Garifuna People
I am a native from Dominica and I had never heard of the Garifuna people. Today, the Garifuna population is around 600,000 mostly living in Central America, St Vincent, and the United States. The United States has the 2nd largest population of Garifuna outside of Central America with New York City having the largest, dominated by Garifuna from Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize. Los Angeles ranks 2nd with Belize being the most populous, followed by those from Honduras and Guatemala. The Garifuna language is highly influenced by the Arawak language. Almost all Garifuna are bilingual or multilingual, speaking Spanish or English as their first language.
They have a wide variety of dishes: fish, chicken, bananas, and plantains. Machuca is their primary dish made of mashed green plantains, coconut milk, with fried fish. But the food that is most common is Ereba (cassava bread), made from grated yuca. The process of making "Ereba" is possibly the most important tradition practiced by the Garifuna people. It is served with every dish. The culture is also rich with music and dance. Their drums are made from hollowed-out hardwoods such as mahogany and mayflower. Punta is an evolved form of traditional music that’s played using traditional instruments and is the most popular and well-known genre of Garifuna music.
Recently, Belize started the renaissance of Garifuna music. Andy Palacio was a Belizean Punta musician and leading activist for the Garifuna people. He was born and raised in the coastal village of Barranco and worked briefly as a high school teacher before turning to music. Percussionist Mohobub Flores fuses traditional Garifuna music to the popularize “Punta rock.” In 2011, Adrian Martinez and Andy Palacio performed in Garifuna language, "Baba" (God/Father) a song that encourages people to explore their spirituality. The song expresses the need for divine intervention and guidance. The first line "Open the floodgates" is a plea to God to shower his blessings onto the listener. The repetition of "Baba ooo" throughout the song is a call for God to provide guidance.
Baba (Father): Song from Belize by Adrian Martinez and Andy Palacio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqd4Paq4l9E
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garifuna
Famous Cards
Very interesting. Nice read, thx Simon!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a wonderful read! It’s amazing how complete strangers in close places can connect us back to home (regardless of the distance)💚. I would really love to try the Ereba 😋. Thanks so much for sharing 🙏🏼💫.
ReplyDelete