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The Swinging Bridge
''The Swinging Bridge'' is a novel by Ramabai Espinet, published in 2003 by HarperCollins, HarperCollins Publishing. In 2004, the novel was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize, Commonwealth Writers' Prize in the category of Best First Book (Caribbean and Canada Region). Espinet's novel focuses on a multi-generational Indo-Trinidadian family living in Canada, touching on a number of themes and topics such as gender identity and matrilineal ties. Ramabai Espinet is an Indo-Trinidadian author born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1948. Since she originally migrated to Canada in the 1970s, Espinet has divided her time between the Caribbean and Canada. Espinet received her Ph.D. from the University of the West Indies in Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago after graduating from York University in Toronto, Ontario. She is currently a professor at Seneca College. Some of her other notable works besides ''The Swinging Bridge'' includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramabai Espinet
Ramabai Espinet (born 1948) is an Indo-Trinidadian poet, novelist, essayist, and critic from Trinidad and Tobago. Espinet was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. She attended York University in Toronto, Canada before earning a Ph.D. at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. She currently teaches English at Seneca College. Her writings on Euro-Creole women is influenced from works from Jean Rhys and Phyllis Shand Allfrey. Most of Espinet's works relate to her Indo-Caribbean heritage. Sister Vision Press published her first four works in Toronto, Canada. Influence Espinet has stated that she desires to illustrate the experiences of Indo-Caribbeans and highlight the effects of alcoholism and abuse on West Indian women. West Indians have said that the book ''The Swinging Bridge'' gives them values, articulates their experiences, and contains "language for the healing". Although Espinet talks specifically about San Fernandians, Indo-Caribbeans have noted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual may not notice any symptoms, or may experience a brief period of influenza-like illness. Typically, this is followed by a prolonged incubation period with no symptoms. If the infection progresses, it interferes more with the immune system, increasing the risk of developing common infections such as tuberculosis, as well as other opportunistic infections, and tumors which are rare in people who have normal immune function. These late symptoms of infection are referred to as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This stage is often also associated with Cachexia, unintended weight loss. HIV is #Transmission, spread primarily by unprotected sex (including anal sex, anal and vaginal sex), contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003 Canadian Novels
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societies. Evolution of the Arabic digit The use of three lines to denote the number 3 occurred in many writing systems, including some (like Roman and Chinese numerals) that are still in use. That was also the original representation of 3 in the Brahmic (Indian) numerical notation, its earliest forms aligned vertically. However, during the Gupta Empire the sign was modified by the addition of a curve on each line. The Nāgarī script rotated the lines clockwise, so they appeared horizontally, and ended each line with a short downward stroke on the right. In cursive script, the three strokes were eventually connected to form a glyph resembling a with an additional stroke at the bottom: ३. The Indian digits spread to the Caliphate in the 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calypso Music
Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to West African Kaiso and the arrival of French planters and their slaves from the French Antilles in the 18th century. It is characterized by highly rhythmic and harmonic vocals, and was historically most often sung in a French creole and led by a griot. As calypso developed, the role of the griot became known as a ''chantuelle'' and eventually, '' calypsonian''. As English replaced "patois" ( Antillean creole) as the dominant language, calypso migrated into English, and in so doing it attracted more attention from the government. It allowed the masses to challenge the doings of the unelected Governor and Legislative Council, and the elected town councils of Port of Spain and San Fernando. Calypso continued to play an important role in pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on 22 August 1791, and ended in 1804 with the former colony's independence. It involved black, biracial, French, Spanish, British, and Polish participants—with the ex-slave Toussaint Louverture emerging as Haiti's most prominent general. The revolution was the only slave uprising that led to the founding of a state which was both free from slavery (though not from forced labour) and ruled by non-whites and former captives. It is now widely seen as a defining moment in the history of the Atlantic World. The revolution's effects on the institution of slavery were felt throughout the Americas. The end of French rule and the abolition of slavery in the former colony was followed by a successful defense of the freedoms the former slaves won a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mambo (Vodou)
A ''manbo'' (also written as ''mambo'') is a priestess (as opposed to a ''oungan'', a male priest) in the Haitian Vodou religion. Haitian Vodou's conceptions of priesthood stem from the religious traditions of enslaved people from Dahomey, in what is today Benin. For instance, the term ''manbo'' derives from the Fon word ''nanbo'' ("mother of magic"). Like their West African counterparts, Haitian ''manbos'' are female leaders in Vodou temples who perform healing work and guide others during complex rituals. This form of female leadership is prevalent in urban centers such as Port-au-Prince (the capital of Haiti). Typically, there is no hierarchy among ''manbos'' and ''oungans''. These priestesses and priests serve as the heads of autonomous religious groups and exert their authority over the devotees or spiritual servants in their ''hounfo'' (temples). ''Manbos'' and ''oungans'' are called into power via spirit possession or the revelations in a dream. They become qualified a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cécile Fatiman
