African Slavery in Asia : Epistemologies across Temporalities and Space

Whilst enslavement was not limited to a single ethnic group, the dispersal of Africans due to involuntary mobilities has had a major impact on the world not only through the productivities of the diasporas in commerce but also in other areas: defence, domestic services and entertainment. This article questions the rationale for forced movement of Africans to Asia and discusses the important and intimate roles they performed and continue to perform through examples from India and Japan. What do the variety of roles played by Africans in numerous sectors tell us about the space open to them for social mobility? Voices of Afrodescendants have been muted but they are carving out a new niche through enacting cultural performances persisting through cultural memories and collective identities linked to their role as faqirs） in India. Alterity is voiced through cultural carryovers as illustrated by Afrodescendants in Sri Lanka. What do the lives of enslaved Africans who achieved high positions in the Indian Ocean World reveal about acculturation? Comparative studies with other experiences of slavery and its afterlife are an essential part in understanding global slavery and the Atlantic World is an obvious starting point which will enhance contemporary debates on alterity, perceived through categorisations such as ethnicity and race.