The Fijian Indian community dressed as the Girmityas from 1879 to 1916. The character parades showcased how people used to dress up in those days. Photo / Supplied
The Fijian Indian community dressed as the Girmityas from 1879 to 1916. The character parades showcased how people used to dress up in those days. Photo / Supplied
The Hastings Fijian Indian communities gathered at the weekend to remember and celebrate their forefathers.
More than 150 people from the Fiji Indian community, Indian community, and other communities spent their night at the Frimley School Hall in a tribute to the Indian labourers of Fiji, called Girmityas.
Guests travelledfrom as far as Wellington, Auckland and Whanganui to the Hawke's Bay event.
Angeline Chand-Chaudhary dressed as a Girmitya to share her culture, history and heritage of being a Fiji Indian with Shanaya Kumar, a member of the Hastings Fiji Indian community. Photo / Supplied
Girmit Night was full of cultural costumes, music, art and entertainment.
Organiser Angeline Chand-Chaudhary said there was a line-up of performers, speakers and drama performances, and display items at the event, all focused on the indenture system.
Chand-Chaudhary explained the night was to pay tribute to ancestors who, through their hard work and sacrifices, made Fiji "a beautiful paradise".
A group of Napier and Hastings Fiji Indian children perform a re-enactment of indentured men and women arriving by ships in Fiji. Photo / Supplied
The idea was also to pass on the historical knowledge to the younger generations so that the Girmit legacy is not forgotten, and to create an awareness in the Hawke's Bay community, Chand-Chaudhary said.
Girmit is an Indian pronunciation of the English language word "agreement".
Between 1879 to 1920, during colonial rule, Indian nationals were taken on indentured agreement from India to Fiji.
Under the indentured labourer system, the Indian labourers taken to Fiji worked in the sugar cane plantations, going through slavery and misery, Chand-Chaudhary said.
In the school hall items were displayed to show the accommodation or houses of indentured labourers which were very basic with few items. Photo / Supplied
"Most of these labourers were misled, as they were told they would earn a lot of money while growing sugar," she said.
Chand-Chaudhary said the main reason for the event was to bring awareness to the community about the identity of Fiji Indians and to pass the forgotten stories of Girmit days to the young generation born or brought up in New Zealand.
