THE RAVIDASSIA COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY (IES) IN CATALONIA, SPAIN

摘要

This article discusses the Punjabi Sikh community in Spain, with a special focus on its caste profile and on the ex-untouchable Ravidassia community. The author describes the evolution of the Ravidassia community in Barcelona and their increasing institutional/cultural autonomy from mainstream Sikhism with the passage of time. Ravidassia experiences of caste discrimination in Spain are discussed, and the reasons for their perception of increased casteism in the diaspora are analysed. Finally, the impact of the 2009 Vienna killings, in which the most important sant (religious leader) of the Ravidassias was killed, is discussed. The implications for both individual religious/caste identity and community cohesion are explored, based on fieldwork carried out during 2009/2010 by the author.View full textDownload full textRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2010.484135