Our African Heritage

INTRODUCTIONThe history of the New World since Columbus re-discovered it is one of conquest, pillage, exploitation and forced migration of a people. For more than three centuries millions of people were forcibly transported from their homes in Africa, across the perilous Atlantic Ocean to the New World, where they were forced to labour on sugar plantations for the rest of their lives. This enslavement of a people continued until events in Europe changed the fortunes of the West Indian and North American colonies. Humanitarians started questioning the validity of slavery, there was competition from beet sugar producers in Europe, and the advent of the Industrial Revolution spawned the rise of a new group of influential men in the British Parliament who believed that slavery was no longer economically viable. In 1833 Thomas Buxton presented The Emancipation Bill in Parliament. The Act was passed and came into effect on 1 August 1834. On that day, thousands of slaves in the British West Indies became free men and women. One hundred and fifty one years later, on 1 August 1985 the government of Trinidad and Tobago declared Emancipation Day a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery.

OUR AFRICAN HERITAGEAs a means of maintaining absolute control, the slave masters tried to destroy every aspect of African cultural, social and religious traditions, and impose a Eurocentric value system on the slaves. Everything African was perceived as being heathen, backward and evil. In spite of these attempts to destroy an entire culture, some aspects of African culture have survived. Today the African influence is still present in music, dance, food, religion, language, handicraft and place names in Trinidad and Tobago.

AFRICAN INFLUENCE IN TRINIDAD CARNIVALWhile it is generally known that the French brought Carnival celebrations to Trinidad when they came in the 18th century, there are certain aspects of Carnival that can be traced to Africa and some of its festivals there. For example, the Egungun festival of Nigeria is reminiscent of the revelry, pantomime, street parades, music and masking that are seen in Trinidad and Rio de Janeiro carnival. Africans portray masks in their ceremonies, dances and festivals. The moko jumbie (stilt walker) and devil portrayal, and even the hat worn by the midnight robber are similar to characters played during the Nigerian festival of Egungun.

MUSIC

Music in African culture has a more important role than in Western cultures. In many African cultures music is used as a form of communication. It also plays an important role in religious events. Yoruba tribesmen worship the god of thunder in the Shango ritual. In Trinidad and Tobago music plays a pivotal role in African religions such as Orisha and Spiritual Baptist.

Musical instruments are varied and comprise drums, rattles, bells and any other items that can carry a rhythm. For example, the bottle and spoon are sometimes used as musical instruments at informal gatherings.

MUSIC

In Trinidad and Tobago African drums are used in churches, orchestras, dances and festivals. There are different types of drums such as the bougarabou, djembe, dun dunand talking drum. The bougarabou, which originated on the Ivory Coast, has a deep bass, rich full tone, and is played like a conga. It can carry the whole bass accompaniment. The dun dun is a double or single headed bass drum. It is played with sticks, wool covered beaters and the hand. The dondo or talking drum originated in West Africa. It is held under the arm and struck with a curved stick, while simultaneously squeezing the ropes to change the pitch.

The Djembe drumThe Djembe drum originated in Guinea, West Africa, and is played traditionally in countries such as Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Senegal. It is considered a magical drum with powers to transport people into other worlds when played well. It is referred to as a healing drum because of its powers when played by master drummers. It has a wide variation of sound which has made it an important instrument in the percussion section of many bands. The djembe is always hand-carved from a solid piece of wood and headed with a goatskin. Originally, materials like cane, leather and wood were used for the rings and ropes, but today these are made from iron rods and synthetic rope.

The Kalimba

The Kalimba or thumb piano (also called mbira or likembe) is a plucked idiophone unique to Africa. It is used widely throughout the continent, and is commonly played as an accompaniment to song, but in some areas it is used for purely instrumental music. Kalimbas are used in festivals, weddings and other major events, as well as daily life. After work in the evening, Africans sit in a circle, tell stories, sing and play the kalimba. The kalimba is also used to pass the time on long journeys on foot.

RattlesRattles are commonly known in Trinidad and Tobago as “chac-chac” and, like drums, are used in churches, orchestras, dances and festivals. Rattles are mainly made from the gutted fruit of the calabash (gourd) tree which is scraped, sanded and varnished or painted. Beads and/or seeds are placed inside the instrument. It is these beads or seeds that make the rattling sound when the rattle is shaken. There are several types of rattles such as gourd rattles, round rattles, rattle sere ileke and shekeres.

DANCEThe African influence can be seen in several of the folk dances of Trinidad and Tobago. Dances such as the Bongo, Kalinda, Shango and Limbo owe their roots to Africa.

