Spaces of Memory and Belonging: Embodied Encounters in Chatsworth,South Africa

Abstract

This article explores embodied memory at the intersections of space, identity, and history in the former Indian suburb of Chatsworth, Durban, South Africa. It draws on lived experiences from in-depth interviews with 10 participants who lived through the apartheid and post-apartheid periods. The article demonstrates how memory and attachment to specific spaces in Chatsworth developed through embodied encounters across spaces. It demonstrates a relationship where participants’ interactions with spaces such as markets, cooking stalls, and streets evoke memories connected to their personal and collective histories. These spaces served as conduits that shaped and anchored participants’ memories, fostering attachment to the spaces. In this historically segregated setting, spatial contexts that were previously strictly controlled and characterized by rigid boundaries evolved to become crucial for affirming identity and strengthening ties to “home” and Indian identity. The article advances the understanding of embodied spatial practices and their role in memory and identity formation within a historically segregated urban context.

Introduction

This article explores the interaction between space, the body, and memory to understand how memories shape urban experiences and spatial connections. It primarily focuses on the production of individual and collective memories through embodied spatial experiences. The concept of embodiment suggests that the body goes beyond its biological nature and is influenced by social and cultural dynamics. It serves as a repository of knowledge and a conduit for negotiating cultural meanings and social interactions (Butler, 1993; Scheper-Hughes & Lock, 1987). Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1962) emphasizes the relationship between subjective experience and embodiment, asserting that our bodies act as the medium through which we engage with and interpret the world. Therefore, this article underscores the critical role that the body plays in shaping memories and imbuing spaces with meaning. Considering that bodies traverse and interact with spaces in diverse ways, the article provides a contextual analysis grounded in the historical and urban specifics of Chatsworth, Durban.

Current research on Chatsworth highlights its complex history, including the socio-economic and spatial legacies of apartheid (see Bank, 2011; Desai & Vahed, 2013; Hansen, 2012). Shaped by significant displacement during apartheid and characterized by cultural continuity and transformation, Chatsworth provides a unique context for exploring the lived and emotional dimensions of memory and its connection to space. However, the embodied dimensions of memory, particularly the interplay between body, space, and memory, which this article seeks to foreground, remain underexplored. This article reveals how lived bodily experiences within historically racialized spaces such as Chatsworth played a critical role in constructing and interpreting memories, shaping the meanings attributed to specific places, and cultivating a dynamic sense of identity. Memories of apartheid were deeply rooted in how individuals inhabited, moved through, and felt within specific spaces such as markets, highways, and temples. In his book Native Nostalgia, Jacob Dlamini (2009), a prominent South African historian, offers a compelling example of how memory transcends historical narrative to include affective ties to place. Reflecting on his childhood, he suggests that disenchantment with contemporary life contributes to his nostalgia for the township life he experienced during apartheid. His reflections reveal how memory, particularly that shaped by forced removals and spatial marginalization, is imbued with complex emotions such as longing and attachment to place. Therefore, this article examines how spatial memory, belonging, and identity are negotiated through lived urban experiences in Chatsworth.

Literature Review

Literature in urban and memory studies recognizes the body’s role in memory formation (Diasio, 2013; Giese & Keightley, 2024; Ianì, 2019; Sutton & Williamson, 2014). Central to this discourse is the concept of embodied space, which foregrounds the experiential connection between the body and its spatial environment. Low, as cited in Sen and Silverman (2014), conceptualizes embodied space as a physical entity and a site of lived experience where individuals engage meaningfully with the world around them. Research across cognitive science, social sciences, and the humanities has consistently underscored this crucial role of the body in memory formation and retention (Diasio, 2013; Giese & Keightley, 2024; Ianì, 2019; Sutton & Williamson, 2014). For instance, Ianì (2019) demonstrates how sensorimotor interactions underpin memory formation, while Low (2013) and Stevenson (2014) elucidate how sensory cues, such as smell and sound, can evoke embodied memories. Furthermore, studies by David (2015) and Giese and Keightley (2024) explore how embodied practices, such as dance, preserve and express personal and collective memories. These studies highlight how memory is rooted in bodily and sensory experiences, demonstrating how they shape individual and collective recollections.

