A World in Two Cities

. Home . Researchers . Projects . Survey Recently Added: Music, Devotion, and Identity at Indo-Caribbean-American Temples Chutney Music and the Indo-Caribbean Tradition in Minneapolis Jennifer Kotting contact: jkotting@gmail.com "Mind bird flies here and there, tasting mundane pleasure that is humanity. We go here and there and taste this worldly pleasure, as long as the knowledge falcon has not taken it over. And if knowledge does not take it over, we are of no use in this world." Pandita Lynneteji There is a layered kind of richness in a culture that is rooted in several places. The diasporic nature of Indo-Caribbean culture in Minneapolis calls India, Guyana, and now America home. Each migration was across an ocean, and each country contributes uniquely to various parts of Indo-Caribbean life. Through an ethnomusicology fieldwork course, I was introduced to the people at Gayatri Mandir who could guide me through the music, worship, and life in Indo-Caribbean culture. My focus was originally Chutney music as a cultural waymark, but learning about Chutney happened only after being introduced to worship at the mandir and the life story of a priestess at the mandir, Lynette Sukhnanan, respectfully called Pandita Lynneteji. I learned from her about the importance of the words she was singing and the vibrational quality that delivered the words to God through beautiful song. Along with these songs of praise, I found another form of song to be especially distinctive. Chutney draws from Indo-Caribbean life, rhythm, instrumentation, and language. There is some controversy about Chutney. It has become popular, and therefore, marketable. It has become secular and some would say vulgar. However, the performance and participation in Chutney music and dance parties are like the weekly mandir services and cultural shows. These events serve as venues for family and friends who share devotion and cultural roots to get together--this is how Indo-Caribbean culture continues as people move from place to place. Just like the people at Gayatri Mandir who live here in Minneapolis, but have their roots in India and Guyana, Chutney music draws from a range of cultural expression arising from the places that Indo-Caribbeans have called home. The media and text included here represents my experiences with the Indo-Caribbean community in Minneapolis this semester, including an interview with the pandita, media from the Vishnu Mandir Diwali Cultural Show, clips from the Chutney Explosion at the Palm Court Bar, and film from when I got to perform havan with the pandita at Gayatri Mandir. Photos and PDF Files View Photo Collection Download Chutney Explosion Transcription View Film Projects (Quicktime Required) Introduction to Gayatri Mandir (12-02-07) Pandita Lynetteji: Health, Wealth, and Happiness Chutney Explosion (11-17-07) MP3 Audio Files Chutney Explosion Live Clip(11-17-07) Chutney Remix Cultural Show, Clip 1 (11-17-07) Cultural Show, Clip 2 (11-17-07) Pandita Interview Clip (10-24-07)

Contact: Anna C. Schultz - schu1778@umn.edu Last updated: September 1, 2008 (The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.)