Abstract:
Memory is an integral part of our character and individuality wherever we live. Sound
memories provide a diverse path through which migrants can preserve cognition and
reconstruct past practices, usually for present purposes. Our communal roots build the social
identity, with both geographical and psychological memory offering insights into the very
core of our identity.
This research focuses on the sound and music memories that Sri Lankan emigrants carry
from their mother country and how they are integrated into the Australian sound
environment. Ten members of five Sri Lankan families were engaged in recorded
conversations regarding their memories of environmental sounds, music, and language, both
form their motherland and from contemporary Melbourne.
These memories of Sri Lankan emigrants in contemporary Melbourne help to explore the
connection between a person’s past sound and music memories and their experiences of
sound and music in their displaced location. This paper delineates the connection of place
with memories and how these effects upon their lives, irrespective of where they live.
