Caribbean
1
Haiti.
Haiti.
Culture:
Haitian culture has a unique cultural identity consisting of a large blend of traditional customs of French and African, mixed with sizeable contributions from the Spanish and indigenous Taíno culture.[224] The country's customs essentially are a blend of cultural beliefs that derived from the various ethnic groups that inhabited the island of Hispaniola. Haiti's culture is greatly reflected in its paintings, music, and literature. Galleries and museums in the United States and France have exhibited the works of the better-known artists to have come out of Haiti.
Cuisine:
Haitian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices from Haiti. It originates from several culinary styles from the various historical ethnic groups that populate the western portion of the island of Hispaniola, namely the French, African, the Taíno natives, Spanish and Middle Eastern influence.[1] Haitian cuisine, comparable to that of creole or criollo (Spanish for creole) cooking and similar to the rest of the Latin Caribbean, (the French and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Antilles), differs in several ways from its regional counterparts. While the cuisine is unpretentious and simple, the flavors are bold and spicy that demonstrate a primary influence of African culinary aesthetic, paired with a very French sophistication[2] with notable derivatives coming from native Taíno and Spanish techniques. Though similar to other cooking styles in the region, it carries a uniqueness native only to the country and an appeal to many visitors to the island. Haitians use vegetables, meats, rice or corn meal extensively and peppers and similar herbs are often used for strengthening flavor. Dishes tend to be seasoned liberally. In the country, however many businesses of foreign origin have been established introducing several foreign cuisines into the mainstream culture. Years of adaptation have led to these cuisines (e.g. Levantine from Arab Migration to Haiti) merging with Haitian cuisine.
Haitian cuisine originates from several culinary styles from the various historical ethnic groups that populated the western portion of the island of Hispaniola. Haitian cuisine is similar to the rest of the Latin-Caribbean (the French and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Antilles), however it differs in several ways from its regional counterparts. While the cuisine is unpretentious and simple, the flavors are bold and spicy that demonstrate a primary influence of African culinary aesthetic, paired with a very French sophistication with notable derivatives coming from native Taíno and Spanish techniques. Though similar to other cooking styles in the region, it carries a uniqueness native to the country and an appeal to many visitors to the island. Haitians often use peppers and other strong flavorings. They also eat boiled mashed plantains.
Dishes tend to be seasoned liberally. Consequently Haitian cuisine is often moderately spicy. In the country, however, several foreign cuisines have been introduced. These include Levantine from Arab migration to Haiti. Rice and beans in several differing ways are eaten throughout the country regardless of location, becoming a sort of national dish. They form the staple diet, which consists of a lot of starch and is high in carbohydrates. Rural areas, with better access to agricultural products, have a larger variety of choices.[citation needed]
One such dish is mais moulu (mayi moulen), which is comparable to cornmeal that can be eaten with sauce pois (sòs pwa), a bean sauce made from one of many types of beans such as kidney, pinto, chickpeas, or pigeon peas (known in some countries as gandules). Mais moulin can be eaten with fish (often red snapper), or alone depending on personal preference. Some of the many plants used in Haitian dishes include tomato, oregano, cabbage, avocado, bell peppers. A popular food is banane pesée (ban-nan'n peze), flattened plantain slices fried in cooking oil (known as tostones in the Spanish speaking Latin American countries). It is eaten both as a snack and as part of a meal is, often eaten with tassot or griot,[233] which are deep-fried goat and pork respectively.
Traditionally, the food that Haitians eat on the independence day (1 January) is Soup Joumou.[234] Haiti is also known internationally for its rum. Rhum Barbancourt is one of the nation's exports and is regarded highly by international standards.
Music:
The music of Haiti combines a wide range of influences drawn from the many people who have settled on this Caribbean island. It reflects French, African rhythms, Spanish elements and others who have inhabited the island of Hispaniola and minor native Taino influences. Styles of music unique to the nation of Haiti include music derived from Vodou ceremonial traditions, Rara parading music, Twoubadou ballads, Mini-jazz rock bands, Rasin movement, Hip hop Kreyòl, the wildly popular Compas,[1] and Méringue as its basic rhythm. Haiti hadn't had a recorded music until 1937 when Jazz Guignard was recorded non-commercially. One of the most popular Haitian artists is Wyclef Jean. His music is somewhat hip-hop mixed with world music. Haitian music is influenced mostly by European colonial ties and African migration (through slavery). In the case of European colonization, musical influence has derived primarily from the French.
