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Anguilla — Anguilla Summer Festival, early August.

Antigua and Barbuda. ...

Aruba — Carnival, February, Ash Wednesday.

The Bahamas — Junkanoo, late December/early January.

Barbados — Crop Over, early August.

Belize — Carnival, September.

Bonaire — Carnival, February Ash Wednesday.

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Dance wen we wah.

The enslaved people were restricted and could not express themselves freely. However, this attempt to put Caribbean people in borders failed.

One way they expressed themselves is through dance. dance schools can be found in the Caribbean teaching traditional folk dancing for example.

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Afro House & African Caribbean Folk Dance Choreography by Priscilla Gueverra #AfricanDance

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“Me only have one ambition, y’know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together – black, white, Chinese, everyone – that’s all.” - Bob Marley

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"We cud pray tuh who we wah- and celebrate each oda ting."

Initially, when the Europeans came, the Caribbean had a forced Christian religion. However, as time progressed, space was created to express religion freely.

When it comes to religion, the Caribbean is dominated by Christianity. However, many different sects and culture adaptations of Christianity can be found throughout the islands. From the religions of slaves and indentured laborers to styles developed on the islands themselves, the Caribbean is full of a variety of faiths.

In the literary piece, Marva mentions "celebrate each oda ting." Currently, in the Caribbean, religion is no longer attached to race. An African could be a Hindu and Indian, a baptist. Religious festivals, such as Divali, are celebrated in most schools, even the ones that are not of the Hindu faith. They part-take in the religious festival by cooking curry and wearing saris for example.

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"Eat all ah de food each one ah we bring, plus de ones we mek togeda"

Each ethnic group brought with them several foods. For example the Africans introduced Callaloo and the Indians introduced roti.

Caribbean dishes -- Ingredients that are common in most islands' dishes are rice, plantains, beans, cassava, cilantro (coriander), bell peppers, chickpeas, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, coconut, and any of various meats that are locally available like beef, poultry, pork or fish.

Below is a link to ten famous must try Caribbean dishes.

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Visiting the Caribbean is not exactly a hard-sell. With its white sandy beaches, azure sea, lively culture and balmy weather, this cluster of islands is a dream holiday destination. What's more, sampling the food is a journey in itself.

Don't leave the Caribbean without trying....

Seafood

All those islands, all that ocean. Seafood, whether swimming or in a shell, is a Caribbean highlight. Long a staple of sailors crossing the Atlantic, flying fish are a firm and tender whitefish, best served grilled and hugely popular on Barbados and the Windward Islands. Grouper, a large fish, makes excellent steaks and is good in stews while countless varieties of shellfish is served in beachfront bars.

Jerk

The signature flavour of Jamaica and one of the Caribbean's most famous cuisines, jerk refers to a very spicy dry or wet rub applied to chicken or other meat. After absorbing the flavours, the meat is smoked and/or grilled to fiery perfection. Variations are many, with influences from Africa to Portugal to Latin America.

Try making your own Jerk spice mix

Ubiquitous across the islands, especially those with a strong Spanish heritage like the Dominican Republic and Cuba, roast pork is often served with other regional staples like rice and beans plus plantains. Succulent and juicy, pork drippings give everything on the plate a rich flavour. Roadside stands across Puerto Rico serve the much-loved lechón asado, which is spit-roasted suckling pig.

Simmered in huge pots across the Caribbean, this thick and rich stew can include aubergine, okra, squash, potatoes and pretty much anything else that grows in the islands' rich earth. Beef is the most common meat, while fungi - tasty cornmeal dumplings - add texture. It's called souse in the Bahamas, which may refer to the condition of the cook given that no two recipes or even batches are alike.

A sort of sea escargot, conch is any of many different large sea snails that are housed in often beautiful shells (piles of them in Bonaire form pearly pink mountains). Something like a huge clam, the meat makes fabulous fritters - a staple in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and cruise-ship ports everywhere. Conch also appears in salads, soups and stews. Farm-raised is the most sustainable.

Chicken with rice

Still craved by locals even decades after they've emigrated, Arroz Con Pollo is the ultimate island comfort food. Wildly popular where Spanish influences remain strong, this deceptively simple dish is a savoury mix of flavours that include tomatoes, garlic, peppers and more. Baked until the rich scents fill the kitchen, most would say their mother's version is best.

Try making Jerk chicken with rice and peas

Cuban sandwich

One Cuban export that has found favour across the Caribbean and Florida, this hearty sandwich was once the lunchtime meal for labourers in Havana. Soft, crusty white bread is layered with ham, roast pork and some sort of mild white cheese. Dill pickles and vinegary yellow mustard provide accents. A sandwich press makes everything gooey, toasty and scrumptious.