Cécile Fatiman (1771-1883), was a Haitian vodou priestess, a mambo. She is famous for her participation in the vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman, which is considered to be one of the starting points of the Haitian Revolution. Early life and origins Cécile Fatiman was the daughter of an enslaved African woman and a white Frenchman from Corsica. She and her mother were sold as slaves at Saint Domingue, while her two brothers disappeared in the slave trade.Joan Dayan''Haiti, History, and the Gods'' University of California Press, 1998 She is described as having long silky hair and green eyes. Haitian researcher Rodney Salnave (Bwa Kay Il-Ment) has researched Fatiman's origins. His research has indicated that her father was likely a Corsican prince and a grandson of Theodore Von Neuhoff or Theodore of Corsica, sole king of Corsica. He also believes that her last name, Fatiman, may actually have been a middle name, Attiman, which would have been given after Gregorio Attiman, of Legho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Williams
Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, to independence on 31 August 1962 , and republic status on 1 August 1976, leading an unbroken string of general elections victories with his political party, the People's National Movement, until his death in 1981. He was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and also a noted Caribbean historian, especially for his book entitled '' Capitalism and Slavery.'' Early life Williams was born on 25 September in 1911. His father Thomas Henry Williams was a minor civil servant and devout Roman Catholic, and his mother Eliza Frances Boissiere (13 April 1888 – 1969) was a descendant of the mixed French Creole elite and had African and French ancestry. He saw his first school years at Tranquillity Boys' Intermediate Government Sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
J'ouvert
J'ouvert ( ) or Jour ouvert is a traditional festival known as "break day" or the unofficial start of Carnival, which takes place on the Monday before Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the .... The festival, with origins in Trinidad, traditionally begins at 2 a.m. and continues until mid-morning on Monday. J'Ouvert revellers cover their bodies in coloured paints, mud, pitch oil, dress as blue or red devils to dance the streets as an expression of liberation from the constraints of the past and in celebration of the ancestors who have gone before them. Other neighbouring islands (primarily in the Lesser Antilles), and in areas where Caribbean people have immigrated, celebrate J'ouvert before the official start of Carnival Mas, where the more elaborate costumes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trinidad And Tobago Carnival
The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural events such as "band launch fetes" running in the lead up to the street parade on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. It is said that if the islanders are not celebrating it, then they are preparing for it, while reminiscing about the past year's festival. Traditionally, the festival is associated with calypso music, with its origins formulated in the midst of hardship for enslaved West and Central Africans; however, recently Soca music has replaced calypso as the most celebrated type of music. Costumes (sometimes called " mas"), stick-fighting and limbo competitions are also important components of the festival. Carnival, as it is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago, is also celebrated in several cities worldwide. These celebrations include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coolie
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders across Asia, and by the 18th century would refer to migrant Indian indentured labourers, and by the 19th century during the British colonial era, would gain a new definition of the systematic transportation and employment of Asian laborers via employment contracts on sugar plantations that had been formerly worked by enslaved Africans. The word has had a variety of other implications and is sometimes regarded as offensive or a pejorative, depending upon the historical and geographical context; in India, its country of origin, it is still considered a derogatory slur. It is similar, in many respects, to the Spanish term peón, although both terms are used in some countries with different implications. The word originated in the 17th-century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalapani (Indian Expatriates In UK)
Kalapani refers to the Indians who crossed the sea to live in the UK during the British regime in 18th and 19th century. The process of crossing the seas was called Kalapani and was banned in major Indian religions at that time. Expatriates were mainly sailors and servants who used to live with their British masters. A large number of concubines accompanied their men as well. In most parts, they went in an agreement to come back after a certain period of time which they failed in many cases. Many of them turned into beggars or prostitutes as a result. Later a law was passed to ensure the rights of expatriates. Sailors In 1803 there were more than two hundred sailors and by the year 1807, the number crossed over a thousand. Most of them were unable to return for lack of money and many were tortured and even killed by British captains. A company regulation was passed to protect their rights which merely protected them from dangers. Sailors had to escape and live in Britain to avoid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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