One unique form of Haitian music is compas (spelled as konpa in Creole),[2] a complex, ever-changing music that fuses African rhythms and European ballroom dancing, mixed with Haiti's bourgeois culture. In Spanish the word compás means "beat" or "pulse." One of the most distinctive characteristics of Kompa music is the consistent, pulsing drum beat, which makes it easy to dance to.[3]
Haïti Chérie is a traditional patriotic and most recognizable song of Haiti that was written and composed by Dr. Othello Bayard de Cayes and was initially called Souvenir d'Haiti. It represents the pride Haitian people feel for their country and culture. Within the Haitian community, at home and abroad, it is widely considered as a second national anthem to La Dessalinienne and the song has recorded several different versions.
Ethnic Racial Composition:
* 92% Black
* 8% Mulatto
Languages:
The official language of Haiti is French. They however speak a dialect of french known as Haitian Creole or locally known as Kreyol. There are many theories on the formation of the Haitian Creole language. It is spoken in informal situations. Haitian Creole is unique among all New World dialects because it has French, Spanish (From the Dominican influence), African, Taino, and Arabic influences all blended together, but the strongest is French and African.
Dr. John Singler suggests that Creole was probably formed between the time the French colony of Saint-Domingue was founded in 1659 and 1740. It was during this period that the colony moved from tobacco and cotton production to a mostly sugar-based economy, which created a favorable setting for the Creole language to form. At the time of tobacco and cotton production, the Haitian population was made up of colonists, the engagés (employed whites), people of color and slaves in relatively balanced proportions, with roughly equal numbers of people of color and engagés. Singler estimates the economy shifted into sugar production in 1690, and radically reconfigured the early Haitian people as "the big landowners drove out the small ones, while the number of slaves exploded". Prior to this economic shift, engagés were favored over slaves as they were felt to be easier to control.[12] However, the sugar crop required a much larger labour force, and larger numbers of slaves were brought in. As the coloured slaves had decreasing contact with native French-speaking whites, the language would have begun to change.[13]
Singler's research shows that many African slaves in French ownership were from the Niger-Congo group and particularly from Kwa (Gbe and Akan) and Bantu language families. He also presents documents indicating a large number of these slaves were sent to French colonies. Singler suggests that the number of Bantu speakers decreased while the number of Kwa speakers had increased, with Gbe being the most dominant group. The first fifty years of Saint-Domingue's sugar boom coincided heavily with the Gbe predominance in the French Caribbean. During the time Singler places the evolution of the language, the Gbe population was 50% of the imported slave population.[13]
In contrast to the African languages, a type of Classical French or "Popular French" was used during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Saint-Domingue. Slaves who were seldom able to communicate with fellow slaves would try to learn French. With the constant importation of slaves, the language gradually became formalized and became a distinct tongue to that of the French. Interestingly enough, the language was also picked up by the whites and became used by all those born in the colony in general.[4]
Over 90% of the Haitian Creole vocabulary is of French origin. However, most French speakers might find it unintelligible at first since the vocabulary between the two languages have diverged somewhat. Creole has many French words used in an older sense or style, meanings which have changed or have been replaced over time in Standard French. An example of this would be in the sentence, "Ki jan ou rele?" (What is your name?); corresponding to the Standard French salutation, "Comment vous appelez-vous?" Although the average French person would not understand this phrase, every word shown is of French origin. The words, qui ("what"), genre (manner), vous (you), héler (to call) or as in "What manner call (yourself)?". The verb "héler" has been replaced by "appeler" in Standard French.[4]
The Fon language, a modern subdivision of the Gbe language that was used in colonial centuries, is often used to compare grammatical structure between Haitian Creole and to relexify it with vocabulary from the French language.[14] The fact that the equivalent of the definite article ("the") also comes after the noun as in Creole, instead of before surely heightens its case.
Religion:
Haiti is similar to the rest of Latin America, in that it is a predominantly Christian country, with 80%% Roman Catholic and approximately 16% professing Protestantism. A small population of Muslims and Hindus exist in the country, principally in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Vodou, encompassing several different traditions, consists of a mix of Central and Western African, European, and Native American (Taíno) religions is also widely practiced, despite the negative stigma that it carries both in and out of the country. The exact number of Vodou practitioners is unknown; (same say as high as 50%) however, it is believed that a small amount of the population practice it, often alongside their Christian faith. Some secular Christians also have been known to participate in some rituals, although indirectly.
Sports:
Football is the most popular sport in Haiti, though basketball is growing in popularity.[6] Hundreds of small football clubs compete at the local level.[6] Stade Sylvio Cator is the multi-purpose stadium in Port-au-Prince, Haiti where it is currently used mostly for association football matches that fits a capacity of 30,000 people.
Haitian soccer player Joe Gaetjens, who played for the United States national team in the 1950 FIFA World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the 1–0 upset of England.
In the early 20th century, it was reported that cockfighting was also a popular sport, though its popularity has since faded.
Haitian videos
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Originally Posted by Lawalye
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