Whose Diwali is it? Diaspora, Identity, and Festivalization

Abstract

This article interrogates how the government engagement in economic and political management decisions may affect the cultural representation and cultural identity of minority or diasporic cultures. Set in Auckland, New Zealand, the results demonstrate how festival producer relationships and diaspora community involvement transform under the influence of festivalization. Auckland's "Major Civic Event," Diwali: Festival of Lights is the largest festivity representing New Zealand's Indian diaspora. More recently, and especially in diasporic settings, Diwali has been referred to as a "festival" and a public celebration for Hindus and non-Hindus alike. The case study, central to this research, traces factors (1998 to 2013) that have transformed the production of Diwali, one of India's most important cultural festivals, from a community celebration to a cultural tourism destination. The findings in this research demonstrate how diaspora communities react when executive management decisions seek to align events with larger tourism and economic development strategies central to festivalization.

Events, Places and Societies

“…Diasporas are important to study in disciplines such as human geography or sociology because when people become mobile, they take with them their culture and sense of identity and may attempt to create or (re)create that in a new place (see Booth, 2016;Johnson, 2007). When we consider this from an event studies perspective, people locating and attempting to express their culture and sense of identity not only becomes (re)created, but also staged and performed in a new place (Booth, 2015;Cresswell, 2004;Edensor, 2002;Langellier, 2010). Furthermore, and as will be discussed below, representations in the landscape act to stage or display symbolisms to further connect imagined communities (Edensor, 2002).…”

“…This event is internationally important and culturally significant, linking people around the world-suggesting how events reinforce imagined communities. Diwali offers much insight on places and societies because the shared festival tradition unites people around the world, with much research conducted on the festival (see Booth, 2012Booth, , 2015Booth, , 2016Johnson, 2007;Johnson & Figgins, 2006;Kelly, 1998;MacMillan, 2008. This chapter offers a different perspective of events, using geographical and sociological conceptualisations to link events, places and societies.…”

Negotiating diasporic culture: festival collaborations and production networks

“…Large government-produced festivals are held annually in major cities, including London, Sydney, Toronto, Edinburgh and Auckland. Diwali has have become a showcase for Indian culture, typically including music and dance, fashion, food, crafts and fireworks as a way of recognising Indian culture within the larger community (Booth, 2015b; Carnegie and Smith, 2006; Johnson, 2010)…”

“…They are an integral part of official government cultural recognition, as well as collective community consciousness, attracting annual participation within and beyond specific cultural identities. Producing such events requires a complex network of collaborative relationships (Booth, 2015b; Getz et al , 2007; Johnson, 2010; Mackley-Crump, 2015b). When producing events representing specific communities, the formation of production networks and alliances may be affected across cultural sectors (Roy, 2001, p. 252).…”

Negotiating with Authenticity to Ensure Sustainability of Traditional Cultural Festivals: Residents’ Perspectives about Macao’s Drunken Dragon Festival

“…On the other hand, they have also illustrated the risks of lost authenticity caused by commercialization [5]. Similarly, many cases have been reported about how festivalization involves negotiation of authenticity [6][7][8]. In balancing these, it has been widely acknowledged that investigating the stakeholder groups involved with events and festivals in general [9,10] and traditional cultural festivals in particular [11] provides valuable insight into how they put meanings to each element of a cultural festival and how they desire to associate them with the festival [12].…”