Ethnicity, modernity, and retention in the Garifuna punta.

The Garinagu, commonly known as the Garifuna, are a people of West African and Amerindian descent who live along the Caribbean coast of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua and who share a common language, system of customs and beliefs, series of ancestor veneration rituals, and repertoire of music and dance. The word Garinagu refers to the people as a whole, whereas the term Garifuna refers to the language, the culture, and a person in the singular form. (1) The emigration of Garinagu during the past five decades has resulted in sizable populations in large urban centers in the United States, namely, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Although hegemony, acculturation, modernity, syncretization, and American popular culture have adversely affected the retention of indiginous Garifuna customs in the United States (especially those related to ancestory veneration), the commodification of Garifuna music, art, and dance has resulted in an increased interest in traditional media of cultural expression. The most celebrated of these media is punta, a dance song genre that is a symbolic reenactment of the cock-and-hen mating dance. This couples dance features rapid movement of the buttocks and hips and a motionless upper torso, to the accompaniment of songs performed responsorially, membranophones, rattles, and occasionally, hollow turtle shells that are struck with a mallet and conch shell trumpets. Since the mid-1980s, punta has experienced a revitalization through its immensely popular derivative, punta rock.

With the birth and subsequent development of punta rock in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively, teenaged to middle-aged Garinagu have found a creative contemporary musical outlet for the affirmation of ethnic identity. Punta rock is an adaptation of punta, from which its name is borrowed, and to a lesser extent paranda, a folk-song genre for voice and guitar. Today, punta rock is the musical craze among youth and young adults in Belize and in Garifuna communities in the United States. In Guatemala and Honduras, punta rock is second only to the salsa-like music and dance known as cumbia. This study relies heavily on interpretations of culture bearers of punta, punta rock, and related musical media from Belize, Honduras, and the United States and on fieldwork conducted in Dangriga, Belize, in 2000.

The duple-meter rhythms of punta and paranda are very similar and are the primary rhythmic basis for punta rock. Songs are performed in the indigenous Awarak and Carib-based language of the Garinagu and are often simply contemporary adaptations of traditional Garifuna songs. However, the indigenous language and the rhythms of punta rock are, for many performers, paradigms for the expression of traditional and contemporary urban-influenced ethnic ideas. Ideals expressed by younger American Garifuna performers typically reflect the influence of African-American rap and hip-hop urban culture. For many such musicians, creating and performing punta rock are ways of reaffirming enthic identity through contemporary popular music. The use of traditional punta and paranda songs found in Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala symbolizes the reaffirmation of an identity deeply rooted in the origin, history, and struggle of a common people.

In this article, 1 consider punta (including its derivative punta rock) as iconic of Garifuna ethnicity and modernity. It is the most celebrated of the indigenous dance-song genres, and it permeates performances of both secular and semi-sacred rituals. Punta, as poetic folk art, is the genre through which social commentary is most frequently expressed. The development of punta rock reveals that, musically, traditional punta is amenable to instrumental and rhythmic augmentation because of its repetitive duple-meter structure. Punta rock was born out of the need to create a new and exciting genre of Garifuna music based on a fusion of elements of culture and music that express indigenous and urban social ideals. As such, it maintains its popularity because it incorporates the traditional (the old) and the contemporary (the modern). Modernity--used here as a metaphor for change--functions as the contextual canvas of contemporary musical society on which the sounds of the indigenous punta are retooled or colored through a mosaic of popular American and Caribbean music, namely reggae, calypso, and soca. Through the birth and subsequent metamorphosis of punta rock, punta has remained constant as a strong yet pliable expression of ethnicity through music in Garifuna history.

Most historical accounts of the origin of the Garinagu suggest that they are the product of a cultural and racial amalgamation between Amerindians on St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles and Africans who swam to the nearby island after two Spanish slave ships wrecked in a storm en route to Barbados in 1635 (see, for example, Taylor 1951, 18). However, the origin of the Garinagu is also believed to be directly related to interaction between Amerindians (Awarak and Carib) and the Mandinga of Mall, West Africa, on St. Vincent in 1307 and 1312 A.D. (Lawrence 1992, 169-214). Neither account calls into question the fact that the birth of the "Garifuna Nation" was most certainly the result of the union between Africans and Amerindians. Both groups' identities are deeply rooted in (1) ancestor veneration, (2) songs of social commentary and communal ideals, and (3) a relationship of reciprocity and respect between the people and the environment in which they live.

