Mnemonic Encounters

This chapter focuses on the doing of embodied memories, which entails social encounters and mnemonic communication under recognition of the structures that make remembering possible in the first place. Sara Ahmed’s concept of “encounter” will be treated as the premise for the creation, preservation, and negotiation of embodied memory among British Bangladeshi women in London. Illustrating an intricate network of women-led cultural work in community centres, schools, and local festivals like A Season of Bangla Drama, this chapter will consider the local institutional foundations for mnemonic transmission in Tower Hamlets. Introducing the women-only organisation Mohila Ongon and the varied offline and online strategies their organisers apply to bring women together, will reveal the authority of local leaders in enabling mnemonic mediations without prescribing them. Supporting women in asserting themselves as creative agents in the communication of pasts and presents is a form of mnemonic labour that provides the structural backbone allowing memories to travel through dance among British Bangladeshi women.