In addition, the interplay between memory and urban spaces reveals significant implications on how people construct memories and, subsequently, their identities. Literature across urban studies, cultural geography, and memory studies consistently underscore the complex connection between memory and spaces, resulting in the formation of spatial memory. Physical infrastructure such as statues, heritage buildings, streets, and city landmarks serve as key points of remembrance, embedding memories within urban landscapes and influencing how groups remember or alter their past. These places help form memories linked to specific locations (Abdelmonem & Selim, 2012; Awad, 2017; Eren et al., 2006; Testa, 2009). As Awad (2017) illustrated, urban symbols are deliberately constructed to shape collective memory by embedding dominant narratives within the landscape. These spatial contexts serve not only as objects anchoring this memory but also as dynamic conduits through which meanings are continually created and reshaped.

Considering the body’s central role in forming memory (as previously mentioned), there is broad recognition of the mutually constitutive relationship between lived experience, memory, and urban environment. This scholarly discourse foregrounds how urban spaces are not inert backdrops but active palimpsests in the processes of memory formation. It demonstrates the dynamic interaction between individual experiences and collective memories within the urban spatial dynamics. Cole’s (2012) literary works reveal the creation of spatial memory through walking as an embodied spatial practice. As Julius, the main character, wanders through New York and Brussels, we see how these journeys bring to light, challenge, and imprint memories on urban environments. This aligns with Michel de Certeau’s (1984) reflections on everyday urban practices, highlighting how individuals interact with the city through walking. de Certeau’s (1984) idea of walking as a “pedestrian speech act” allows people to ascribe meaning to spaces. He argues that rather than conforming to planned or officially sanctioned uses of space, their movements trace lived trajectories that inscribe meaning into the urban fabric. This understanding also aligns with Lefebvre’s view of urban spaces as conceptual spaces redesigned by people through everyday rhythms that shape spatial narratives.

This article builds on this scholarship by examining the unique urban and historical context of Chatsworth, a former Indian-designated township in Durban, to illustrate how memory is both embodied and spatialized within contexts of historical segregation. It demonstrates how Chatsworth emerges as a palimpsest space where the spatial organization of apartheid coexists with lived memories. These layers are felt, remembered, and inscribed through bodily experience. It is also through this engagement with spaces that these areas are transformed into meaningful places of belonging and identity.

Chatsworth

The Group Areas Act 41 of 1950 established Chatsworth as a township designated for the Indian population, aiming to enforce racial segregation by mandating the separate habitation and development of various racial groups. In the South African context, the term “township” refers to urban areas historically allocated to non-White populations, including Black Africans, Coloreds (those of mixed racial heritage), and Indians, as part of apartheid policies. Consequently, these townships often faced significant resource shortages and poor infrastructure, leading to a notable disparity in residents’ access to basic facilities and services. Situated 14 km southwest of Durban city center, Chatsworth initially comprised “poor” working-class Indian people who, like their counterparts in other townships such as Umlazi and KwaMashu, served as labor reserves for the White population.

Post-apartheid, Chatsworth has experienced a significant influx of African migration, transforming into a multifaceted urban environment that reflects the interplay of culture, history, and identity (Lal, 2014). Despite economic progress, the spatial injustices established during apartheid persist in Chatsworth, as residents continue to face limited access to amenities and economic opportunities (Desai & Vahed, 2013). Moreover, the township’s spatial design remains indicative of past racial segregation, manifesting in physical and structural inequalities, evidenced by poorly developed areas and the rapid expansion of informal settlements (Desai & Vahed, 2013). While significant cultural and social shifts have occurred, traditional Indian celebrations, such as Diwali and Ramadan, endure within Chatsworth. Preserving enduring physical structures, including pivotal landmarks like the Hare Krishna Temple and local educational institutions, promotes cultural continuity (Desai & Vahed, 2012).

