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(Huyghue,Terrique.Harmony, Pan Art - Pat Bishop.Photo.Taken 12th February Port-of-Spain National Museum Artifacts Collection)

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(Huyghue,Terrique.Harmony, Music,Drums.Photo.Taken 12th February Port-of-Spain National Museum Artifacts Collection)

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Entry #2: 27th February, 2017                                                                            Limbo

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Entry #2: 27th February, 2017                                                                            Limbo

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Limbo is another way in which cultural retention has taken place, made popular by Julia Edwards. Limbo is a dance consisting of a person bending their back and squeezing through a tight space. With reference to an article written by the Loop News Service, Shamika Charles a Trini-American who recently garnered international attention for her ability to limbo under a car. Shamika Charles- From Trinidad but Doesn't Live Trinidad? While highly skilled at her profession, the article briefly mentioned that she is from Trinidad and Tobago but now lives in New York. Our most talented and valuable people are leaving us, this represents the brain drain problem in the region. The Caribbean region is still a developing place and as such a lot of our most talented people who could make significant, important contributions such as training the next generation of Caribbean youth are leaving us. This can have a negative impact due to the implications attached such as slowing down the rate of regional development making the region even less appealing to valuable persons we want to keep. From the knowledge gained from course, I can say that the contributions we can make in the development of the Caribbean are greatly needed. Referencing "Pan Art - Pat bishop" to the left, it is evident that a lot of hard work went into the creation of the artwork, just like work that went into creating the original steel pan. Like the steel pan, a Caribbean creation, is limbo.  The creation of new unique things add to our cultural identity, this is why we must make efforts to retain our most talented people so that the next generation would be inspired to create new things and preserve the old.

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This post is in response to the question of knowledge on Caribbean folklore. The post shows that stories have been passed down orally from one generation to the next and by looking at the definition of cultural retention which states this is the act of retaining the culture of a specific ethnic group, especially when there is reason to believe that the culture, may be lost. It would appear folklore is being passed down but to very few individuals.

(Huyghue,Terrique.Cultural Retention 2017.Photo.Screenshot 5th April 2017 Digital Collection)

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(Naus, Lauren. Abrahim H. Khan. 2017. University of Nitra Archives, Toronto. Utpjournals. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.)

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Herskevits, Melville J. "Life in a Haitian Valley (2007 Edition)." Open Library. Markus Wiener Publishers, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.
Anderson, Benedict R. ."Imagined Communities:(1991)Reflections on
the origins and spread of nationalism."London: Verso Publishers. Print.

Auld, Michael. "Traditional Anansi Stories." Traditional Anansi Stories. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

Herskevits, Melville J. The Myth of the Negro past. Charleston, SC: Nabu, 2011. Print.

"Calinda." Traditional Mas Archive. Ed. Renee Francois. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

“FOUN 1101 Caribbean Civilisation Unit 1 Version 1” University of The West Indies.Unit. Accessed February, 2017

http://myelearning.sta.uwi.edu/pluginfile.php/258888/mod_resource/content/5/FOUN1101%20Unit%201%20Version%201_reformatted_22Aug.pdf

“FOUN 1101 Caribbean Civilisation Unit 2 Version 1” University of The West Indies.Unit. Accessed February, 2017

http://myelearning.sta.uwi.edu/pluginfile.php/258895/mod_resource/content/5/FOUN1101%20Unit%202%20Version%201%20reformatted_22Aug.pdf

“FOUN 1101 Caribbean Civilisation Unit 3 Version 1” University of The West Indies.Unit. Accessed February, 2017

http://myelearning.sta.uwi.edu/pluginfile.php/258901/mod_resource/content/4/FOUN1101%20Unit%203%20%20Version%201%20reformatted_27Aug.pdf

Huyghue,Terrique.Pigs in a modern Caribbean.Photo.Taken 28th March 2017  U.W.I St. Augustine Agri-tech Expo Collection

Huyghue,Terrique.Cultural Retention 2017.Photo.Screenshot 5th April 2017 Digital Collection

Huyghue,Terrique.Enslaved Fort Augusta Africans.Photo.Taken 12th February 2017 Port-of-Spain National Museum Artifacts Collection

Huyghue,Terrique.Krishna Statue.Photo.Taken 12th February 2017 Port-of-Spain National Museum Artifacts Collection

Huyghue,Terrique. Harmony, Pan Art - Pat Bishop.Photo.Taken 12th February Port-of-Spain National Museum Artifacts Collection

Naus, Lauren. Abrahim H. Khan. 2017. University of Nitra Archives, Toronto. Utpjournals. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

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Food for thought, has the Caribbeans unique history created a Caribbean identity and way of life, so diversified that the knowledge we have today about the Caribbean and our peoples past, is just the tip of the iceberg? How much do we really know about the native peoples Columbus encountered apart the knowledge obtained from an Eurocentric view?

