Garifuna music is an ethnic music and dance with African,
Arawak
The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greater ...
, and
Kalinago
The Kalinago, also known as the Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language ...
elements, originating with the Afro-Indigenous
Garifuna
The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...
people from
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...
. In 2001, Garifuna music, dance, and language were collectively proclaimed as a
Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and th ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.
Nonsecular music
Genres
Nonsecular musical genres within the Garifuna culture stem from a fusion of West African ancestral worship and
Amerindian shamanism. Examples of Garifuna music rituals include ''Adügürühani'' (also known as ''dügü''), a healing ceremony; ''Arairaguni'', an invocation to determine illness; ''Amuyadahani'', a ritual in which family members make offerings to their ancestors; and ''Achuguhani'' (Chugú), "feeding the dead".
''Dügü'' (Feeding the Dead)
The Garifuna tradition of ''Adügürühani'' is a ritual that takes place when a Garifuna individual becomes ill and must consult a shaman in the hopes of restoring their health. The shaman will consult with the ancestral spirits (''gubida'') that have inflicted the illness upon the individual. Drums are played during the ''dügü'', which is thought to have a calming effect on the individual who is possessed by the ''gubida''. The drumming is performed in
triple meter
Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 (compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...
and is accompanied by song and dance. Often there are two to three drums, and the ensemble of drummers is called ''dangbu''. The drums are constructed using mahogany or mayflower wood and animal skins (usually deer, goat, or peccary). During construction, the drums are rubbed with a
cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...
wine and then subsequently blessed with the smoke of buwe—a sacred herb. These techniques suggest the presence of both African and Amerindian influences in drum construction, indicative of a fusion of African and Amerindian culture in Garifuna sacred music.
The gender roles documented in the musical performances of ''dügü'' suggest that traditional Garifuna society emphasizes
matrilineality
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance of ...
and
matrifocality
A matrifocal family structure is one where mothers head families and fathers play a less important role in the home and in bringing up children.
Definition
The concept of the matrifocal family was introduced to the study of Caribbean societie ...
. "The texts of most ''dügü'' songs refer to ancestors as female (grandmother or great-grandmother, even if the ''dügü'' is being given in honor of a man)… It may also be a reflection of gender-based empowerment, because older women predominate as organizers, ritual participants, and composers of ritual songs." Gender roles are often portrayed in music. "Music performance can and often does play an important role in inter-gender relations, for the inequalities or asymmetries perceived in such relations may be protested, mediated, reversed, and transformed, or confined through various social/musical strategies." The matrilineatlity demonstrated in the Garifuna ''dügü'' ritual demonstrates an authentic (non-westernized) aspect of West African and/or Amerindian culture, which remained unaffected by Spanish (and subsequently, British) colonization.
Secular music
Genres
Garifuna genres include
punta,
paranda, and
punta rock.
There are different types of songs, some of which are associated with work, some with play, some with dance, and some that are reserved for prayer or ritual use.
[
]
Instruments
The main traditional instruments are drums and maracas.[
]
Notable performers
* Sofía Blanco
Sofía Blanco (born 1953) is a Garifuna singer from Guatemala, widely recognized for her talent and efforts to promote the cultural traditions of her people. She has been a featured singer on several albums of Garifuna music, and has toured intern ...
* Pen Cayetano
Delvin "Pen" Cayetano MBE (born 1954 in Dangriga Town, Stann Creek District, Belize) is a Belizean artist and musician.
Biography
Cayetano is self-taught in the art of painting and music and claims his influences come from the native Garifuna ...
* Paul Nabor
Paul Nabor (26 January 1928 – 22 October 2014), born Alfonso Palacio, was a Garifuna singer and musician from Punta Gorda, Belize. He is often credited with popularizing paranda, a style of traditional Garifuna music, and is considered to have ...
* Aurelio Martínez
Aurelio Martínez, professionally known as Aurelio, is a Honduran musician and politician. He is a singer, percussionist, and guitarist known for his Garifuna music and is considered a Cultural Ambassador of the Garifuna people. According to the ...
* Andy Palacio
Andy Vivian Palacio (December 2, 1960 – January 19, 2008) was a Belizean punta musician and government official. He was also a leading activist for the Garifuna people and their culture.
Biography
Palacio was born and raised in the coastal ...
* Umalali
Umalali is a collaborative project put together by Belizean musician and producer, Ivan Duran. Umalali is defined by the stories that comprise The Garifuna Women's Project.
Background
For Ivan, in part, Umalali is his own story, built on 10 ye ...
See also
* Garifuna language
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garifuna Music
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity