Abstract Before the 1990s, there were many child performers in India's circus companies. They joined the circus as trainees and received a salary for their performance. After their activity was problematized as child labor and made illegal, they progressively disappeared from circus companies. Drawing from ethnographic materials, this article reflects on the memories of former circus children who have now become adults. The author argues that taking the interlocutors’ memories as a point of departure for the study of childhood helps circumvent some moral and methodological issues with this category. Childhood memories illuminate an individual's assessment of their own experience, regardless of whether it conforms to widespread normative expectations about childhood; it can also suggest biographical periodizations that are more relevant to a person's life than prevalent age categories. The essay ends with a caveat about the need for a reflexive approach to the context in which childhood memories are shared.

中文翻译：

---

马戏团孩子的童年记忆

摘要 1990年代之前，印度马戏团的童星很多。他们以实习生的身份加入马戏团，并因表演而获得薪水。在他们的活动被认定为童工并被定为非法后，他们逐渐从马戏团公司中消失。本文取材于民族志资料，反映了从前马戏团的孩子们现在已经成年的记忆。作者认为，将对话者的记忆作为研究童年的出发点有助于规避这一类别的一些道德和方法论问题。童年记忆阐明了个人对自己经历的评估，无论它是否符合对童年的普遍规范期望；它还可以建议与一个人的生活比流行的年龄类别更相关的传记分期。这篇文章最后提出了一个警告，即需要对共享童年记忆的背景采取反思性方法。