Paper Short Abstract:

Jewish-Caribbean cemeteries cannot be researched in isolation from European colonial history. The lecture reflects on challenges in doing fieldwork in a religious site where multiple histories converge in a multidirectional way and attempts to map out possibilities for a decolonial perspective.

Paper Abstract:

Religious sites cannot be researched in isolation from European colonial history; therefore, the historicity of the site must also be considered. Multiple “histories” can meet in one place in a multidirectional way, as becomes particularly clear in the Jewish-Caribbean cemeteries, as these have not remained untouched by their (religious-cultural) environment over the years. Based on ethnographic research in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, I will illustrate the challenges of funerary knowledge production. First, the accessibility of Jewish cemeteries can influence ethnographic research. They are often located outside or on the outskirts of cities and are therefore more difficult to reach, or they are (hidden) in Christian cemeteries enclosed by walls, as it was long difficult for Jews to obtain their own burial grounds. Access is by appointment only and it can be difficult to find persons who have the key to the cemeteries. Second, epistemological challenges can arise. As a researcher from the Global North, research in the Global South can be understood as a continuation of colonial practices that reproduce unequal power relations. Western research is deeply entangled in colonial power structures and forms of foreign domination. Through participatory research and collaboration with local researchers and scholars of Jewish Studies, I try to counteract the potential danger of white knowledge production and to give special consideration to perspectives and “theories from the South”. In my presentation, I will reflect on the possibilities of a decolonial perspective to contribute to the deconstruction of historically grown power and knowledge complexes.