Against this backdrop, this study interrogates how individual and collective memories shape the lived experiences of Chatsworth’s residents, exploring how they derive meaning from the township’s spatial and historical context to forge their identities. The primary objective is to investigate how their embodied encounters with Chatsworth evoke memories and historical narratives from the past, thereby influencing their present-day lived experiences and overall perceptions of the area. This article contributes to understanding how memory is embodied and spatialized through the lived geographies of apartheid and post-apartheid urban environments.

Conceptual Framework

This article’s analysis draws on the concepts of embodiment and conduits, together with Henri Lefebvre’s (1991) theorization of space, particularly his notions of the field of action and the basis of action. The term conduit broadly refers to a channel through which something is transmitted. In this article, the term conduit is used analytically to describe how physical infrastructure and embodied practices such as walking and commuting facilitate the retrieval of spatial memories connecting past experiences to current interactions with place. Drawing on Harris (2016), embodiment is understood as the porous, visceral, and felt bodily experiences in and with inhabited worlds. This perspective foregrounds the body’s interconnectedness with the world, recognizing the ongoing exchange of sensations, emotions, and influences that shape lived experiences. This phenomenological perspective, primarily credited to Merleau-Ponty (1962), argues that all experience and perception are embodied as everything people know and do is mediated by the body. This conceptual lens was critical in understanding the embodied nature of memory, emphasizing the link between bodies, spatial experiences, and memory retrieval. It guided the study’s exploration of how multi-sensory cues embedded in Chatsworth’s physical and spatial context served as triggers for memory recall among participants.

Lefebvre’s (1991) concepts of field of action and basis of action further elaborated on how spaces in Chatsworth are actively produced and consumed through embodied practices and experiences. These concepts, which are part of his broader theory on the social production of space, provided a framework for understanding the interplay between memory, spatial experiences, and the socio-cultural context. The field of action encompasses the material environment, buildings, streets, and landscapes, as well as social relations and power dynamics that shape and are shaped by space. In Chatsworth, this includes spatial characteristics such as architecture, layout, and infrastructure, which evoke memories of significant historical events, cultural practices, or personal narratives. These memories influence how individuals engage with and navigate space, shaping their understanding of identity and belonging. On the other hand, the basis of action refers to the underlying social and cultural structures that influence and constrain individuals’ actions within the field of action. In the context of this study, this includes socio-economic inequalities and the historical legacies of apartheid, which shaped participants’ experiences in Chatsworth.

Methodology and Methods

This study adopted a qualitative phenomenological research design. Neubauer et al. (2019) define phenomenology as an approach to research that seeks to describe the essence of a phenomenon by exploring it from the perspective of those who have experienced it. Phenomenology focuses on exploring individuals’ subjective experiences and understanding the meaning they ascribe to those experiences. This approach was relevant for this study, which aimed to gain insight into how people remember and physically and emotionally engage with spaces in Chatsworth. To achieve this objective, the study drew from 10 in-depth interviews with participants who lived in Chatsworth or had historical ties to the area dating back to the apartheid era. These participants were part of a larger study on Humanizing Spaces and Places: Towards an African Spatial Humanities in Africa that focused on three locations in Durban, including Umlazi, Durban Central, and Chatsworth. The 10 participants met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of participants who had historical connections with Chatsworth and met the study’s objectives of exploring embodied memory in relation to space and history in Chatsworth. Of all the participants, none were part of people who were moved during the Group Areas Act of 1965, but all of them were born in Chatsworth and had lived during the apartheid period. These interviews were conducted virtually and in person, using Zoom and WhatsApp for calls. Despite the small sample size, the researchers ensured that the interviews were extensive, meaningful, and qualitative.

Furthermore, due to the COVID-19 pandemic constraints, many interviews were conducted virtually, with follow-up interviews to ensure comprehensive data collection. The researchers were able to engage participants in-depth through qualitative interviews, eliciting the complexities of their memories and embodied experiences of Chatsworth spaces. These interviews yielded vivid descriptions, sensory details, and emotional connections that aided in gaining a better understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. The study was conducted in compliance with the research ethics. The study was a sub-study to a broader study approved with research protocol number (HSSREC/00001708/2020) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. All participants provided informed consent to engage in the study, with physical consent forms duly signed to demonstrate their willingness to participate.