"Got some?" is a conversation-starter on tiny Montserrat, where a thin, clove-scented stew called goat water is a national obsession. The broth is heartier on islands like Aruba and Bonaire, where it is called kabritu (or cabrito) and locals solemnly proclaim that their own mother's version is best. Mannish water, a Cayman Islands version, includes a goat head and foot.

Try cooking with goat in a Jamaican-style curry

A vegetable dish with roots in West Africa, callaloo was brought to the Caribbean by slaves and is still a vital part of diets on Jamaica and Dominica plus Trinidad and Tobago. Leafy greens (often from the namesake bush or from taro, water spinach and more) are boiled into a thick stew, which may include peppers, coconut milk, okra and all manner of meats and seafood.

This tasty fruit staple grows wild and on farms almost everywhere. It comes in yellow and orange varieties and when perfectly fresh is served plain with a squeeze of lime for a sweet and luscious breakfast. It also appears in salads and even stews. However many prefer papaya mixed into a cocktail with the Caribbean's great contribution to libations: rum.

Try it in this exotic salad
Are you a fan of Caribbean cuisine? Do you agree with our selection or have we missed your favourite? Share your must-try dishes below...

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All those islands, all that ocean. Seafood, whether swimming or in a shell, is a Caribbean highlight. Long a staple of sailors crossing the Atlantic, flying fish are a firm and tender whitefish, best served grilled and hugely popular on Barbados and the Windward Islands.

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"All ah we have we own songs tuh sing.
(It have no Trini, Bajan or Vince who doh know bout Bob Marley.)"

Reggae, which was originated in the 1960's - Jamaica, was probably the most influential music to come out of the Caribbean.
During and after slavery people of the Caribbean used music as a means of expressing themselves; as a means of having a voice. For example the famous Bob Marley, who sang "Redemption Song", said, "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds." From here on Caribbean people no longer see themselves as colonized or ex-slaves, but rather free and independent.
Chutney and chutney soca is also another type of music emerging after slavery. Chutney music is a form indigenous to the southern Caribbean, popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, other parts of the Caribbean.

(below are examples or reggae music and chutney soca)

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Roll Up D Tassa BY Drupatee & Alison Hinds

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Roll Up D Tassa...New Remake by Drupatee & Alison Hinds

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My African heritage is a part of reggae music roots, and the concept is that the album, 'Revelation Part 1: The Root of Life' is a tribute to roots reggae music. The fruit is what blossoms into different colors and shades, but the root has to stand predominant.
- Stephen Marley

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"We come from different places with different faces and different races.
We nuh black, we nuh white, we nuh grey. We nuh fixed."

"De whole betta dan de sum  ah de parts
Some ah we come by force              from Africa.
Some ah we come fuh wok                from India.
Some ah we come fuh business
from China an Syria.
But some ah we mix with each other and mek new things.
We unique."

These stanzas aim to capture the multiracial nature of the Caribbean.
The picture below was chosen for this post because it captures the many different ethnicity becoming one.

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"Altho we might nuh always get along, we still went tru plenty ah de same ting."

The Europeans strategically divided the ethnic groups who came to the Caribbean as a ruling mechanism. Today the Caribbean still echoes this division wether consciously or not. After slavery was abolished, the planter class searched for a cheap source of labor. Some of the Africans were willing to continue working on the plantations; however, most plantation owners were bankrupt, therefore refusing to pay the higher wages (40-45c/day) that the Africans demanded. The planter class then looked to India for laborers that would accept a lower wage. This caused antagonism between the Africans and the Indians. The Africans saw the Indian community as people who took their jobs and bargaining power away from them.

The issue of religion:

The Africans in the Caribbean were highly Christianized by the Europeans by the time the Indians came. Due to their Christianity, they saw the religious practices of the Indians (Hinduism and Islam) as wrong and “heathenistic” ; just as the Europeans had done to them previously. However, the Indians were allowed to express themselves religiously; different to the Africans who were subjected. This caused division between the groups.

The issue of opportunities (education and politics):

The Planter class, in general, did not attempt to improve the living conditions of the Indians. Whilst Africans in the twentieth century were accessing education and joining local assemblies, for example, the Indians were not.
When the planter class left the Caribbean, the educated Africans took their positions. Africans dominated the police force and most government jobs.

In the Caribbean today, racism still exists and most of it is a result of slavery. Most ethnicities obtained the same level of opportunities, however, discrimination is still prevalent.

(below is a link to an article addressing the saturation of African people in the police force.)

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The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian is the longest running daily newspaper in the country, marking its centenary in 2017. The paper started life as the Trinidad Guardian on Sunday 2nd September 1917 by the newly formed Trinidad Publishing Company Limited.

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The following song was sung by Denise Plummer. She refers to 'trinbago' (Trinidad and Tobago), however it can be applied to the Caribbean. She mentions some aspects of Caribbean culture such as food, and of society such as freedom. Essentially, she expresses her love for the different things that make the Caribbean unique.