BONGO: The Bongo is performed at the house of the deceased on the night of the wake (the night before the funeral). The dance depicts the passing of a person from one world to the next. No costume is worn. Enclosed by a circle of people, the dancers move in the center while five or six qua-qua players are stationed at one side. The qua-qua is the musical accompaniment for the dance and is simply two pieces of bamboo struck or clapped together rhythmically by the players. The flat sound is struck in the tempo tack-tata-tack-tack, tack-tata-tack-tack.

Usually one dancer performs at a time, but several might compete by dancing together. The basic movement consists of dropping one foot behind the other which is kicked quickly, slightly forward, twice. The arms are outstretched or held slightly forward and upward. Both shake naturally as the hops and kicks are made. There are several variations on this dance.

KALINDA (STICKFIGHTING) The Kalinda is an African performance of dance, singing and stick fighting. Of these, stick fighting is the most prominent and can be seen in Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival celebrations. Stick fighting is also called “Creole wood”, “Bois”, and “Bataille Bois”, and is performed by men only.

Normally, the stick fighting takes place in the open in a “gayelle (gayal)” or circle formed by the onlookers. The drummers squat on one side with their small keg drums: one “cutter” and two or three “foolay” men. Both hands are used in beating the drums. A small group of men consisting of a chantouelle and chorus sing the stick fight or Kalinda songs or “lam-wehs” to the rhythm of the drum. It is the chantouelle’s duty to egg on the fighters. The songs are in English and French Patois and boast of the prowess of the batonniere or stick fighter.

A “batonniere” may fight in his everyday clothes or in a special costume made of coloured satin decorated with beads, swansdown and tiny mirrors. On the chest and back are heart-shaped decorations. A head-tie is worn closely and tightly over the head with two long ends hanging on either side. Stockings and alpargatas complete the wear.

KALINDA (STICKFIGHTING) The stick, about one inch in diameter and four feet long, is a piece of cured poui or “a-ou-ray”. Some fighters “mount” their sticks. That is, they have prayers said over the stick in order to make the user invincible.

When the drumming starts, one batonniere would throw his stick inside the ring and the rival would accept the challenge by jumping in and waiving his stick. Both would dance a Kalinda jig and then move around making mock play motions with the stick. The fighters are egged on by jeers or praises. During the stick fight a blow might be made at any time. Blows are always made above the waist.

The Kalinda Dance step is a sort of jig. With body bent forward and arms, with or without stick, slightly upraised, the dancer performs rapid foot movements from side to side. Sometimes the dancer-fighter moves backward hopping on one foot while placing the other behind. All foot movements go in time with the drum beats. At the same time hands and sticks are moved about in a variety of positions.

SHANGO

The Shango is a religious dance of African origin and is performed in honour of the Yoruba god Shango. It is usually performed daily and nightly for three or four weeks of the year. People from far and near come to the ceremony seeking either to be cured from some sickness or to have a spell cast upon a lover or an enemy. Payment is usually in the form of donations of rum or animals such as a goat or a white fowl-cock.

The basic step of the Shango dance is in the rhythm. With body loose and hands raised or held behind the back, one leg with knee slightly raised, is moved forward. The foot lands flat for all movements except for the final step when the appropriate foot is pulled slightly backward. The first two steps are longish and the last three, very short. The body is allowed to move at will. The basic step is repeated all over the floor until the last stages when the legs, hands and body are flung rhythmically in all directions.

SHANGOThe dance is performed in a tent covered with galvanized iron sheets and blocked around with coconut leaves. The audience sits around three sides of the tent on bamboo benches. Three or four drummers sit on the ground on the fourth side, while a flower-covered altar with burning candles stands in one corner. The singers, accompanied by the drummers, start off with a song of African derivation. The set of drums includes a “cutter” and one or two “foolays”, all made out of hollowed out gru gru wood and covered with dried goat skin. Each drum is beaten with the palm of one hand and a stick held in the other, or beaten with both hands.

One dancer starts off and is followed by others. The music and dance movements become increasingly frenzied until a dancer drops and writhes on the ground. At this stage the dancer is said to be possessed by the spirit. If a sacrifice is to be made, it is made at this stage.

LIMBOLimbo has its origins in West Africa where it was danced to train young initiates of the tribe in physical fitness. It was brought to Trinidad by slaves who practiced it at wakes during the Bong session.

LIMBOLimbo is a competitive dance. Two men hold a stick horizontally while a third shuffles under it, moving forward towards the stick with the body thrown backwards. Participants compete with each other to see who could pass under the stick without touching it. Initially the bar is positioned at waist height but is lowered progressively after every set of competitors gets a turn at going under it. As the stick is lowered it becomes more difficult to get under. The victor is the person who moves under the stick at its lowest point without touching it. This is a test of strength and competitors must have supple waist lines and strong backs. Good dancers can pass under a bar as low as seven inches from the ground.

