The Garifuna were brought to the “New World” from Africa on two Spanish slave ships in 1635. The ships were wrecked and the Africans were able to escape and settled on the nearby British held island of St. Vincent. Successive generations intermingled with the Black Caribs, who were themselves Arawaks and Caribs from South America. Certain elements of the African culture, such as drum based music, have carried through to the present day. In 1797 the British drove the entire population of Garifuna from St. Vincent, depositing them on what is now Honduras. From there they spread along the coast, with settlements in that country, Guatemala, and in southern British Honduras (Belize). Women are dominant in the culture, historically they were the heads of household, raising food while the men fished. The villages were only accessible by water until recent times.
The biggest Garifuna settlements are Punta Gorda in the south, Dangriga to our north, and Seine Bight, where I am located. British colonial policy had much to do with keeping the Garifuna isolated in their fishing villages, although they are now connected by road with the rest of the country and world, the culture persists.
Several years ago a musician named Andy Palacio was instrumental (no pun intended) in promoting a resurgence of the language and culture. I don’t know if I mentioned it in an earlier post, but when my step grandson Peter graduated from pre-school here at the Seine Bight school, part of the program was having the kids recite various things. They recited the days of the week in English, the official language of Belize, to modest applause, then in Spanish to cheers, and finally in Garifuna, to enthusiastic cheers. It was neat to be there.
Yesterday Bradley and Rilda had a party here at the house, and one of the participants was from the village, in part because he comes over to play volleyball. At 9:30 or 10 he disappeared, then reappeared with a friend and two drums. They were both homemade, but typical in construction. Hollowed out logs with a deerskin drum head on one end, and 3 cords across the head to give a snare effect. One drum was bigger, and was played for a drone effect, while the melody was played on the smaller one. Here’s a photo.
They sang, first in Garifuna, and later in Creol. Several of the Garifuna songs were call and response, either between the two of them, or between them and the rest of us. It was surprising how the melodies were more than coaxed out of the smaller drum. I should note that the smaller drum was played with a higher intensity than the larger one, and they traded drums from time to time.
About ex-pats...
Ambergris Caye, in the northern part of the country, is more highly developed than Placencia, and probably has the greatest concentration of ex-pats, but not having been there, I can’t speak to it. Here on the 15 mile long Placencia Peninsula, there is a growing population some who have been here for a long time, such as my step son Bradley. There are probably as many, if not more, Canadians as Americans, with many from the western prairie provinces. Bradley says I’m learning Creol (aka Kriol) with a Canadian accent. They have either retired here because of the favorable arrangements the government has, or they have come and purchased or started businesses. A young couple I’ve gotten to know have a wine bar/restaurant in Placencia village – they are from California, but will be on an annual vacation in Maine next month. At the end of our driveway is an Austrian restaurant created by a young Austrian couple – here’s her picture from last night’s party:
Their story? He is a trained Marine Biologist, she has a business management background. They were well paid but bored in Vienna, and after some research moved to Australia, where they were involved in the diving industry. However, housing costs were extremely high, and the costs of starting or acquiring a business were prohibitive. So they did more research and decided to visit Belize, which allows a non-citizen to own 100% of a business and the land it sits on, unlike other neighboring countries that limit a non-citizen’s stake to 49%. Ambergris Caye was too busy, and expensive, so they came to Placencia, which is growing fast. They were also attracted to the largest reef in the western hemisphere, just off the coast of Belize. They bought land, built a combination restaurant and home, and opened “The Danube”. So I can walk down the driveway and have “wiener schnitzel”.
The ex-pats tend to be the drivers of the local economy – the ones who have the combination of creative ideas and the courage, capital and business acumen to convert them into reality. I was quite surprised at a semi-annual meeting of the local tourism organization that white people represented at least 80 percent of the (50?) people there.
Although there is poverty here, it is not so pervasive or dominant that it has led to micro-financing NGOs establishing programs to lift people out of poverty. One of the things that drives Bradley is the desire to start businesses that will employee local people and pay them as generously as possible.
That’s it for this post – for more information about the Garifuna, Google the term. To learn more about ex-pats, move to Belize and you’ll be one! It is a land of opportunity for entrepreneurs!
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