by Peter Eltringham
Garífuna Settlement Day, founded in 1941 by Thomas Vincent
Ramos, was first celebrated in Dangriga on Nov. 19th, commemorating the arrival
of the Garífuna as a group to Belize on this date in 1832.
Garífuna drummers, Dangriga.
The history of the Garífuna people began in 1635 when
two Spanish slave vessels foundered and sank in the eastern Caribbean. The survivors
were able to reach the island of St. Vincent where they took refuge among the
Carib/Arawak Indians. The union between these two groups gave birth to the Garífuna,
who subsequently spread out as a group along the Caribbean coast from Belize
to Honduras. Today, the Garífuna (or more properly, Garinagu) represent
about 8 percent of the population in Belize.
Garífuna Settlement Day is a tribute to their culture,
vibrant traditions, language, food and music that continue to flourish despite
pressures of the 21st century.
The month-long culture fest culminates on the 19th with families
in Dangriga, Hopkins and Barranco welcoming expatriate Belizeans who return
to their roots from all over the world on this national holiday. Garífuna
women wear their typical costume, a long dress of checkered material plus colored
headpieces. The Garífuna flag—yellow representing the sun, white
for peace and black, the color of their skin—is flown in all its glory.
Parties begin the evening of the 18th, featuring the country’s top Garífuna
musicians, with drumming and punta dancing pulsating through the night.
At dawn paddlers wearing traditional costumes land dugout
canoes decorated with palm fronds in a re-enactment of the first boats of the
Garífuna people arriving in Belize.
Belize City Arts & Culture
• The Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts (Southern Foreshore) presents
Mythical Rainforest, a hilarious Belizean folklore tale of myth, music &
dance. Call (501) 227-2110 to confirm dates. www.nichbelize.org
• Image Factory Gallery (94 North Front Street) features
an exhibition of work by young contemporary Belizean artists. Free, open until
the end of Nov. www.imagefactory.org
