CULTURESt. Lucian Cultural Escapade

A blend ofCulture

and

Paradise

Native Language!Creole/Patios

ClothingFoodMusic & Dance

CulturalFestivities

St. Lucia. Helen of the West Indies. Simply Beautiful

Welcome

Welcome home, welcome back or welcome to your first visit to St. Lucia. Enjoy the breath taking views flying into our

tropical paradise. Once you deplane or disem-bark the cruise, life gets even better.

St. Lucia has a diverse and unique culture which makes it stand out from the other Ca-ribbean islands. There is a lot to learn about St. Lucia’s rich culture. The island’s rich cul-ture ranges from what we wear, eat, drink, our dances and music, festivals and even the beau-tiful tourist attraction sites.

There are many exciting things happening in St. Lucia that includes something for every-one. From the youngest of children to the old-est people, the island of St. Lucia offers a vari-ety of activities for all.

When you book an all-inclusive vacation, re-sort or hotel on this Caribbean island, the last thing you will do is wonder what to do in St. Lucia. But don’t worry too much because the options of activities in St. Lucia are plentiful. The activities vary from water sports to out-door adventures like hiking and to relaxing activities like visiting the national park.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the island of St. Lucia. I hope you enjoy everything the island has to offer and that you will come visit again

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A Brief and Colorful HistoryA tropical beauty of lush rainfor-

est, wondrous mountains, sandy beaches, cool sea breeze and sun-shine describes the soothing atmo-

sphere of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Also known as the Helen of the West Indies, St. Lucia is home to the distinct twin-peaked pitons Gros Piton and Petit Piton that rise two thousand feet, and the world’s only drive-in volcano, both of which are located in the town of Soufriere.

St. Lucia lies south of Martinique and north of St. Vincent and has a total area of 238.2 square miles. The capital of St. Lucia is Castries. The island has four towns, namely Castries, Gros Islet, Soufriere, and Vieux Fort. There are also districts such as Dauphin, Dennery, Praslin, Micoud, Laborie, Choiseul and Anse La Raye.

St. Lucia gained independence on February 22, 1979. Before that period British and French settlers fought battles for the island; however, the British settlers emerged victorious. St. Lu-cia is also home to a culturally and racially diverse population, which has contributed to the islands rich culture in art, cuisine, music, food, and language.

The first settlers were the Arawaks and Caribs. They were farmers, fishermen, and hunters who introduced crops such as potato, yam and cassava to the island. The British and French also had an impact on the island’s history. St. Lucia adapted the British educational system, political system, and language.

The island got its music, dance and French Creole language from the French. English is the main language in St. Lucia, but French Creole or Patois is also the native tongue. The island’s cuisine came from the East Indians. The African culture was established through the arrival of slaves to work the plantations.

In addition to all the cultural beauty the island has to offer, there are a lot of leisure pursuits on the island. The islands offers activities such as: hikes, bird watching, yacht sailing, golfing, water sports, and traditional night life ac-tivities such as Dennery Fish fiesta, Anse La Raye Seafood Friday, and Gros Islet Friday night street jam. There are also cultural events to enjoy on the island, such as Jazz Festival, Carnival, Independence Day and Creole day (Jounen Kweyol).

NationalWear:The Jip (Also called Madras)

The Jip (also called Madras) originated from the Wob Dwiyet, a grand robe. The Jip or Madras is a traditional

Saint Lucian costume consisting of five pieces. The first two pieces are a white cotton blouse and an ankle length skirt (jip) trimmed with lace and red ribbon. The third piece is the short outer skirt which is made of ma-dras. The head piece is designed out of square or rectangular piece of ma-dras cloth worn over the forehead and folded to display varying numbers of peaks.

1The head piece may be tied with up to four peaks, with the number of peaks signifying the availability of the wom-an for courtship: one peak - I am sin-gle, two peaks - I am married, three peaks- I am widowed or divorced and four peaks - I accept everyone who tries. The fifth piece is a triangular satin scarf which is pinned on the left shoulder with the apex over the elbow and the two ends tucked beneath the skirt’s waistline.

The national wear is mostly worn dur-ing national activities such as Indepen-

1 The design of the head piece and what each peak signifies is taken from St. Lucia Folk Research Center website. For more information, visit www.stluciafolk.org.

National Bird: Amazona Veriscolor

1The St. Lucia Parrot, known as the Amazo-na Veriscolor, is predominately green in color with a cobalt blue forehead merging through turquoise to green on the cheek, and a scarlet breast with iridescent patches of bright red and blue on the edges of its wings. The St. Lucian Parrot is an endangered species which lives in the forest canopy.

1 See Arif Ali. (2005). St. Lucia Simply Beautiful. Hertford. England: Hansib

National Dish: Green Bananas (Figs) and Salt Fish The national dish of St. Lucia is Green Bananas (figs) and salt fish. (In creole Fig vet e lanmowi). It is usually served with a side of avocado. Bananas are plentiful in St. Lucia and are also the island’s main export

Ingredients: - Green bananas - Saltfish - Oil - Onions - Garlic - Tomatoes - Season Peppers6– St. Lucian Cultural Escapade

National Dish: Green Bananas (Figs) and Salt Fish The national dish of St. Lucia is Green Bananas (figs) and salt fish. (In creole Fig vet e lanmowi). It is usually served with a side of avocado. Bananas are plentiful in St. Lucia and are also the island’s main export

Ingredients: - Green bananas - Saltfish - Oil - Onions - Garlic - Tomatoes - Season Peppers

St. Lucian Cultural Escapade–7

Cultural Music and Dance Cultural Music and Dance

St. Lucia is mainly known for its traditional folk music. The music of St. Lucia is a mixture of elements mainly from African and European settlers. The fiddle, cuatro, banjo, guitar and chak-chak (a rattle) and drums are popular instruments in St. Lucia folk bands and music.

Zouk music has also become increasingly popular in St. Lucian cultural music.

Quadrille, which is an inherited dance from Europe, is increasingly viewed as the Creole folk dance in St. Lucia. 8– St. Lucian Cultural Escapade

Cultural Music and Dance Cultural Music and Dance

St. Lucian Cultural Escapade–9

National Plant: Bamboo National Tree: Calabash

National Plant: Bamboo National Tree: Calabash

Cultural Festivals Creole Day (Jounen Kweyol)Visit the island to

explore of the biggestcultural festivals.

October is highlighted as Internation-al Creole Month. Jounen Kweyol is one of the biggest annual cultural festivals in St. Lucia. Jounen Kw-

eyol is held on the last Sunday of October island-wide in St. Lucia, and has been held annually since October 1983. Activities for Creole month, such as Jounen Kweyol, are organized by the Folk Research Centre. Ev-ery year, the Folk Research Centre selects four communities to be the main areas of festivity for Jounen Kweyol. However, oth-er communities still organize their own Jounen Kweyol activities. Businesses and schools organize Jounen Kweyol Festivities for their employees and students on the Fri-day before Jounen Kweyol.While walking through the various com-munities on Jounen Kweyol, one will come across a wide array of creole foods, local drinks, games and art exhibitions. There are usually folk bands playing traditional music with instruments while people chant and dance to the creole songs.Local dishes such as pemie, green figs and salt fish, breadfruit and salt fish, or roast breadfruit, bouillon, crab callaloo, souse, and seafood such as fish, crabs, lobster and biwgo are plentiful on this day. These dishes are prepared on coal pots and served in a calabash bowls. One can also find the fa-mous local coconuts, avocados, and sweets such as tamarind balls, jam, coconut balls, and guava cheese in abundance during Jounen Kweyol.To complete a delicious local meal, enjoy local drinks such as golden apple juice, gua-va juice, tamarind juice, passion fruit juice and even the famous local cocoa tea, all of which are plentiful on that day. Many of the youngers children engage in bamboo bursting and kabowe competition. Jounen Kweyol is one of the festivals where people dress up in their madras wear and celebrate the Creole tradition. Most people speak solely creole at Jounen Kweyol

Flower Festivals

The La Rose is a na-tional flower festival of St. Lucia. It is celebrated annually on Au-gust 30. Ruling over this festi-val is usually a King and Queen, Prince and Princess, who are ac-companied by polices, nurses, doctors, dukes and duchesses..

Flower Festivals

The La Marguerite is a national flower festival of St. Lucia. It is celebrated annually on October 17. Ruling over this festival is usually a King and Queen, Prince and Prin-cess, who are accompanied by polices, nurses, doctors, dukes and duchesses..

Creole TermsEnglish--Kweyol

1Basic Terms/ SayingsGood morning- Bonjou Good afternoon- Bonn apwe midi Good evening/ night- Bonswe What is your name- Sa ki non’w My name is- Non mwen sé How are you or what’s up? - Sa ka fete What do you want? - Ki sa ou vlé? I want a drink- Mon vlé yon bwé How much is it? - Konmen pou sa? How old are you? – ki laj ou Where do you live? K’ou ka weste What are you doing? – ki sa ou ka feh là I don’t know- Moi pa sav/ ma sav Where are you going? –k’ ou ka ale Yes- wiNo- nonI- mwenYou- ouHe/ she- iThem / they- yoOur- nou1See Crosbie, P., Frank, D., Leon, E., & Samuel, P. (2001). Kweyol dictionary. Castries, SLU: Ministry of Education.

Days of the WeekMonday- LendiTuesday- Madi

Wednesday-MékwédiThursday- Jédi

Friday- VandwédiSaturday- SanmdiSunday- Dimanch

Months of the YearJanuary- Janvyé

February- FévwiyéMarch- MasApril- Avwi

May- MéJune- Jen

July- JwiyètAugust- Awou

September- SèptanmOctober- Òktòb

November- NovanmDecember- Désanm

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Creole TermsEnglish--Kweyol

Numbers- Se Limowo-a1 - yonn 30 - twant 2 - dé 40 – kawant 3 - twa 50 – senkant 4 - kat 60 – swasant 5 - senk 70 – swasantdis 6 - sis 80 – katwiven 7 - sèt 90 - katwiven dis 8 - wit 100 – san 9 - nèf 1000 – mil 10 - dis 11 - wonz 12 - douz 13 - twez 14 - katoz 15 - kenz 16 - sez 17 - diset 18 - dizwit 19 - diznef 20 - ven

Time – Ki Le I Ye12 midnight - mennwit

1 o’clock - yonne2 o’clock - deze

3 o’clock - twaze 4 o’clock- katwe5 o’clock - senke6 o’clock - size7 o’clock - sete

8 o’clock - ywite9 o’clock - neve10 o’clock - dize

11 o’clock - wonze12 noon – midi

16– St. Lucian Cultural Escapade St. Lucian Cultural Escapade–17

Map of St. Lucia

National Symbols

Footnotes 1The design of the head piece and what each peak signifies is taken from St. Lucia Folk Research Center website. For more information, visit www.stluciafolk.org.

2See Arif Ali. (2005). St. Lucia Simply Beautiful. Hertford. England:Hansib

3See Crosbie, P., Frank, D., Leon, E., & Samuel, P. (2001). Kweyol dictionary. Castries, SLU: Ministry of Education.

ReferencesAli, A. (2005). St. Lucia Simply Beautiful. England: Hansib Publishing.

Government of St. Lucia. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.govt.lc/about2

National Dress. (2015). Folk Research Centre St. Lucia. Retrieved from http://www.stluciafolk. org/outfits/

Map of St. Lucia. (1998). Flickriver. Retrieved from http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ chica-go_steph/1761961295/

St. Lucia (2015). Miss Universe. Retrieved from http://www.missuniverse.com/ members/ pro-file/661369

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