspora, it has been important to continue the culture. And when you have reached a level where you want to express your own understanding of the culture, I feel that our environment has not shown as much interest. So one must try to explore Tamil as a medium with other artistic expressions.

Tharaniga Rajah says she has often met people in the community who ask why she does not write more about the conflict in Sri Lanka.

– I really really want to write about this, but I am very adamant that I do not write a book if the idea behind it is not good enough. I simply haven’t had enough good ideas on this topic.

Being Tamil in more ways than one

For Godfrey Manoharan, there is room for different Tamil identities.

– I see that this is particularly prominent in the younger generations. I myself choose to look at culture. music, and my own field, the art of food, as something where you cultivate a bridge-building role. Be an inspiration to the youngest, and to others outside the environment. Here in Oslo, we could have 20 different Tamil restaurants, which shows the diversity of our cuisine.

Rooban Sivarajah, for his part, sees an increasing acceptance from the parental generation towards the younger ones.

– I see that, paradoxically, this happens at the same time as people seek knowledge in their roots, in the face of society at large. We see, for example, that Mira uses the Tamil language when she makes music, or Godfrey when he cooks. I think we are on the right track.

For Baheerathy Kumarendiran, it is about the environment developing further, from a diaspora characterized by war to an environment in a multicultural Norway.

– As a group, we go from establishment to self-realisation. In 1956, the first Tamil came to Norway, and a lot has happened since then. We have reached a point where we have satisfied our basic needs after war and flight. We have brought up the younger generations in the wake of a war, and had expectations and obligations linked to such an identity. Tamils ​​have lost land and people. We have had to spend decades rebuilding ourselves. I think that the environment is ready to think more “outside the box”.