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Statue of Krishna                                                     

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Statue of Krishna                                                     

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(Huyghue,Terrique.Krishna Statue.Photo.Taken 12th February 2017 Port-of-Spain National Museum Artifacts Collection)

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(Huyghue,Terrique.Enslaved Fort Augusta Africans.Photo.Taken 12th February 2017 Port-of-Spain National Museum Artifacts Collection)

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(Huyghue,Terrique.Pigs in a modern Caribbean.Photo.Taken 28th March 2017  U.W.I St. Augustine Agri-tech Expo Collection)

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During my study of Caribbean Civilization, new perspectives and ways of thinking have been opened up to me. Among these new perspectives are that all civilizations are civilized, and they should only be judged by their own culture. Civilizations of which I didn't know existed, a detailed knowledge was acquired on their ways of life. The Paleo, Meso, and Neo Indians are among these. In an effort to secure wealth the Europeans committed various atrocities against humanity, wiping out entire civilizations in their pursuits. However, while a lot of bad came from this, it created what is now today a diversified Caribbean. Home to different languages such as French, Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese and various others like patois. This also paved the way for new art-forms, dances, and opportunities for Caribbean people. Another one of the new perspectives that have been opened up to me is that not only humans were affected by the arrival of the Europeans, plants and animals were also affected. Animals such as pigs did not exist in the region before Columbus, when these pigs arrived they would have needed to find food, some of which are seen in the photo below "Pigs in a modern Caribbean". In there search of food they would have altered the food chain and local ecosystems.  Bacteria and various pathogens would of also been transmitted to the region., along with vegetables, fruits and herbs.

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Entry #4: 5th April, 2017                                                                                        Folklore, what still remains?

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Entry #4: 5th April, 2017                                                                                        Folklore, what still remains?

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Folklore comprise customs, beliefs and stories of a community, passed down through generations orally. In Trinidad, a news story was recently aired detailing how one man has created a folklore museum in Paramin, North Trinidad. Folklore Museum Paramin - Article TV6 News , a current article from this year. A lot of the folklore that exists in the Caribbean to date originated in West Africa. These folklore tales have been brought into the Caribbean by way of the enslavement of Africans, some of which can be seen depicted in a sketch from the Fort Augusta photo to the right titled "Fort Augusta Africans".  In One such folklore is the story of Anansi and the yam hills, Anansi & The Yam Hills - Story Link . Loss of culture is a serious problem of regional importance, as the region continues to go through social, economic and political changes. Benedict Anderson in one of his works "Imagined Communities" wrote about nations so large, it's members don't know each other on a face-to- basis but have to imagine each other to some degree. Folklore is similar to this idea, the folklore that exists in one Caribbean island may not exist in another but we have to imagine that they have some type of folklore. Referencing the "Cultural retention 2017" photo below, various people claimed to have been exposed to folklore but there are little mention of any specific stories. One person even commented, "Google" suggesting that no longer people would gather around campfires late at night with their grandparents, aunts or uncles and listen to these orally. I believe that conveying a story like this would have a much more significant effect than simply just reading it off the internet. With reference to the folklore museum article mentioned earlier, soucounyants and la diablesse were brought up. Both being mythical creatures, why are there not more museums like this? Referencing the "Fort Augusta Africans" drawing again, the internet would not of existed back then and these folklore tales could only have been communicated orally downwards through generations.

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Entry #3: 2nd April, 2017                                                               A look at religions in the Caribbean

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Entry #3: 2nd April, 2017                                                               A look at religions in the Caribbean