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One of the reasons I decided to do my portfolio this way was because of my friend Diego, from Columbia who currently studies at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad. I asked him the question: “What do you think defines a Caribbean person?” He hesitated a bit before answering.

“Umm, I would have to say they are very happy and very friendly. They are mixed and love their bellies.”

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This page seeks to explore the different aspects of Caribbean culture and identity brought forward via slavery. This is done by observing an original literary piece that portrays a conversation about the Caribbean. One of the characters explains to a foreigner the basic components of Caribbean history and the Caribbean "present". Each component is explained either to the right or the left of the literary piece; which is positioned to the center of the page, entitled "We are Caribbean". One should read the literary piece before reading the explanations. In addition to this, other supporting artifacts are included to strengthen the points highlighted by the literary piece.

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"We speak we own languages now.
Everybody did come wit dey own voice, and dey try tek it way from we.. but now we have we own."

When enslaved Africans were brought to the Caribbean,one of the first things that the oppressive system of the slave masters did was to ban every African from speaking his language. They broke their wills and robbed them of their heritage. They smashed their language and so destroyed their culture and broke their oneness of heart and mind. They took their language away and therefore their ability to communicate properly. They were forced to take new names and speak the language of the European. However, as a result, the people who came to the Caribbean began to mix syntax and languages to form new ones. Most people refer to the hybrid way of speaking as "creole".

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(literary piece)

John, the Canadian, went to the Caribbean to visit his friend; and they have the following conversation.

John: Marva how come everybody here so different?

Marva: What yuh mean? yuh doh expect everybody to look same way, no?

John: Well no. But I find it rell hard to explain people from the Caribbean back at home.

Marva: Look boy, yuh mus find it hard, wah yuh kno bout we eh? yuh cyah talk bout sum yuh neva kno.

John: O gosh marva, well tell me more bout alyuh Caribbean people nah. Ah really wah kno.

Marva: aright boy, buh listen gud eh:

We are Caribbean

We come from different places with different faces and different races.
We nuh black, we nuh white, we nuh grey.
We nuh fixed.

We are Caribbean

De whole betta dan de sum  ah de parts
Some ah we come by force              from Africa.
Some ah we come fuh wok                from India.
Some ah we come fuh business
from China an Syria.
But some ah we mix with each other and mek new things.
We unique.

We are Caribbean

Altho we might nuh always get along, we still went tru plenty ah de same ting.

We are Caribbean

De European dem did use we fuh we labour, but we geh we freedom.
Now we live in de aftermaths of slavery.

We set free.

Now if yuh see!
All ah we have we own songs tuh sing.
(It have no trini, bajan or vincey who doh know bout Bob Marley.)
We cud pray tuh who we wah- and celebrate each oda ting.
Dance wen we wah.
Eat all ah de food each one ah we bring, plus de ones we mek togeda
Is free we free!
We speak we own languages now.
Everybody did come wit dey own voice, and dey try tek it way from we.. but now we have we own.

We are Caribbean

We is people like everybody else.
Buh we history rich like the soil we toil long ago. next time yuh fren dem from home ask yuh bout Caribbean, tell dem we nuh so simple. We is ah whole set ah islands an is plenty ah we who come from all ova an mek we own mark here.

We are original.
We are diamonds made from the rough.
We are unique.
We are eccentric.
We are dynamic.
We are Caribbean.

We are Caribbean!

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My Caribbean Civilization Course Experience:

Unique. Simple. Fun.
The above three words capture the entity of this course. Learning about the history of the Caribbean is always exciting; as it adds to the meaning to my existence. It instils more pride and patriotism. This course is the first unified course taken and initially, it was a bit confusing. After becoming familiar with the nature of the course, learning was a smooth sea. The online lectures allowed me to feel connected to my fellow colleagues from across the Caribbean, and the tutorials allowed me to feel connected to the historical content. I enjoyed the music videos played at the beginning and end of each lecture and the open door policy of the tutors is commendable. If the option of being exempted from this course ever presented itself, it would’ve been rejected as it taught me a lot about my home, the Caribbean.

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One way to look at identity is the concept you develop about yourself says Scarince, philosophy instructor. This concept evolves over the course of one’s life and may include aspects of life that is uncontrollable, such as biological features and place of birth, and controlled such as life choices and beliefs. One may portray their identity through what they wear and the way they interact with others. This in a nutshell is personal identity.

In the Caribbean the terms “Caribbean Identity” and “Caribbean self” are very familiar. As mentioned above identity can be defined as the individual characteristics, style or manner that is fundamental to a person and by which that person is ‘identified’ or recognized. This page however, focuses on the external influencrs of identity as it relates to society which includes social and cultural situations.

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WHO AM I? WHAT IS MY CARIBBEAN IDENTITY? 

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WHO AM I? WHAT IS MY CARIBBEAN IDENTITY? 