Findings

The study findings revealed the impact of participants’ multiple sensory perceptions on memory recall and the formation of their embodied encounter with Chatsworth. The memories played a vital role in eliciting emotions and fostering a profound connection with the historical and cultural identity of the participants, who were predominantly of Indian descent. As participants traversed through Chatsworth’s spaces, their senses were consistently stimulated by tangible and cultural cues that triggered recollections of the past. Mobility, through walking or driving in Chatsworth, was an embodied experience that evoked memories and shaped the lived experiences and connections with spaces. These findings resonate with scholars such as Matos Wunderlich (2008), Cole (2012), and Oi (2019) who posit that walking is a commemorative multisensory practice in which memory is evoked through an engagement with the physical environment. This is evident in the narrative provided by participants, who noted that

When I’m walking through Chatsworth, I would say Higgenson Highway, it always just gives me dejavu, like if we go in in the mornings, on that gives me dejavu of like travelling to campus. Or if it’s at night-time, coming off a function, as you know, it always triggers in my mind. (In-depth interviewee)

When driving around Chatsworth, I tell my children, “This is where we used to frequent if we’re going to visit anybody in general,” and we always tell them about our life, just always when we first moved in, when we first moved in Chatsworth, nobody left your household. You put your polymath on the floor. You will be sleep, the neighbours would walk pass your door. (In-depth interviewee)

Drawing from these personal accounts, it becomes evident that walking is more than just a physical activity. As in Cole’s (2012) Open City, the process of walking becomes a conduit through which memory and identity are retrieved. It is a deeply personal and sensory experience that has the power to trigger memories and emotions associated with specific places. For instance, in this study one participant described experiencing a sense of déjà vu while walking through Chatsworth, indicating a profound connection between past experiences and the present moment. Another participant expressed a similar sentiment regarding their journey to Chatsworth through Higgenson Road, the highway leading to the community. They described a distinct sensation of “coming home” and the subsequent process of reminiscing about the past. This experience highlights the emotional connection and familiarity associated with returning to Chatsworth, evoking nostalgia and a deep-rooted attachment to the place.

The participants’ recollections of walking and the associated sensory cues and memories are consistent with de Certeau’s (1984) concept of pedestrian speech acts. The experiences also reflect Lefebvre’s (1991) ideas about spatial practice, in which daily movements inscribe spaces with rhythmic life and emotional significance, transforming them into places of memory and identity. Within the context of this study, participants’ physical navigation through Chatsworth reveals how the infrastructure of the urban spaces was imbued with memory. The highways and routes within Chatsworth functioned as conduits of memory and embodied affect. The memory inscribed was subsequently retrieved through movements across the spaces.

Furthermore, the other participants mentioned that neighbors would walk past their door. They described a close-knit environment characterized by frequent interactions and observations of each other’s daily lives. The physical presence of neighbors walking by likely created a sense of familiarity and belonging, which influenced their memories of Chatsworth during the time of apartheid. These findings corroborate Lefebvre’s (2013) idea of the spatial rhythm of everyday life in which lived and routine activities across space become meaningful and socially produced. Drawing on Lefebvre, the physical presence of neighbors moving through shared space became part of a field of action in which attachments were formed. These interactions fostered familiarity and belonging, demonstrating how embodied proximity influenced place-based belonging.

Moreover, sharing personal stories and the history of their experiences in Chatsworth created a sense of bonding among the participants. This shared narrative reinforced their emotional connection to the places they were discussing. Crowley (2018) emphasizes the memorability of narrations, highlighting how stories elicit emotions and connect the narrator, listeners, or readers and the characters or spaces in the unfolding drama (p. 2). Furthermore, oral narrations of history are a significant source of historical and cultural heritage passed on through generations. Therefore, the findings highlight the multifaceted nature of walking and its ability to evoke memories, create personal connections, and foster a sense of belonging.