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The artifact to left titled "Krishna Statue," depicts a Hindu God. When the Europeans made contact with the Indians to recruit them for their labour, they would have stumbled upon Hinduism. Hinduism was not the faith the Europeans supported, Christianity was their doctrine. In light of this the Europeans tried to force their views on the Indians and but marginally failed. Hinduism in the Caribbean is both similar and different to the practice in India and Nepal. These differences came about because while the religion is the same, the culture in and Nepal and the Caribbean is different. The largest concentration of people that practice the Hindu doctrine falls within Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname. This came about because during the Indian indentureship Indians were brought to work on plantations in these areas or within close proximity to them. In my study of Caribbean Civilization, it became apparent that different religions became dispersed throughout the region by their practitioners arrival to the Caribbean. Through examining history, slavery, and Indian indentureship it becomes apparent that it costs the world nothing to respect other religions, cultures and the rights of freedom of others. The next time you meet someone of a different culture to your own, it fares us well to think about how different you are to them, but at the same time similar. Another form of Religion is the Haitian practice of Voodoo, Melvo Herskevits wrote a book "Life in a Haitian Valley" in 1937, detailing the practice, while he studied it's practice in Haiti, and traced it back to West Africa, he didn't mention any accounts of places that voodoo may have existed but may have experienced cultural erasure as a consequence of dominant religions like Christianity brought from the Europeans. From this we can derive that other religions may have been erased due to the persistence of an European brand of Christianity, the ones most likely to have been culturally erased are those of the native peoples, and the ones like Spiritual Baptism, Hinduism, and Haitian Voodoo went through a great deal of trials and tribulations to exist here in the Caribbean region today.

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The Shamika Charles - Article  is an example of cultural retention among Caribbean people.

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Entry #1: 20th February, 2017                                                                 Stick Fighting, Dancing Art

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Entry #1: 20th February, 2017                                                                 Stick Fighting, Dancing Art

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Stick fighting comprises the use of wooden sticks for fighting or dance, and is often undertaken with music. Custom hand made drums can be seen in the photo to left "Harmony, Music, Drums." Everything is better with music, why not add some to stick fighting. The roots of stick-fighting can be traced back to Africa. How did stick fighting reach a place as far as Trinidad? French planters had slaves and when they migrated to Trinidad, the culture of the slaves were brought with them. Did the planters find entertainment in watching the slaves go at each other with sticks? It is quite possible and shouldn't be overlooked. Events may have even occurred that resulted in serious injuries if in fact the planters made slaves stick fight in an aggressive manner for their own entertainment. The planters already exploited the enslaved peoples for their labour, there is no guarantee that it stopped there, exploitation of their culture was a very real possibility. Melvo Herskevits explored cultural continuity in African cultures. In one his books "The myth of the negro past," he wrote that African-Americans had not lost all traces of their culture from Africa when they were taken as slaves. While he does come to this conclusion, America is not the only place where people of African descent reside. In a place such as Trinidad, there is a prominent African descended population where from my own personal experiences have little knowledge of Africa and their cultural practices. In Trinidad, where I have lived for about 20 years, many people of African descent I've met and close to none have ever brought up a conversation about Africa or African customs, music, dance, food or folklore, or clothing styles. What I have learn't from this is cultural erasure does exist in Trinidad and by becoming aware of the situation, this is the first step to correcting the problem.

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The concept of an identity within the Caribbean is a complex one, it encompasses ethnicity, religion and history. Abrahim Khan described identity as being centered on two parts, one consisting the fact of identity and the other, sense of identity. The fact of identity concerns objective measures of which a person is instantly identified and grouped with others with similar traits such as gender, race and ethnicity. These three terms are recognizable upon observing or seeing someone. Imagine going to the market on a Sunday within the Caribbean region, you would see different women and some men of African, Indian, Mixed and Chinese backgrounds selling goods. Where did they get this identity? The idea of a Sunday market has an African background and women in West Africa can still be seen carrying this unique identity in modern day. This identity has been built upon and evolved into something unique of its own merits to cater for the needs of the regional people. The second part of Khan’s two pronged concept of identity entails a sense of identity. Subjective in nature this represents how one sees the world. Two main influences are at play here, a collective sense of identity that is impacted by by others view of a person and a personal sense of identity which is impacted by a person them self. Benedict Anderson also had an idea about identities, he wrote they are constructed and continue to be. He proposed different groups of people value knowledge more than other groups. The value created unifies the group, bringing everyone's individual identities together to create a group identity.

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Introduction

The purpose of this portfolio is furnish the reader with an understanding of the term “Caribbean identity”  and trace the origins of different contributions made to it by different peoples. At present the Caribbean region is still developing as many technological advances and economical change has been brought about due to a series of past events. Many different peoples have crossed paths within the Caribbean and will continue to do so for a long time. Upon doing so different art-forms and cultural practices were gained and lost. A long history has also been born as a result of these interactions of which its nature has influenced the contemporary Caribbean.  In the creation of this portfolio different scholarly accounts were examined alongside my own annotation input. A dive into a Caribbean Identity would be taken and what may have lost along the path that was taken to make the Caribbean the unique, captivating place it is today. Folklore, religion, cultural retention and cultural erasure would be examined.

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Caribbean Identity

25.03.2017

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Terrique Huyghue

University of The West Indies

St. Augustine Campus