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The Adaptations of Hinduism in the Indo-Caribbean 

Kahlia Brown
University of Toronto

Through the forced migration of various 
peoples by colonial powers, the Caribbean 
has become a melting pot of a wide array of 
races, cultures, and religions. However, the 
existence of Hinduism in the Caribbean is 
often unknown to those outside of the 
Caribbean and its diaspora, and is sometimes 
overlooked within the region. Much like 
other social, cultural and religious artefacts 
in the region, Hinduism in the Caribbean has 
became distinct from its origins, through a 
unique process of ‘creolization’. This essay 
seeks to contextualize Hinduism in the 
Caribbean from the 19th century onward, 
considering factors that have led to the 
evolution of Caribbean Hinduism in Guyana 
and Trinidad & Tobago, while acknowledg-
ing the dangers of using this evolution to 
define the religion as a whole. 

A B S T R A C T

© 2021 Kahlia Brown
Caribbean Studies Students’ Union, Canada - https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cquilt/

                       This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 
                       To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Jhandis, Trinidadian home.

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    Brown, K. (2020). A Brief History of Race, Politics and Division in Trinidad and Guyana. Caribbean Quilt, 5, 45.
                Khitanya Petgrave. "Equality in Education? A Study of Jamaican Schools under Michael Manley, 1972—80." 
     Brown, K, 45.
      Van der Veer, P., & Vertovec, S. (1991). Brahmanism Abroad: On Caribbean Hinduism as an Ethnic Religion. 
                Ethnology, 30(2), 149-166. doi:10.2307/3773407. 151.
      Van der Veer, P., & Vertovec, S., 151.
      Van der Veer, P., & Vertovec, S., 151.
 

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Hinduism is not a religion that originated 
from the indigenous peoples of the Carib-
bean, nor is it a religion that emerged 
through the spirituality of those formerly 
enslaved. When slavery was abolished by 
the British in 1807 , the southernmost 
colonies of Britain soon required a new 
source of labour. The solution to the 
labour shortage was indentureship and the 
British looked to their then colony of India 
to fill this role. By the 20th century 
hundreds of thousands of Indians occupied 
what is now Guyana, and Trinidad,  with 
some also ending up in neighbouring 
colonies such as Suriname.  Through this 
process, Hinduism was brought to the 
Caribbean by practicing Hindus inden-
tured laborers who formed around 
eighty-five percent of those who migrated 
to the region.    Indian indentureship, 
though essentially serving the same 
purpose as slavery, differed in many ways. 
Labourers were typically given ten-year 
contracts at the end of which, some would 
receive passage back to India, land, or 
other currency. The largest difference in 
regard to slavery was the ability to retain 
culture. This meant that they were able to 
keep their names (although often 
misspelled by the British who documented 
them, and many chose to change their 
names to pretend that they were of a 
higher caste), their culture, and their 
religion. Regardless of efforts to ‘re-caste’ 
themselves, it is estimated that nearly 
seventy percent of Caribbean indentured 

labourers were, artisans, agriculturalists, 
or of low caste. 

Early Years
In Guyana and Trinidad, Indian indentured 
labourers first arrived in 1838 and 1845 
respectively. Upon arrival, planters 
dictated the lives of indentured Indians 
and limited their mobility, preventing 
opportunities to congregate with Hindus 
from different plantations or villages.  
While planters tolerated much of the 
Indian culture, for example, allowing 
some religious rites and small shrines, 
“one practice in which a devotee would 
pierce various point of his flesh with 
hooks and swing by them from a pole 
[…]proved too ‘barbaric’ for the white 
colonists, and hook-swinging rites were 
banned in British Guiana by 1853.” This 
practice, along with other colonially 
defined barbaric practices such as fire 
walking and animal sacrifice, were 
suppressed by planters. Although a few 
would re-emerge once the Hindu’s gained 
more autonomy.  As a result, there is very 
little documentation or evidence of 
large-scale religious demonstrations until 
the 1870’s. Due to their stringent contrac-
tual obligations, it took some time before 
Hindus were either given land or able to 
accumulate enough wealth to purchase a 
plot. Once they had the means, Hindus 
began practicing the rituals they brought 
with them. Most prominently, evidence of 
large-scale Hindu practices can be

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    Rampersad, I. (2013). Hinduism in the Caribbean. Contemporary Hinduism, 59.
 