Garinagu frequently use the term Garifuna Nation when referring to the Garinagu throughout the diaspora. Historical justification for the use of this term can be attributed to the existence of various tribes of Garinagu under the rules of the paramount chief Chatuye, on the island of St. Vincent. The Garinagu began to migrate to Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua following the defeat of Chatuye by the British in 1795 and the subsequent exile of more than two thousand Garinagu to Roatan Island off the coast of Honduras in 1797. (2)

In 1802, Garinagu from Honduras made a series of landings in Belize. The largest migration occurred on November 19, 1832, when Garinagu fled from Roatan and found safe haven in Dangriga following a massacre of many Garinagu during the civil war in Honduras. Since 1977, November 19 has been recognized throughout Belize as National Garifuna Settlement Day and celebrated as an official public and bank holiday. Today, six Garifuna communities are located in Belize. From north to south, these communities are Dangriga (the place of origin of punta rock), Hopkins, Seine Bight, Georgetown, Punta Gorda, and Barranco. The largest Garifuna settlements are the towns of Dangriga and Punta Gorda. A number of Garinagu also live in Belize City, the largest and most densely populated city in the country. Three Garifuna settlements are located in Guatemala, with Livingston, a town near Barranco, being the largest. The vast majority of Central American Garinagu live in Honduras, where there are as many as forty-six settlements. Unfortunately, inhabitants in the two Garifuna communities in Nicaragua have all but lost the use of their indigenous language and many of their traditional rituals.

According to conservative estimates, in 1993 there were approximately 225,000 Garinagu in Central America and 90,000 in the United States (M. Palacio 1993, 11). Because most Central American Garifuna towns and villages were settled as fishing communities, they are located on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. The Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book 2003 (July estimates) reports the population of Belize to be 266,440, with Garinagu making up 6.1 percent; that of Guatemala to be 13,909,384, with Garinagu, whites, and others making up less than 2 percent; Honduras to be 6,669,789, with blacks (primarily Garinagu) making up 2 percent; and Nicaragua to be 5,128,517, with blacks making up 9 percent (Central Intelligence Agency 2003a, 2003b, 2003c, 2003d). Garinagu comprise a small percentage of the black population in Nicaragua. The majority of Garinagu are from families located in Bluefields and total approximately two thousand in number (Scruggs 1998b, 752).

In the Lesser Antilles, geographic boundaries and the use of a common music, langugage, and cultural practices defined the Garifuna Nation of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. However, the Garifuna Nation of the postmodern world is primarily defined by ancestral lineage, history, and the retention of shared practices and beliefs, although this rentention may vary greatly from one geographic area to the next.

The purpose of this inquiry about Garifuna ethnicity in the diaspora is to show how poetry, music, and dance in punta and punta rock continue to function as media of ethnic identity despite changes in social context and environment. The role of punta and punta rock has not changed, although culture, politics, and social life in the United States and the Caribbean have greatly influenced their development. In this study, Garifuna ethnicity is read through punta and its contemporary derivative punta rock. In doing so, I examine poetry, music, and dance as interdependent media of cultural expression in which poetry reads life, music reads poetry, and dance reads music. Of significance here is the premise that punta, as the progenitor of punta rock, is a genre that readily adapts to changes in physical and social context because it is first an expression of identity through language and text and second an interpretation of this identity through sound and movement.

Punta, paranda, and punta rock will be discussed first, with emphasis on ethnicity as expressed in towns and villages and in urban centers. Modernity is examined because it has been influential in the expression of Garifuna ethnicity and in the origin, development, and subsequent commodification of punta rock. Conclusions concerning the cultural and social significance of punta and punta rock are drawn from interviews conducted with Garifuna culture bearers, some of whom are social scientists trained in the West. These include Garifuna folk dancers, punta rock musicians, record promoters, traditional healers, anthropologists, and linguists. And comparisons of traditional and contemporary arrangements of a popular folk tune will show how music, dance, and language serve as interrelated media through which Garinagu express cultural identity and social solidarity. The analysis of the song "Malate isien gayein waruguti" (Love That Is Bought Is Worthless) by culture bearers from Belize, Honduras, and Los Angeles addresses stylistic differences and the influence of other genres of popular music.

Punta and Paranda

Punta is the most popular of the secular Garifuna dance-song genres. It is a Garifuna rhythm, a type of song usually composed by women, and a genre of dance that is a symbolic reenactment of the cock-and-hen mating dance. The dance represents sexual dialogue between male and female dancers, who attempt to outdo each other with unique stylized movements. It is characterized by the shaking of the hips and features an almost motionless upper torso in contrast to the constant movement of the hips, legs, and feet, creating the characteristic shaking of the buttocks found in many African-derived dances. Punta is performed at social gatherings and events associated with Garifuna Settlement Day, during festive portions of belurias (nine-night wakes, the first of several Garifuna postmortem rituals), and during brief celebrations that follow ancestor rituals.

