HAITIAN CULTURE, LIFESTYLE, AND GOVERNMENT

YVON ARISTIL

HISTORY OF HAITI

• Haiti, a name that means "mountainous country," is derived from the language of the Taino Indians who inhabited the island before European colonization.

• After independence in 1804, the name was adopted by the military generals, many of them former slaves, who expelled the French and took possession of the colony then known as Saint Domingue.

• In 2000, 95 percent of the population was of African descent, and the remaining 5 percent mulatto and white. Some wealthy citizens think of themselves as French, but most residents identify themselves as Haitian and there is a strong sense of nationalism.

• Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Haiti covers 10,714 square miles (27,750 square kilometers). It is located in the subtropics on the western third of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Caribbean, which it shares with the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic. The neighboring islands include Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Three-quarters of the terrain is mountainous; the highest peak is the Morne de Selle. The population has grown steadily from 431,140 at independence in 1804 to the estimate of 6.9 million to 7.2 million in 2000. Haiti is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Until the 1970s, over 80 percent of the population resided in rural areas, and today, over 60 percent continue to live in provincial villages, hamlets, and homesteads scattered across the rural landscape. The capital city is Port-au-Prince, which is five times larger than the next biggest city, Cape Haitian.

MUSIC OF HAITIMusic is a part of Haitian culture and is influenced by French, Spanish and American music. Drum is the most important musical instrument. The famous and world-renowned music of Haiti is the Haitian Compas or Konpa Direk. Compas is a Spanish word meaning "rhythm" or "tones". Did you know that Haiti did not have any recorded music until 1937? A Haitian Jazz musician Guignard, first recorded the music in 1937. The music of Haiti is very unique and is taken from Vodou ceremony and traditions. The music of Haiti involves medium-to-fast tempo beats accompanied by electric guitars, saxophone, synthesizers and a horn. Some of the popular music forms of Haiti are Rara, Mizik Rasin, Mini-Jazz, Zouk and Haitian Rap.

Famous Haitian Musician Lead Fugees rapper and sometime guitarist Wyclef Jean was the first member of his group to embark on a solo career, and he proved even more ambitious and eclectic on his own.

The son of a minister, Nelust was born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, on October 17, 1972.

Festivities of Haiti begin in the month of February and are known as Carnival or Kanaval in Creole. At the time of festivities, people get away from their daily routine and are on streets dancing and singing. There are parade floats accompanied by music during the festival season. A musical festival known as Rara is celebrated before Easter with great pomp and show

Carnival in Haiti

New Year in Haiti is marked by grand celebrations that continue almost for a month. Such festivals in Haiti are enjoyed by all, natives as well as tourists Carnival in Haiti concludes on the day of Mardi-Gras, also known as Fat-Tuesday. This day is named after the custom of consuming all kinds of fats at home before the Easter season. The Wednesday that follows Mardi-Gras, is known as Ash Wednesday. This festival is marked by spectacular parades that feature floats, pageants, masked balls, elaborate costumes, seductive music and many more.

SPORTS

Like in Brazil or Italy, the football is the most popular sport in Haiti. Certainly, the national pastime is the football. A different of the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico, the Haitian people don't like the baseball. In the 20th Century, football became the most popular sport in the Island, thanks to such heroes as Sylvio Cator, Joseph Gaetjens and Emmanuel Sanon. In 1974 Haiti qualified for the World Cup in Germany.

The religion practiced by the Haitians is Christianity and most of the natives are Roman Catholics. An ancient religion known as Vodou, is still practiced in many parts of the nation. This religion has many traditions and customs that is a fusion of Central and Western Africa, Europe and Taino religions. One the oldest church in Haiti.

the cuisine is also widely influenced by the cuisines of Africa, Taino and Europe. The staple food of Haitians is rice and beans. The other dishes are Griyo: fried pork, Mayi moulen: cornmeal, Sòs pwa: bean sauce, Sos poul: chicken in sauce and Poisson: fish. The popular Haitian dessert consists of sweetened milk and rice and banana fried in butter.The arts and crafts of Haiti are very much in demand in the international market. The art works of Haitian artists are colorful and world famous. Some of the craft works include needlework, embroidery, leather goods, paper-mache pottery, sequin flag-making and metal crafts. Haiti is, indeed, a magic land that is rich in culture

HAITIAN DESSERTHaitian dessert consists of sweetened milk and rice and banana fried in butter.

LABADIE BEACH

One of the best Haiti beaches is the Labadie beach. Labadie is a strip of land on the secluded Pointe Honore near Cape Haiti. This beach will provide you umpteen opportunities for swimming, snorkeling and nature walks. The Labadie beach is one of the world's best sandy beaches. If you take a stroll around the sides of this beach, you will find that it is protected by coral reefs.

HAITI PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

Georges H. Baussan's 1912 design for the National Palace of Haiti. Built during the U.S. Marine occupation of Haiti in the 1920s

Basic Economy. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. It is a nation of small farmers, commonly referred to as peasants, who work small private landholdings and depend primarily on their own labor and that of family members. There are no contemporary plantations and few concentrations of land. Although only 30 percent of the land is considered suitable for agriculture, more than 40 percent is worked. Erosion is severe. Real income for the average family has not increased in over twenty years and has declined precipitously in rural areas. In most rural areas, the average family of six earns less than $500 per year.

HAITIAN MONEY

Jean-Bertrand Aristide was born on July 15, 1953, in Port- Salut a small town along Haiti's southern coastwas first elected president of Haiti by a large margin in 1990. He was removed from power in a military takeover in 1991, however. But return president of Haiti in 2000 -2004

General Raul CedrasCedras was illegally removed in 1994 by the Clintoon regime who supported a murdering butcher who enjoyed seeing political opponants killed by being tied to tires and set aflame. Cedras removed Aristide in a 1991 coup and imprisoned hundreds of his socialist street thugs.

HAITI MILLITARY

Haiti suffered an earthquake; it was one of  a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 in Ritcher scale. Its epicentre was near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 km from Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. There were 52 aftershocks measuring about 4.5 in Ritcher scale.

There are 170,000 confirmed deaths but up to 200,000 estimated deaths, and 1.2 million people homeless (including children).

HURRICANE TOMAS

WORK CITED • www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/101108/Raoul-Cedras

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• www.historyworld.net/.../PlainTextHistories.asp

• www.language-works.com/Haiti/history.htm

• www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/ -

• www.everyculture.com › Ge-It

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