Furthermore, participants’ accounts illuminated the role of visual and aesthetic attributes in shaping memories of Chatsworth’s temples, namely the Hari Krishna Temple and the Shri Vishnu temples. These architectural structures emerge as significant symbols of identity and community landmarks, fostering a sense of place and collective memory. Some participants from the interviews noted that

Look, I mean, the architecture on the Hari Krishna temple, you know, that’s iconic, stands out. And then you’ve got, you know, the garden that goes next to it. So, you know, those are the areas that sort of come to mind whenever I am in Chatsworth. (In-depth interviewee)

Yeah, you see, I think one of the things that, you know, that is very symbolic to, to the Indian culture is, you know, the lotus flower, you know, it’s, it’s amongst the Hindus, the lotus flower as holds a lot of meaning to it. And the fact that, you know, there is a garden on the premises where this temple is constructed that is shaped in the form of the lotus flower. So, you know, for the Indians, the lotus flower is significant, and it has a lot of spiritual connotations. And the fact that you know, this garden is shaped in that lotus flower shape as well, you know, it is significant to the Indian culture, the Indian community. (In-depth interviewee)

Both participants acknowledge the distinctive architectural features of the temples in Chatsworth as influential factors in their recollections of the area and their Indian heritage. The interviewee highlights explicitly the architectural design of the Hari Krishna temple, underscoring its importance in their memory of Chatsworth. Furthermore, the discourse on the lotus flower underscores its symbolic significance within Indian culture, embodying spiritual and cultural meanings. Incorporating the lotus flower motif in the temple and garden architecture further strengthens the interviewee’s connection to their Indian heritage, reinforcing their identity and affiliation with the larger community. These embodied encounters contribute to the participant’s perception and remembrance of Chatsworth as a place intrinsically interwoven with Indian customs and principles. This elucidates how physical elements function as focal points, eliciting a profound sense of identity, belonging, and familiarity among community members.

In this instance, the temples, furnished with distinctive imagery and symbolic design, act as conduits for lived memories, conveying spiritual, cultural, and generational narratives through their spatial structure. Drawing on Lefebvre’s ideas, they emerge as meaningful spaces in which symbolic interpretation, communal recollections, and collective identities are inscribed in tangible form and brought to life through human interaction. These physical structures transform into conduits for people to connect with and express their cultural roots, bridging sacred spaces with personal experience in the urban environment.

Several participants in the study referred to their memories of the natural scenery and childhood experiences associated with Mahatma Gandhi Park in Chatsworth. These narratives offer insights into how the participants’ embodied experiences are intertwined with feelings of nostalgia and perceptions of safety within the park. This can be exemplified by the narrative provided by Steve, who stated that

I used to go to that park years back when it was much safer. It is not as safe because many people are getting robbed. However, it does hold some mental value to me in terms of when I used to go down there as a kid with my grandfather. Just walking through, or just chilling there for little birds. I still remember moments. (In-depth interviewee)

Despite current concerns about safety in the park, as shared by many participants, their emotional bond with the park, evoked by its sight, is shaped by positive experiences and past connections. In a separate interview, another participant also mentioned their joyful experiences at the park, where they used to organize buddy parties. Unfortunately, such activities can no longer occur due to safety concerns. This narrative further highlights the changes in the park’s perceived safety over time. Participants’ mentions of muggings, illicit drug use, and illegal activities as increasing concerns in terms of security indicate shifts in the social fabric of Chatsworth.

Furthermore, the narratives provide insights into the evolving social dynamics and safety perceptions within the community, shaping the participants’ embodied experiences of the park. Contrary to Ringas et al.’s (2011) suggestion that changes in the urban physical environment cause discontinuities and urban memory loss, the findings of this study present a different perspective. Memories and perceptions of specific spaces in Chatsworth are influenced more strongly by past experiences than by the altered physical and social landscape. In a separate interview, one respondent stated, “The road is so different now; the houses have changed so much, but when I get to Chatsworth at my uncle’s place, and I sit there . . . I do feel and smell everything.” As such, the findings highlight the significance of embodied experiences in shaping individuals’ relationships with and perceptions of their surroundings.