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observed through their jhandis and puja 
(prayer). Jhandis are colourful consecrated 
flags on long bamboo sticks, placed on the 
north side of one’s property or home (See 
figure 1). The jhandis and puja that 
accompanied them were meant to signify 
the purification of a new home, similar in 
principle to the act of sage cleansing. The 
Hindus, of course, did not own homes or 
property upon their immediate arrival and 
this practice did not become widespread 
until they had homes of their own to 
purify. This practice symbolized the intent 
of Hindus to make countries such as 
Trinidad and Guyana their permanent 
homes, solidifying their contribution to the 
culture. 

Caste, Class and Geography
Caste and class were synonymous in India 
and people of a shared caste generally 
lived amongst one another and married 
one another. Marrying outside of one’s 
caste was frowned upon. However, it is 
important to note that caste was not 
recognized by the planters. As a result, 
indentured Indians had no choice but to 
work alongside people from different 
regions and castes. That being said, many 
people who migrated to the Caribbean 
from regions where the British would 
recruit them, often shared the same caste, 
and in turn, the same practices. Due to the 
caste/class and shared geographic origin of 
many of these Hindus. The rituals and 
other religious practices in the Caribbean 
differ greatly from those in India as they 
represent the interests and sentiments of a 
people forged by a different way of life, 
and caste demographics were unequally 
represented. People from different 

castes/areas worshipped different gods. 
They brought the practices and rituals they 
already knew. The Brahmin caste evident-
ly looked down on the rituals and practices 
indentured Indian’s took to the Caribbean. 
Since the high priest Brahmin caste 
generally did not need to seek opportuni-
ties in a foreign land due to their high 
status, the lower caste migrants in the 
Caribbean were tasked with establishing 
religious practices. Thus, leading to some 
aspects of the religion being overrepre-
sented, altered, or unseen in the Caribbe-
an. This fact is again represented by 
jhandis, a practice that is occasionally 
observed near places of worship in North-
ern India. Many of the migrant Hindus 
were of Northern Indian origin where the 
jhandis were, and are still are, placed 
beside or near to shrines at which to pray. 
In a foreign land with no Hindu temples, 
they created their own places of worship 
within their homes. 

The indentured Indians, while being from 
Northern India, were also predominantly 
male. Hanuman, a Hindu god associated 
with overcoming adversity, found popular-
ity amongst the single Hindu men, and so, 
the jhandis were often dedicated to him.  
There were other castes and religious 
practices in the early years, but over the 
years colonial powers influenced the 
Indians as a whole in Caribbean to form 
close knit communities, isolating them-
selves from the African-creole population 
that predated their arrival. This led to a 
more hegemonic form of Hinduism 
(influenced by the predominantly North-
ern-Indians) founded in the shared experi-
ences of this diasporic community.

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    Unknown Author . “History,” April 4, 2016. https://templeinthesea.wordpress.com/about/. .
 

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In order to be united, the caste system that 
plays such a huge role in India, was set 
aside in favour of a united front. The 
cultural isolation of indentured Indians 
had many adverse effects that are still seen 
in the racially divided countries of Trini-
dad and Guyana, however it also led to the 
preservation of Indian culture and the 
Hindu religion which can be observed 
through the structures erected. 

As noted above, indentured Indians did 
not necessarily have the luxury of discrim-
inating against one another based on caste, 
and this resulted in a more hegemonic 
form of Hinduism, distinct from that of 
India. Hinduism for them represented a 
shared culture, today most Indians in the 
Caribbean do not define themselves based 
on what region their ancestors migrated 
from, or what caste their family originally 
was.  This sense of community and the 
wealth they were able to accumulate in a 
foreign land allowed Indians to pool 
resources, giving them the ability to 
manifest their religion through increasing-
ly physical ways, while unifying in 
solidarity with one another. Proof of this 
can be seen in the history of the Sewdass 
Sadhu’s Temple in the Sea, a now famous 
monument on the island of Trinidad. The 
temple was originally erected by Sadhu, 
an indentured labourer, after his expenses 
associated with returning to India to pray 
at temples became too much. 

In the 1940’s, Sadhu constructed a temple 
on the sugar plantation to which he was 
indentured. Upon the temple’s completion, 
the plantation wanted it taken down; 
however, the demolition of a sacred 

temples would be sacrilegious to any 
Hindu. Sadhu refused to demolish the 
temple, as did every other Indian. The 
temple was demolished by Englishmen 
instead, Sadhu was fined and jailed. 
However, some believe divine intervention 
was at play and within months, the two 
Englishmen responsible for the demolition 
died in unforeseen circumstances.  This 
incident was an act of solidarity on the 
part of the Hindu’s. Despite what differ-
ences they may have had in India, Trinidad 
was no place to be divided. The temple 
represented the beliefs of every Hindu, not 
a select a few from the same region or 
caste. This demonstrates the extent to 
which Caribbean Hinduism had solidified 
itself as a distinct diasporic form.  

