The Third Culture Space: Liminal Cultural Identity of Indian Women Migrants In UAE

Abstract

Indians began emigrating to Gulf countries in the 1970s – the era of the discovery of oil. When people move from one geographical or political border to another, they carry the culture and traditions of their homeland. In the host land, migrants develop nostalgia for their homeland and reminisce of it through culture, traditions and material objects associated with the homeland. This research applies the theory of transnational cultural hybridity to understand the adaptation of migrants’ moving cultural identities; in this case, the women Indian diaspora in the UAE. Women are considered to be cultural torchbearers in the migrant population; the paper assesses how they inhabit the dichotomous and liminal third space of culture. It is understood they ascertain the ‘third space’ and are seen to be ‘longing’ for the homeland by bringing back fragments of India in the form of spices, religious symbols and attire and temporary migration triggers intense longingness.