Furthermore, the embodied narrations provided by participants on their experiences at the Bangladesh market in Chatsworth revealed varied sensory experiences that brought about emotional and nostalgic recollections of their history and identities as Indians. Some participants stated that

The Bangladesh market is very important to me. It is a place where I must shop at least once a month if I have not gone there, you know, for some time I make my way there. Yeah, that is a place I call home. You know, it is this sight, the smell, the sounds, the culture, the people, the whole vibrant way of life in Bangladesh market is what makes me that makes me who I am. I think, you know, Bangladesh market is a true home to the people of Chatsworth; they bring whatever they can. And, you know, I am able to make a living, selling produce, some of whom, you know, grow their produce in the backyards, come out and sell it, there are ladies selling snacks, some Muluku and fresh fish items, you would wish to purchase anywhere. So, it’s, you know, it’s a, it’s a locked, let us call it a locked identity . . . yeah. (In-depth interviewee)

I mean, I saw if I get the transit, I love to go to the market. The market is super cheap; you get such a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, things that you do not get in supermarkets, and things that you can. There are some things that I see. I do not even know what they are, you know, so that I will find out. It is just such a . . . it is just such a wonderful cohesion of different smells, tastes, and sounds. And yeah, it is just nostalgic for me. Not all good smells, and not all good tastes, but still memories. And yeah, I always find it funny that that market has particularly existed for, I do not know, maybe 50 years, 40 years run about there. (In-depth interviewee)

As reflected in the narratives, participants highlighted the significance of the Bangladesh market in shaping embodied experiences, memory and identity formation. Reference to the market as “home” and the experience as a “locked identity” can demonstrate a strong emotional connection with the market. The personal memories and social connections established within the market are crucial in establishing an emotional connection with the space. This can demonstrate the processes of attachment to space involving the embodied experience of space and the construction of emotional bonds.

Furthermore, the participant alluded to the multi-sensory experience of the market, demonstrating how the market’s visual, olfactory, and auditory stimuli contributed to memory and their connection to the market. Participants noted that the Indian vegetables and foods sold and prepared at the market symbolized Indian culture and identity. The Bangladesh market holds significant cultural value for the non-Christian Indian community in Chatsworth, as expressed by the interviewee. The market was central for obtaining essential items during specific religious practices or cultural traditions. For instance, during periods of vegetable fasting, individuals rely on the market to find all the necessary vegetables. Similarly, when specific flowers or plants are required for prayers, such as marigold flowers, the market becomes a reliable source for these items. The different flowery scents that characterized the market significantly affected the memory of the cultural festivals and observations. This also highlights the market’s importance in preserving cultural practices and meeting the needs of the non-Christian Indian population in Chatsworth.

Furthermore, the Bangladesh market is a historical, social, and economic hub. First, The market is embedded with historical memories of the impact of the apartheid on the Indian community (this was quite similar to other non-White populations) in which other categories of people faced systematic discrimination and limited economic opportunities. As alluded to in the interviews, the market became a source of livelihood for local vendors to sell their goods and create livelihoods. These findings reveal feminist standpoint theory ideas on individuals of marginalized groups having the agency and capacity to act within oppressive systems to empower themselves. The market, therefore, served as a symbol of resilience and community among the Indians, as the interviewee has referred to it as a true home of Chatsworth. In another interview, Tom stated that

I am in Chatsworth two, three, four times a week. There are lots of things that attract me there. On Friday and Saturday is the Bangladesh market. Even though I have to drive about 30 kilometres from my home, it is the one place I go to not just to buy my vegetables and meats but also for the social interactions because the people there are my neighbours, friends, and family.

In addition, the market is demonstrated as a space for sociability and interaction. The chants and noises alluded to in the excerpts demonstrate the embodied experience of active social interaction. In addition, describing people in the Bangladesh market as their neighbors, friends, and family can indicate a strong sense of community and personal connections. These social interactions contribute to a sense of belonging and shape the memories associated with Chatsworth. As a historically and socially embedded site, the Bangladesh Market exemplifies Lefebvre’s concept of lived space, which is shaped by the rhythm of daily interactions, economic survival, and sensory engagement. The market becomes a place where identities are actively performed and negotiated. Participants described reaffirming a dynamic sense of self through shared narratives, scents, textures, and routines that were continually reconfigured by movement, social interaction, and tangible aspects of their cultural life.