Despite the fact that Hindu’s in the Carib-
bean seemed to have things under control 
for the most part, the aforementioned 
Brahmins felt the need to intervene in the 
mid 20th century as they felt that their 
caste was not well represented. This was a 
problem as it was traditionally their role to 
pass on and educate others on religious 
matters. They felt that this diasporic 
group, now growing increasingly larger, 
lacked organization and guidance provided 
by the Brahmins in India. Hinduism in the 
Caribbean had also been influenced by its 
surroundings. It is likely that the Brahmins 
of India feared the creolization of a 
traditionally hierarchical and religion. This 
intervention by the Brahmin missionaries 
of India led to a shift in the religious 
composition. The Caribbean Hindu’s who 
formerly did not have the option to be 
divided, now found themselves divided by 
a previously small group of people. 

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86

    Sheth, Khushboo. “Countries With The Most Public Holidays.” WorldAtlas. WorldAtlas, October 1, 2018. 
            https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-most-public-holidays.html.
   Van der Veer, P., & Vertovec, S. (1991). Brahmanism Abroad: On Caribbean Hinduism as an Ethnic Religion. 
            Ethnology, 30(2), 149-166. doi:10.2307/3773407. 138.
    Ramnarine, T. K. (1996). “Indian” music in the diaspora: Case studies of “chutney” in Trinidad and in London. 
            British Journal of Ethnomusicology, 5(1), 134-135.

 

       

 

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The Brahmins, staying true to their 
traditions, believed that only the Indians 
who had accumulated wealth, could 
assume their role in the Caribbean. This 
resulted in groups of Hindus with wealth 
gaining greater religious standing and 
power. This power led to the establish-
ments of political parties in Trinidad and 
Guyana that were based on their now 
interchangeable religious/ethnic identity. 

Social and Cultural Impact
By the mid 20th century Hinduism was 
firmly grounded in the Caribbean. It is 
during this time that the social and cultural 
impacts of Hinduism are formed. The 
newly appointed Caribbean Brahmins 
worked hard to have Hinduism formally 
recognized in Trinidad and Guyana. Their 
efforts are seen today through the recogni-
tion of Hindu holidays along with Chris-
tian ones as public holidays. Trinidad, for 
example, now ranks fifth on the list of 
countries with the most public holidays  
due to this dual recognition. Hindus were 
also able to establish schools and temples 
that still exist today.  These actions led to 
the further unification of the religion’s 
followers, on a much larger scale than it 
had existed before. The impacts were not 
all positive, however with race-based 
Hindus political parties gaining increased 
influence. 

As previously mentioned, planters kept 
their indentured-Indians isolated together 
in villages, estates or plantations, which 
led to cultural preservation and communi-
ty, but this created tensions with the  

led to cultural preservation and communi-
ty, but this created tensions with the 
Afro-Caribbean population. This was more 
than likely done purposefully to easily 
control and manipulate Indians and to 
prevent solidarity between the formerly 
enslaved and the indentured. The colonial 
divide continued with the Hindu based 
parties directly opposing Afro-Caribbean 
ones. The Hindu based parties represented 
the interests of the Hindu diaspora who 
were able to amass much more wealth 
because they were compensated for their 
labour. This was leveraged by the Brahmin 
intervention which supported wealthy 
Hindus in acquiring enough power and 
sway within their community to partici-
pate on a larger political scale, in turn 
contributing to the already existing racial 
tensions that persist today.

As noted above, the social-political 
impacts of Hinduism in the Caribbean are 
multifaceted and are the source of numer-
ous debates particularly due to its correla-
tion with ethnicity, but the cultural impacts 
may be more inspiring. One example is the 
impact of Hindus music including the 
songs sung while honouring or showing 
devotion to their gods, or songs that would 
be sung to celebrate marriage or the birth 
of a child.  Traditionally, these songs were 
passed down orally by women and were in 
their native tongue. These religious songs 
were accompanied by various traditional 
dances. For years, these songs remained 
exclusive to Hindus as they were specific 
to their religion because they were sung in 
Hindi. 

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87

    Niranjana, T. (2006). 3.‘‘Take a Little Chutney, Add a Touch of Kaiso’’: The Body in the Voice. In Mobilizing India 
           (pp. 85-124). Duke University Press.
    Ramnarine, T. K. (1996). “Indian” music in the diaspora: Case studies of “chutney” in Trinidad and in London. 
            British Journal of Ethnomusicology, 5(1),142.
 

