Dougla
| Indian-African | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Caribbean, Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands | |
| Languages | |
| English, French, Sranan Tongo, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Caribbean Hindustani, Tamil, Telugu, Yoruba, other Indian languages, other African languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly: Minority: | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indo-Caribbeans, Afro-Caribbeans, Marabou |
Dougla (or Dugla) is a word used by people especially in Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Guyana. It is used to describe people who are a product of African and Indian descent.
The word originated from doogala (दुगला), which is a Caribbean Hindustani word that may mean "many", "much", or "a mix".. Some of the connotations of the word such as bastard, illegitimate and son of a whore are secondary and limited to sections of North India where the term may have originated. The term itself has a puzzling connotation, for it has very limited use within the subcontinent for the purpose that it gained in the West Indies. Originally, the use of the word in the West Indies was only used for Afro-Indo mixed-race, despite its origin as a word used to describe inter-caste mixing.
There are sporadic records of Indo-Euro miscegenation, both forced and unforced, before any ethnic mixing of the African and Indian variety. Indian women were a minority among the earlier migrants. Many did not take the voyage across the Atlantic for several reasons, among them the fear of exploitation and the assumption that they were unfit for labor. The first douglas were likely the result of interactions between Indian men and African women.
Socio-religious practice played a part as Religious practices are paramount to the Hindu religion and preservation of the religion and culture was of extreme importance to the indentured laborers. Association with those outside the community who engaged in Adharmic practices was considered to compromise the purity of the race, religion and culture, seen as necessary for survival in the foreign land.
The second reason was socio-economic. The arrival of Indians to the British Caribbean was not meant to be permanent. For most of the Indian immigrants, the aim was to gain material wealth under contract, then return to their respective homelands. The dougla represented the postponement and deferral of that goal if not rendering it completely impossible, being a living symbol of departure from cultural custom jatis.
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