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From Punta to Chumba: Garifuna Music and Dance in New Orleans By Amy Serrano History of the Garifuna / Garifuna of New Orleans
History of the Garifuna The lively and proud Garifuna population that presently lives in New Orleans traces its dual origins to Nigerians from the West Coast of Africa, as well as the Arawak and Carib Indians that inhabited the Caribbean island of St. Vincent during times of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. The Garifuna—whose name is often said to be in honor of "Kaliponah,” a new world Garifuna leader—have also been called the Black Caribs by British colonizers in order to differentiate them from the Native American Caribs that inhabited St. Vincent and other Caribbean islands where Africans destined for slavery were transported sometime between 1635 and 1675. History and oral testimony claim that while on board a slave ship and witnessing the misery endured by fellow passengers, this particular group of Africans revolted and the vessel wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent. To survive in a new environment, the Africans comingled and intermarried with native Arawaks and Caribs, adopted much of their diet, traditions, customs, and livelihood, and they even blended their indigenous language into their own African vernacular resulting in a new dialect composed of Bantu and Swahili combined with Arawak and a smattering of French. What emerged is a fusion of the African with the indigenous peoples who later became known as Garifuna. Surviving being uprooted and relocated but never enslaved, these distinct people generated a proliferation of enduring cultural traditions. While making a life on St. Vincent fishing, hunting, gathering, trading, and raising families, the Garifuna continued to struggle against the British colonial authorities, and unlike their purely indigenous brethren—Arawaks and Caribs—that were gradually decimated by the ravages of warfare and disease, the resilient Garifuna managed to survive. Originally, the Garifuna defeated the British in St. Vincent, but by 1797, the British felt they had tolerated enough Garifuna resistance and forcefully banished close to 3,000 Garifuna men, women, and children to the island of Roatan, directly north of mainland Honduras. Though they would eventually spread out in small groups to other places along the coast of Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Belize, the majority of Garifuna made the island of Roatan their home.
Since Honduras was under Spanish rule at the time the Garifuna landed in Roatan, the Garifuna adopted the Catholic religion and made Spanish their second language. While the community as a whole never relinquished their ties to the animistic and shamanistic aspects of their own African rites and religion, Catholicism and its inherent values were especially woven into daily life by the women of the community. Attendant to their spiritual life, the women used music and dance to fully express their concerns for the inner, but especially the outer world. Music and dance became a way to explain their daily lives and surroundings, a vehicle to communicate Garifuna struggles and ideas, and an antidote to celebrate life and release Garifuna pain. Currently, the largest population of the 200,000 or so transnational Garifuna people can be found in Honduras (90,000), with much smaller populations in Belize (15,000), Guatemala (6,000), and several thousand scattered in South America, as well as about 50,000 that live in North America within colonies found in New York, Miami, and New Orleans. While sometimes unnoticed in the community at large, today the Garifuna people continue to preserve their language, customs, foodways, and perhaps their most renowned tradition: their exceptional storytelling faculties through the diversity and amplitude of their music and dance.
Garifuna of New Orleans After being dispossessed of their land by the growth of the country’s burgeoning banana trade, in the early 1900s the Garifuna began cultivating the fruit and loading the harvest for the locally based American export and shipping companies. Meanwhile, the politically unstable Honduran government gradually increased its dependence on foreign subsidies to bolster its feeble economy. This led to additional political and economic instability and the already marginalized Garifuna increasingly faced greater economic hardship. By the 1960s, New Orleans was one of Honduras’ largest trading partners and President John F. Kennedy posed a socioeconomic initiative that resulted in the Garifuna coming to New Orleans in large numbers. Doña Zoila Martinez, in her 70s in 2009, and perhaps the most respected and renowned Garifuna elder, tradition bearer, and community leader recalls the conditions that led to her arrival, "….en ese tiempo estaba el Presidente Kennedy y entonces dieron esa ayuda para la gente que se llamaba "Alianza Para el Progreso" buscando gente para venir a trabajar. ¿Ve? Asi fue que yo consegui para poder venir a los Estados Unidos." "….during the time of President Kennedy they gave all this help to people under something called the Alliance for Progress. They were seeking people who would come here to work. You understand? That is how I was able to come here to the United States." Presently, the Garifuna community of New Orleans is made up of a mixed population of multiple generations that predominantly established themselves at the time of Doña Zoila’s arrival in the 1960s and then proceeded to have their own families. Most come from the towns of La Ceiba or Triunfo de la Cruz in Honduras. They have formed enclaves in New Orleans East, in Central City, and Uptown near the Mississippi River. Yet determining the actual population of Garifuna from Honduras in New Orleans remains an ongoing challenge.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census data, Hondurans are New Orleans’ largest Spanish-speaking cultural group with a population of 11,237. The census form does not allow for mixed African and Central American ancestry, so it is difficult to determine exact population numbers. Additionally, many Garifuna refer to themselves as a race and have issues identifying as either Hispanic or African-American for the census. This is further complicated by the fact that Garifuna now live in other Central American countries and could be counted in the U.S. Census as from other countries. Further, numbers of documented and undocumented Garifuna people arrived after Hurricane Katrina, while others evacuated and did not return. These latter Garifuna—typically men—arrived and continue arriving as a consequence of hurricanes and bad storms to do reconstruction work and send money back home to their families. One such immigrant, Efrain "Cupe" Amaya, also known as "DJ Garifuna" is a drummer in his late 20s who is part of a Garifuna band in New Orleans East called Legacy. He explains, "I came here in 2005 in search of a better future…..since there was work here, and I had no work back home, I stayed for work here." And while quietly rebuilding New Orleans along with other Central American counterparts, this new generation of Garifuna is equally contributing to the culture of New Orleans in other ways. With music and dance being such an integral part of their traditions and daily life, the Garifuna enjoy sharing these with New Orleanians whenever possible. Jose Dolmo, another young Garifuna who arrived post-Katrina—and works in reconstruction by day—fused his Garifuna drumming with a local band called Ecos Latinos during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2008. He recalls this intercultural music experience: I had the pleasure of sharing my Garifuna culture, and it was very interesting to integrate the Garifuna music with other cultures here in New Orleans, to share in community making. To share in music, in rhythms with other cultures. To play to the same rhythm. It was a marvelous form of excellence. It makes me realize that we can shine in this place that is New Orleans. Yet as a whole, the Garifuna of New Orleans remain mostly invisible. Most New Orleanians, will say that they have never heard of the Garifuna, but when told a little of their history and traditions, they appear fascinated, want to know more, and wonder why they have never heard of them. They are even more surprised to learn that there is a sizable population living in the greater New Orleans area. One reason that may account for their remaining a mainly insulated community originates with the experiences faced by the first wave of Garifuna. Arriving in the 1960s and early 1970s, being dark skinned, and speaking Garifuna and Spanish, it was difficult to fit into African-American or Spanish-speaking circles, or the community at large. Through the passing of time and intermarriage with Hispanics or African Americans, the Garifuna appear to have overcome some of the earlier ethnic, racial, and cultural isolation. Some of the newer arrivals like Jose Dolmo will say that in a city like New Orleans, the Garifuna can feel a such a sense of freedom to be who they really are: "We have a culture similar to that in New Orleans. We have a culture of joy, of warmth, of a friendly nature, we laugh a lot like New Orleanians. We enjoy life. That’s how we are. Many other people enjoy our culture too." Next - Garifuna Music and Dance
Amy Serrano is an award-winning filmmaker and poet living in New Orleans and working on a book on sugar and modern day slavery based on the findings in her last film, "The Sugar Babies." This article was written for the Louisiana Division of the Arts New Populations Project in 2009. |
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