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The singer Dropati from Suriname, who is 
well known for her song Manikdhar 
Jhabeeya (Lawa), is one voice that can be 
heard at almost any Hindu wedding in the 
Caribbean. While singing entirely in 
Hindi, Dropati can be credited with paving 
the way for future chutney artists after her 
initial album release in 1958.   

Chutney forms a critical example of the 
creolization of Indo-Caribbean culture. 
During the 1980’s – decades since inden-
tureship ended in 1917 and several years 
since Hinduism had been formally recog-
nized – Hindus made a large-scale 
trans-cultural contribution: Chutney. 
Chutney is a traditional Indian condiment 
but in the context of Caribbean culture 
chutney, is the product of the creolization 
of Hindu religious song. Well-known 
Chutney music is a melange of these 
Hindu traditions, and creole calypso. 
Similar to calypso, chutney, began as a 
form of social and political commentary. 
Chutney music is sung in English 
(although many sometimes incorporate 
words or phrases in Hindi), making it 
accessible to those outside of the Hindu 
community to take part in and enjoy and 
reflects the fact that most Indo-Caribbean 
people today do not speak any Indian 
language.  A great example of this cultural 
and musical syncretism is Drupatee 
Ramgoonai, the first female Chutney artist 
in Trinidad to experience nationwide 
success with the single “Chatnee Soca.” In 
it, Ramgoonai describes her experience of 
leaving her Indian village and dancing to
soca, a musical genre derived from the 
creole calypso, then creating her own  

version of this Chatnee (chutney) Soca. 

Today popular chutney music has little to 
no religious ties. Songs are usually stories 
about Indo-Caribbean people but are 
identified by their distinctly Indian tone 
that originated from the Hindu songs. The 
dances associated with the music also 
changed. For example, in the video for the 
1996 hit, Chutney Bacchanal by Chris 
Garcia can be seen dancing shirtless with 
women in traditional Hindu garb. Where 
this differs from traditional Hindu culture 
is not only in Garcia’s attire, but the dance 
moves that can be described as whining 
and involves much more physical contact 
than would ever be appropriate in main-
stream Indian Hinduism. By this point, 
Caribbean Hindu traditions and culture 
had drifted far from its ancestral plane 
despite Brahmin intervention.

Conclusion
Caribbean Hinduism is a religion that 
resembles Indian Hinduism only in very 
core spiritual beliefs, i.e., Gods and major 
rituals. In time, the Hindus that migrated 
to the Caribbean, and the religion they 
brought with them, became distinct and 
beautiful in its own way, shedding some of 
the negative social aspects that remain in 
Indian Hinduism. Further research is 
warranted on the specific ways the religion 
differs from modern Hinduism in India 
and globally. .  Though Hinduism was not 
entirely suppressed in the Caribbean, it 
was not immune to outside influences as 
evident in the practices that remain, 
hierarchy within the religion, the language 
and the culture that emerged from the 

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88

 unique combination of Indo and Afro-Ca-
ribbean people. Though this cultural and 
religious syncretism is not as well docu-
mented as say Christianity in the Caribbe-
an, the impacts that the Caribbean region 
and Hinduism have had on one other are 
undeniable and infinitely explorable. 
However, considering the creolization 
processes in the region to date, Hinduism 
in the Caribbean is still in the relatively 
early stages and there is much that has yet 
to come.

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89

Brown, K. (2020). A Brief History of Race, Politics and Division in Trinidad and 
         Guyana. Caribbean Quilt, 5, 44-54.
Niranjana, T. (2006). 3.‘‘Take a Little Chutney, Add a Touch of Kaiso’’: The Body 
         in the Voice. In Mobilizing India (pp. 85-124). Duke University Press.
Ramnarine, T. K. (1996). “Indian” music in the diaspora: Case studies of “chutney” in 
         Trinidad and in London. British Journal of Ethnomusicology, 5(1), 133-153.
Rampersad, I. (2013). Hinduism in the Caribbean. Contemporary Hinduism, 57-66.
Sheth, Khushboo. “Countries With The Most Public Holidays.” WorldAtlas. WorldAtlas, 
         October 1, 2018. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-most-
         public-holidays.html.
Taylor, P. (Ed.). (2001). Nation dance: religion, identity, and cultural difference in the 
         Caribbean. Indiana University Press.
Unknown Author . “History,” April 4, 2016. https://templeinthesea.wordpress.com/about/.
Van der Veer, P., & Vertovec, S. (1991). Brahmanism Abroad: On Caribbean Hinduism 
         as an Ethnic Religion. Ethnology, 30(2), 149-166. doi:10.2307/3773407. 138.

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