The study’s findings underscored the role of traditional Indian cuisine and food establishments in Chatsworth in shaping individuals’ sensory perceptions and triggering memories. These sensory experiences were found to be integral in the recollection of the history and identity of Indians. As noted by several participants during the interviews,

I really love going to Chatsworth Centre because it makes me feel so local. You get the smells and taste of all the Masala, fries and oils you know . . . You get all the spices (Indian spices) like those at the Daven Market. (In-depth interviewee, Chatsworth).

We conceive of the Afro-Indian peace garden as a unifying gesture. Because when we look at our history as a people of Indian origin, we do not want to conceive that history as something chauvinistic or narrow. We wanted to find symbols that bring people together, especially this year, which marks 160 years since the first Indian indenture, and also because Chatsworth is quite a diverse community. So, we wanted to put together a living monument rather than a statue or some sort of solid structure that does not have real utility. So, we said, let us build a garden and the trust of this is to cultivate Indian heritage vegetables, vegetables that are common in Asia and which are part of the local diet but whose prominence and availability are declining in South Africa; things like loofah—you know—things like lady fingers, okra and things that one might find familiar in West Africa and so on but in Southern Africa, those are declining. (In-depth interviewee, Chatsworth)

As evident from the aforementioned narrative, consuming Indian cuisine emerges as an embodied experience that enables individuals to reconnect with their cultural roots. The Afro-Indian peace garden, serving as a living monument, is pivotal in preserving and revitalizing Indian heritage, mainly by reviving culinary traditions. This aligns with Lefebvre’s (1991) theorization on the spatial practice of representational space. The Afro- Indian garden is a place of historical, symbolic, and emotional significance. Cultivating vegetables linked to Indian culture and heritage serves to preserve tradition and a spatial practice through which participants materially reassert cultural identity in a changing urban context. In addition, the garden symbolizes unity, as highlighted by the participant’s mention of cultivating vegetables from West Africa. The name “Afro-Indian” itself signifies a trajectory toward social cohesion, facilitated by the shared experience of food preparation and consumption within the evolving social landscape of Chatsworth. This transformation encompasses a shift from a predominantly Indian community to one comprised of individuals from diverse ethnic and social backgrounds.

Furthermore, the consumption of traditional Indian food is recognized for its ability to evoke sensory cues that reinforce a profound sense of local and Indian identity. As the narrative indicates, the participant emphasizes the significance of familiar foods and aromas in fostering a deep connection and nostalgia, enabling them to maintain strong bonds with their Indian identity and the Chatsworth community. This sentiment is further supported by another participant’s narrative, where they specifically mention the spices, tastes, and textures of bachao (an Asian/Indian cuisine) from street food stalls. The participant highlights how these elements serve as a powerful connection, distinct from their experiences in other locations such as Westville, Ballito, or Johannesburg. This underscores the unique sensory experiences associated with traditional Indian cuisine in Chatsworth, which contribute to a distinct sense of identity and cultural belonging within the community.

In addition, it was observed that olfactory sensations linked to specific cultural practices prevalent during the apartheid era played a crucial role in evoking individuals’ embodied experiences and facilitating the recollection of historical events. A participant shared their personal narrative of how the scent of burning wood in Chatsworth triggers childhood memories associated with cooking over firewood, which offers a glimpse of their lived experiences during this period. They described how, during that time, not everyone had geysers, and boiling water or cooking over an open fire was a common practice. This recollection highlights the significance of sensory experiences in connecting individuals to their past and contextualizing the cultural practices of that era. Furthermore, the findings reflect the apartheid-era socio-economic divides and lack of access to contemporary conveniences like geysers. Their social position during apartheid shaped their embodied experiences and current place attachments with Chatsworth.

