Exploring the Significance of Diasporic Objects in Sudanese- Turkish Dual-Heritage Households: Insights from the African Diaspora in Turkey

The study of diasporic objects has emerged as a sub-concept of material culture studies, reflecting the interconnection of mobility and materiality, and the importance of objects in relation to the experiences of migrants and diaspora communities. In this article, we explore the importance of diasporic objects within the Sudanese diaspora in Turkey, focusing on the significance of these objects in households of dual heritage. Using thematic discourse analysis, we identify three main categories of diasporic objects, including food and kitchen objects, biographic objects, and socio-cultural objects. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, we examine the potential functions and significance of these objects, as well as the broader social and cultural practices that surround them. Our findings suggest that diasporic objects can serve as powerful symbols of cultural identity and personal history, providing a sense of continuity and connection for individuals in the diaspora. Moreover, these objects can offer a source of comfort and support, acting as emotional companions that help individuals to maintain a sense of belonging and identity during the challenging experiences of migration and displacement. Additionally, this article highlights the specific significance of the diasporic objects in dual-heritage households.

Keywords:

Diasporic Objects, African Diaspora, Material Culture Sudanese Diaspora, Dual-Heritage Households,

PDF

___

Ahmed, S. (1999). Home and away: Narratives of migration and estrangement. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2(3): 329–347.
Ahmed, S., Castañeda, C., Fortier, A. M. & Sheller, M. (Eds.) (2003). Uprootings/ regroundings. Questions of home and migration. Oxford and New York: Berg.
Altunişik, M. B., & Martin, L. G. (2011). Making sense of Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East under AKP. Turkish Studies, 12(4), 569-587.
Arthur, J. A. (2012). African diaspora identities: Negotiating culture in transnational migration. Lexington Books.
Basu, P., & Coleman, S. (2008). Introduction: Migrant worlds, material cultures. Mobilities, 3(3), 313-330.
Bayram, M. (2020). Turkey and Africa in the context of South-South Cooperation. Current Research in Social Sciences, 6(1), 39-51.
Berger, A. A. (2016). What objects mean: An introduction to material culture. Routledge.
Buchli, V. (Ed.). (2020). The material culture reader. Routledge.
Budel, M. (2013). An ethnographic view on African football migrants in Istanbul. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 68(01), 1-20.
Dudley, S. H. (2010). Materialising Exile: Material culture and embodied experience among Karenni refugees in Thailand (Vol. 27). Berghahn Books.
Dudley, S. H. (2015). Ritual Practice, Material Culture, and Well-Being in Displacement: Ka-thow-bòw in a Karenni Refugee Camp in Thailand. Building Noah’s Ark for Migrants, Refugees, and Religious Communities, 101-126.
Durmelat, S. (2022). Can the couscous pot speak? e-Phaïstos, (X-1). https://doi.org/10.4000/ephaistos.9772
Dziwornu, M. G., Yakar, M., & Temurçin, K. (2016). Migration intentions of international students in Turkey: A case study of African students at Süleyman Demirel University. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, (38), 227-250.
Hahn, H. P., & Weis, H. (Eds.). (2013). Mobility, Meaning and Transformations of Things: shifting contexts of material culture through time and space. Oxbow Books.
Harrington-Watt, K. (2014). Photographs as adaptive, transitional objects in Gujarati migrant homes. Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture, 5(2-3), 273-287.
Knott, K., McLoughlin Seán, & Crang, P. (2010). Diasporas and material culture. In Diasporas: Concepts,intersections, identities (pp. 139–144). essay, Zed Books. Köse. M. (Ed.). (2021). A decade transformed. Africa Foundation Publication. Ankara.
Marcoux, J.-S. 2001. The refurbishment of memory. In: Miller, D. (Ed.) Home possessions: Material culture behind closed doors. Oxford: Berg.
Miller, D. (2008). Migration, material culture and tragedy: Four moments in Caribbean migration. Mobilities, 3(3), 397-413.
Özcan, M. & Köse, M. (Ed.) (2023). Türkiye-Sudan İlişkileri Toplumsal, Kültürel, Siyasal Bağlar. Afrika Vakfı Yayınları. Ankara.
Özdil, K. (2008). Creating new spaces, claiming rights: West African immigrants in Istanbul. Public Istanbul: spaces and spheres of Istanbul (Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2008), 279-299.
Pechurina, A. (2011). Russian dolls, icons, and Pushkin: Practicing cultural identity through material possessions in immigration. Laboratorium. Журнал социальных исследований, 3(3), 97-117.
Pechurina, A. (2020). Researching identities through material possessions: The case of diasporic objects. Current Sociology, 68(5), 669-683.
Pitt, P. (2015). Exploring subject positions and multiple temporalities through an Iranian migrant mother's family photograph albums. Gender, Place & Culture, 22(2), 205-221.
Savaş, Ö. (2014). Taste diaspora: The aesthetic and material practice of belonging. Journal of Material Culture, 19(2), 185-208.
Small, M. L. (2009). How many cases do I need?' On science and the logic of case selection in field-based research. Ethnography, 10(1), 5-38.
Suter, B. (2013). Perceptions, contestations and negotiations on race, ethnicity and gender: the case of Sub-Saharan African migrants in Istanbul. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 68(01), 59-81.
Thomson, A. (2011). Family photographs and migrant memories: Representing women’s lives. Oral history and photography, 169-185.
Tirab, A. T. (2022). Strategic Dimensions Of The Sudanese-Turkish Relations And Their Impact On Turkish- African Relations, Africania-İnönü Üniversitesi UluslararasıAfrika Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2 (1), 25-40. Tirab Abbkar TİRA
Turkle, S. (2007). Introduction: The things that matter. In: Turkle, S. (Ed.) Evocative objects: Things we think with. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Uluslararası Sempozyum Sudan’da Geçiş Süreci ve Türkiye Sudan İlişkileri International Symposium Sudan in Transition and Türkiye-Sudan Relations. (2022, October). https://afrikavakfi.org/en/. Retrieved February 10, 2023, from https://ticaret.edu.tr/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Uluslararasi-Sem�pozyum-Sudanda-Gecis-Sureci-ve-Turkiye-Sudan-Iliskileri.pdf
Van Oyen, A., Heitz, C., & Stapfer, R. (2017). Material culture and mobility: A brief history of archaeological thought. Mobility and pottery production: Archaeological & anthropological perspectives, 53-65.
Zengin, İ. (2013). Geçmişten Günümüze Türkiye-Sudan İlişkileri (Master's thesis, Kırıkkale Üniversitesi).