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Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the way Portuguese Burgher identities are articulated in practices and discourse about their iconic song, music and dance traditions focusing on the káfriinha, a syncretic quadrille in which Portuguese Burgher identity, preservationism and politics of culture are played out.

Paper long abstract:

Portuguese Burghers are a minority ethnic community in Sri Lanka who speak an endangered creole language, Sri Lanka Portuguese and practice specific performance traditions. This paper explores the way Portuguese Burgher identities are articulated in practices and discourse about their performance traditions. Of particular focus will be a syncretic quadrille dance known as the káfriinha. This dance has a high level of cultural salience for Portuguese Burghers both as a prominent expression of their own identity and as an important social dance which is embedded in the proceedings of wedding celebrations and other formal events. Strongly held notions about the káfriinha including how it is danced, by whom and in what clothing, as well as its link to ideas about Portuguese identity both within and outside the community are revealing of issues relating to the politics of culture, preservationism and hybridity. I will draw on ethnographic observations relating to the Portuguese Burgher káfriinha, including movement, music, sung text and discourse about it by participants, as well as relevant historical perspectives to paint a picture of how Portuguese Burgher identity is expressed and performed through their dance.