In addition, conventional heating and cooking techniques highlight how resourceful and resilient people can be when faced with hardship, as postulated by the feminist standpoint theory, which recognizes and supports the agency of marginalized groups within oppressive systems. In addition, these memories emphasize the importance of sensory cues and shed light on how historical context affects people’s perceptions and memories, emphasizing apartheid’s long-lasting effects on daily life and cultural practices. Vahid, cited in Desai and Vahed (2013), highlights that during the massive relocations under the Groups Areas Act, urgent housing construction in Chatsworth and other townships led to sloppy workmanship and intentional disregard for town planning and building standards. Therefore, those affected by mass relocation suffered immense physical, cultural, and financial challenges as portrayed in these findings. Within this historical context of dispossession and precarity, this sensory cue of woodsmoke can serve as a conduit for inscribing geographies of resilience into urban spaces.

Another emerging finding from the study is the impact of nostalgic feelings elicited by embodied experiences on participants’ connection to Chatsworth and commitment to maintaining ties with the community. Even though some participants no longer lived in the area, their nostalgic attachments and memories influenced their loyalty. They motivated them to invest time and effort in maintaining their connections to Chatsworth. These findings highlight the long-lasting impact of embodied experiences on people’s sense of belonging and the importance of nostalgia in shaping people’s ongoing relationship with a place, even when physical proximity is no longer a factor.

This finding is exemplified by the narrative offered by one of the participants who noted that

The dominant feeling is nostalgia. It is a multi-layered and multi-textured experience because we are nostalgic about the past, our history or heritage and actively involved in ongoing organisation and mobilisation. It is not a static interest, but it is a deeply embedded sense of community, and it is about working for the community’s welfare.

Participants expressed a strong sense of attachment to spaces in Chatsworth, corresponding to their earlier references to Chatsworth as “home,” even among those who no longer live there. The interviewee in the preceding excerpt stated that they, along with a few friends from Chatsworth, were actively involved in community initiatives such as providing financial support for tertiary education to students from their former high school. This active participation exemplifies the participants’ deep attachment to Chatsworth, rooted in their embodied memories and experiences. These factors contribute significantly to their overall understanding and emotional connections to the location, reaffirming their perceptions of Chatsworth over time.

Discussion and Conclusion

This article foregrounds the interaction between body, space, and memory. Drawing on embodied memory, the article demonstrates how memory is a spatialized and lived experience in which the body acts as a medium for recollecting memories through spaces that act as active conduits in shaping memories. In this study, we demonstrate how Chatsworth is more than just a geographic location; it is an “embodied space” imbued with a repository of emotions, history, and connections with its inhabitants. Drawing on this conceptualization of place, this article examines how embodied narrations, derived from nostalgic recollections and experiences of Chatsworth, shape how spaces are experienced, remembered, and imbued with meaning. This also underscores the reciprocal relationship between spaces and individuals, where spatial interactions shape and are shaped by personal and collective memories and experiences. The study findings contribute to critical discussions around the reciprocal relationship between spaces and humans.

The role of these spaces in memory and identity formation challenges conceptions of the static nature of spaces, positioning them as “places” imbued with meanings, values, and personal attachments that individuals associate with specific spaces. Through lived experiences, memories, and interactions, spaces are transformed into meaningful places. Within this historically segregated urban context, specific spaces such as markets, cooking stalls, and streets serve as sites where individuals reconstruct memories and identities. In addition, sensory experiences such as sight, sound, smell, and taste played a vital role in memory formation, reinforcing memory’s embodied nature.

Furthermore, the article emphasizes how the experiences and memories associated with specific spaces in Chatsworth contributed to a shared sense of Indian identity and fostered a more profound sense of belonging. This demonstrates how identity is not static but an emergent and embodied process shaped through interaction with places. As people traverse urban spaces, remember their past, and share stories, they engage in spatial activities that anchor memories to physical settings, fostering personal and collective identities connected with their history and everyday interactions. This aligns with Lefebvre’s perspective on the production of space as both symbolic and experienced, underscoring how the interplay between embodied memory, spatial contexts, and sensory experiences continually shapes identity.

Through emphasizing the embodied and spatial aspects of memory and its significance in fostering a sense of identity and belonging, the article contributes to understanding how individuals in historically segregated contexts navigate and reconstruct their identities within evolving spatial contexts. It offers an empirical understanding of the (re)production of “place” advancing understanding of embodied spatial practices and their role in memory and identity formation.