LIMBOTraditionally, Limbo was found in fishing villages such as Carenage, Blanchisseuse, Mayaro, Toco and Cumana, but it became popular in the night clubs of Port of Spain during the mid-1940s, spread to other Caribbean islands and then to North America and Europe. In 1948 Limbo was taken out of the countryside and into the ballroom by Charles Espinet, Sub-editor of the Trinidad Guardian. The Youth Council of Trinidad and Tobago presented the “Little Carib Company of Dancers in Limbo” at the Overseas Forces Club in April 1948. That was the first time Limbo was presented theatrically, and since then other dance groups have included Limbo on their programmes, both at home and abroad.

LANGUAGEThe Africans were forced to learn the language of their slave masters. In doing so they developed hybrid languages in which African linguistic elements were maintained. Some places in Trinidad and Tobago were given African names. For example, Majuba and Sobo. Words such as obeah and the names of the orishas are also African words.Also maintained were some of the folk tales that were handed down from one generation to the next in true oral tradition. The most popular of these is the story of Anansi, which originated in West Africa.

ReligionEven though the Judeo-Christian religion was imposed on the African slaves, they continued to observe their African forms of worship, sometimes in secret. Some of these rituals and ceremonies survived over the years and have been integrated with Christian practices to form two new religions that are indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago: The Orisha and Spiritual/Shouter Baptist faiths. The African traditions of music, song and dance form important aspects of these two religions.

The African people believed that the world was inhabited by good and evil spirits, and that their ancestors watched over them. Like other great civilizations, the Africans worshiped several deities. The names of these deities varied across regions, cultures and tribes. In Trinidad and Tobago some of these deities remain a part of the religious practices.

FOODSlaves were fed salted codfish and pickled pork (imported from North America), and ground provision which they grew in their own small plot of land. They also planted other crops such as okra and corn (maize). The slaves were innovative and incorporated these and other foods into their diet, creating new recipes. From these innovations came dishes such as fish cakes, foo foo (pound plantain), black pudding, souse, callalloo, coo coo and oil down. Today, Caribbean cuisine is recognized for its distinctive style and flavour.

COMMON INGREDIENTS FOR TRADITIONAL AFRICAN FOOD

VegetablesYamsOkraWatermelonCassavaGroundnutsBlack-eyed PeasCabbageMaize (Corn)GroundnutsSweet Potatoes

MeatsChickenPorkBeefFish

SpicesGarlicMelegueta PepperClovesBlack PeppercornsCardamonNutmegTurmericPilau MixCurry Powder

OtherLemonsRice

FASHIONThe head wrap (head tie) that some women wear, and the cane row or corn row style of plaiting hair are the most obvious styles brought to Trinidad and Tobago by the Africans.

ART AND CRAFTThe Africans brought with them their skills in straw thatching and plaiting (braiding). Also their skills in building mud walls (tapia). However, modern methods of house building have replaced these traditional methods.Other skills that are African in origin are carvings on handles of domestic tools, calabash etchings, carnival headpieces, and cocoyea brooms (brooms made from the mid-rib of coconut leaves).

Ajani

AkilAkiniAmariAmirAmareAsadAtibaAtoAyodele(I-O-Deh-lay)AyoolaChadChinuaCoffieCoujoeChakaDedanEfeEnoIfeKwameMakesiYohance

Someone possessed through struggle (Nigeria)Intelligent, uses reason (Swahili)Male child or eldest child in the familyStrength and builder (Yoruba of Nigeria)Prince (Swahili)Handsome (Ethiopia)Lion (Somalia)UnderstandingBrilliantJoy comes home(Yoruba of Nigeria)The joy of high status (Nigeria)Of great love (Ethiopia)Blessings from God (Ibo of Ghana)Born on FridayBorn on MondayGreat kingTown DwellerWealth, prosperity (Nigeria)Gift of GodLoveGreat one (Nigeria)BrainyGod's Gift (Hausa of West Africa)

AbenaAdannaAfia (Effia)Ainka (A-INK-KAY)Aisha (I-EE-SHA)AkilahAshantiAyanaAzizaMakeda (MA-KEE-DA)MakenaMalaikaMalikaMandisaOlufemiTakiyahTanisha

Born on Thursday (Ghana)Father's loving daughterBorn on Friday (Ghana)The cherished one (Tonga)She is life (Swahili)Intelligent one who reasonsStrong African woman (Ghana)Beautiful flower (Ethiopia)Precious, gorgeous (Kiswahili, Somalia)The beautiful (Ethiopia)The happy one (Kikuyu of Kenya)Angel (Kiswahili)Queen (Kiswahili)Sweet (Xhosa of South Africa)God loves meRighteousBorn on Monday (Hausa of Nigeria)

NAME MEANING NAME MEANING

AFRICAN NAMES