Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
August 2018
Doll in the style of a Quinceañera around the year 2003
Historical Context
When people fall in love, it is only natural that they want to be together. However, if the person lives in a different country, this is not so simple. The big question: ‘Can I leave my homeland behind for this love?’ is something many of us have undoubtedly faced at some point in our lives. Although this topic is just as important today as it was several hundred years ago, the decision remains just as difficult. Leaving something behind for a new joint future, be it family, a place, or even a country, requires a great deal of courage. It is often women who embark on this journey in the hope of a new life and out of love for their partner.
Short Biography
Aurellie Ballajee is born in May 1993 in Mauritius and lives there with her parents and five siblings until the age of nine. In spring 2003, she emigrates as the youngest child with her mother to live with her new stepfather in Nordenham on the Weser. The start in Germany is not easy for her. Although she speaks Creole, French, English, and Japanese, these diverse skills do not help her in speaking German.
In Germany, she must first acclimatize to a new school and focus on learning the new language. As this task is anything but easy, she attends the fourth grade in Germany twice and also takes language courses in German during the holidays. At the age of 17, she moves out of the house where she lives with her mother and stepfather to stand on her own two feet. She completes her secondary school diploma in Nordenham and receives her entrance qualification for higher education in fashion design at the Geschwister Scholl school center in Bremerhaven. Subsequently, she decides to pursue a degree as a foreign language correspondent due to her extensive language skills.
Significance of the object
As a farewell gift, Aurellie Ballajee receives a doll from her father, which wears a voluminous light blue dress in the style of a Quinceañera. This is also the last time she sees her father.
The Quinceañera is particularly widespread in Latin America and parts of the USA. This tradition describes the transition of a girl into womanhood and is celebrated grandly on her 15th birthday. This life transition phase is accompanied by varying traditions depending on the region and symbolizes the entry into adulthood. The girls wear special ball gowns for this event, which can be extravagant and reminiscent of wedding dresses. In addition to attending a church service, the father-daughter dance is a particularly special event, marking the point when the daughter has left childhood behind and is introduced into society.
In the USA, dolls have their own holiday: National Doll Day. It is celebrated on the first Sunday in August. Although this ‘Doll Day’ is not directly related to the tradition of Quinceañera, it embodies a passion for collecting and precious childhood memories that people like Aurellie Ballajee and many others associate with it. The holiday dates back to the American blogger Lanetta J. Sprott in 2011 and is celebrated on the first Sunday in August.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de