Our West Indian Culture
August 19, 2008
In our community, culture is increasingly being seen as the root of our development. The root as it is goes; it is the heart of who we are as a person and in our society. Our culture embraces languages, religions, festivals, sports, values, customs and other forms of self- expression. It incorporates the historical experience of our people, our faiths and our creativity. It is a dynamic force, being continuously fashioned by our creative energies and other influences.
Our culture has thought us about strong appreciation of family and kinship values, community cohesion and moral issues including responsibility for and accountability to self and community. It is imbued with a respect for human life since it is the foundation on which all the other desired values must rest.
Our languages are part of the legacy of the various civilizations from which our ancestors came. For many countries, a major unifying factor has been the English language.
Festivals and celebrations give us the opportunity to showcase our creative energies. As in other part of the world many of the region’s festivals and celebrations are associated with events of religious significance.
Carnival is one of the most powerful symbols of our culture, has it origins in Europe and Roman Catholicism and has been heavily influenced by African traditions. Carnival is a two-day celebration held in Trinidad and Tobago and even those member states that do not celebrate a traditional carnival has festivals that are increasingly influenced by it, for example, Crop Over in Barbados, Junkanoo in the Bahamas, Mashramani in Guyana and Owruyari in Suriname.
Through the influence and energies of our Diaspora in North America and Europe, the Caribbean Carnival has become a major festival in several metropolitan centers. These include London’s Notting Hill Carnival; Toronto’s Caribana, New York’s Labor Day Carnival, Washington DC’s Carnival and the Miami Carnival.
The diversity of religions practiced also reflects our multiple origins. Christianity, Hinduism and Islam are the dominant faith in our Community [Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago. In countries with longer histories of French and Spanish colonialism, Roman Catholic is the dominant faith, whereas in those countries with a strong British influence, Anglicans and Methodists have been historically predominant. Africans religious traditions continue to find expression through Voodoo, Pacomania and Orisha.
The Caribbean as it is vastly diverse yes similar in many ways due the sub-cultures that that have emerged from the varying islands. Thanks to the explorative ideals at are an innate part of our being, we are able to seek uniqueness among ourselves and mesh that apparent uniqueness into one global basket that identifies us as one Caribbean people.
Apsana
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