Descendants search through UKZN indenture records
MORE than 300 descendants of indentured labourers thronged the Gandhi-Luthuli Documentation Centre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) Westville Campus on Saturday eager to unearth their roots. Grandparents and parents with their young children in tow came from as far afield as KwaDukuza (Stanger) and Port Shepstone.
Armed with old papers, unabridged birth certificates, a few rare “Pass to Indians” and other documents belonging to their forebears, they were good natured about queuing sometimes for hours to ferret the treasured information out of the university’s ship list database.
Where colonial or indenture numbers were not available, accessing the records proved quite a challenge.
Many individuals had nothing, but names of villages and narratives of family history.
The centre’s specialist librarians, Siya Narie and Thiru Munsamy, went out of their way to assist with name searches, filtering villages and tedious scrolling through ship records.
The university’s head of special collections, Dr Parvesh Sukram, said: “We were overwhelmed by the fantastic response we received. Based on time constraints, we were disappointed not to have helped certain people. We would like to thank the public for attending and welcome them to visit the centre for further assistance on any weekday.”
The majority of visitors were able to discover the names of the villages from where their ancestors originated.
One family traced their forebears to an 1863 landing from a village in South India.
Those requiring more detailed information from beyond their ship lists can research other sources.
Local historian and the chairperson of the centre’s advisory board, Kiru Naidoo, who fielded enquiries at the university’s open house, said: “The collector of tax revenue records in Chennai and Kolkatta, the KwaZulu-Natal Archives Repository, the Master of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg as well as the India Office in London are a goldmine of information.”
Those who did not have the indenture numbers were urged to obtain the unabridged birth certificates of parents, grandparents and other relatives from the Department of Home Affairs.
There were several queries from people interested in applying for Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI). They were referred to the Indian Consulate-General in Durban.
Among those keen on the OCI were Kaajal Bhim of Glenwood: “We were quite moved to finally discover where our great- grandparents came from. My husband, Sudesh, and I are excited as this information from UKZN helps us with the OCI application. We are eager to venture into our motherland and can hopefully trace our relatives in India.”
There was also a small group of descendants of freed African slaves, originating among the Makua people of Northern Mozambique, who were also indentured to colonial Natal from as early as 1873.
Alpha Franks, the chairperson of the Amakua Research Committee, and Halima Giles, a Zanzibari community member, are keen to continue the search for passes granted to freed African slaves.
The grandson of legendary Pietermaritzburg businessman Charlie Nulliah, Sathia, who travelled with his son Sasha from the Midlands city, said: “I was most impressed that this service was being offered to the community. It was a most helpful experience for many people, and I am sure many more will visit.”