Phyllis Cayetano (2000, 7-9) an organizer of the first Garifuna folkloric dance company in Belize, relates:

   In the old days ... hagualati or punta [was] more what we call
   "two for shilling." ... They would say it is not decent maybe
   because it is a sensuous dance. It is ... a courtship dance....
   There is that sexual innuendo.... The male ... is the one who
   goes crazy all over the place going in front of the woman and
   behind.... She doesn't care what he is doing, but that is the
   message of punta. They say that the punta is not a stage dance;
   it is a nine-night dance. You know. You do it in these little
   corners and your mother hears about you the following day. My
   mother used to say, "I heard about you that you were dancing
   the punta and why you do things like that. You're a well brought
   up young lady."

Here, the culture bearer comments on the implied sexuality of punta and its place as a dance commonly performed at communal events such as belurias. Her mother's response to her dancing reveals that punta is appealing to Garinagu of all ages and that because of its sexual nature, it is considered taboo for "well brought up young ladies."

Punta songs are social-commentary songs in that they express concerns such as living and work conditions, as well as male infidelity. The music of punta involves responsorial singing accompanied by indigenous membranophones, idiophones, and aerophones. These instruments include skin drums, calabash rattles called shakkas (chaka) or shekeres, and occasionally, conch-shell trumpets. The two principal Garifuna instruments are single-headed drums known as the primero and segunda. On the primero (a tenor or lead drum), the smaller of the two Garifuna drums, the drummer improvises a series of rhythmic motives characteristic of punta. On the segunda (the bass drum), the drummer repeats a single duple-meter ostinato throughout the song (see Ex. 1). This functions as the characteristic rhythmic foundation of all puntas against which the primero combines numerous contrasting rhythmic motives in a repetitive manner. The use of metal or nylon cords stretched tightly across the face of the head of each drum creates a buzzing or rattling timbre when the head is struck. This unique feature implies that such a timbre is the preferred aural aesthetic of Garifuna drumming. Beyond being simply a matter of tradition, the meaning and use of cords stretched across the drum head is unknown.

Paranda, like punta, is a rhythm as well as genre of music. Its duple-meter ostinato is almost identical to that of punta, and it shows the influence of traditional Latin-American music. Parandas are traditionally performed as solo vocal music with guitar accompaniment. In the liner notes to the compact disc titled Paranda: Africa in Central America, Dan Rosenburg (1999) alludes to the African and Latin rhythmic ancestry of paranda:

   The basic rhythm can be heard in Garifuna traditional drumming
   styles that date all the way back to St. Vincent and West Africa.
   The Paranda became a genre itself in the 19th century, shortly
   after the Garifuna arrived in Honduras. It was there they first
   encountered Latin music, and incorporated the acoustic guitar,
   and a touch of Latin and Spanish rhythms into the music. The
   Paranda reached its prominence in the early part of the 20th
   century, and has changed little since. Its instrumentation is
   totally acoustic, "Garifuna Unplugged": large wooden Garifuna
   drums called "Primero" and "Segunda," shakers, scrapers, turtle
   shell percussion, and acoustic guitar.

Phyllis Cayetano (2000) states that prior to the 1970s, paranda was a type of serenade that might be heard at two, three, or four o'clock in the morning when people were coming from a dance or a beluria. Although parandas, like puntas, provide valuable source material for the creation of new punta rock songs, they are rarely performed in the United States because of the lack of well-trained panaderos outside Central America.

Garinagu have become more aware that "culture sells" because of increased studies on Garifuna culture, the rise in interest in Garifuna music and dance, and the desire of U.S. Garinagu to maintain a connection with their culture. During the past twenty years, Garifuna recording artists and promoters have realized that the "selling of culture" is not only profitable but is also an important form of cultural retrieval, maintenance, and survival. The creation and development of punta rock in the 1980s have been monumental in the popularization and commodification of contemporary and traditional Garifuna music during the past twenty years.

The Origin and Early History of Punta Rock

In punta rock, the song texts, melodies, and rhythmic ostinatos of traditional puntas are expressed through the sounds of urban American and Caribbean popular music. Specific Western influences include fast, driving rhythms for dance and instruments such as electric guitars, synthesized keyboards, drum machines, and trap sets. Punta rock was created during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a period in which Belizean radio station programming placed emphasis on popular American and Caribbean music, and the outmigration of working adults resulted in a generational gap in most Garifuna communities. The few recordings of traditional Garifuna songs that existed at the time were rarely played and could not compete with the hegemonic dominance of the music of Bob Marley (the voice of Jamaican reggae and the influential symbol of the social and political commentary) and the popular music of urban America. The contemporization of the punta began with the addition of struck turtle shells, a homemade snare drum, and a lead guitar to the traditional punta ensemble. These additions, plus an acceleration of the standard tempo of the punta, produced a genre of great appeal to radio-influenced youth of Garifuna towns and villages. With the advent of synthesized instruments, the drum machine has replaced the segunda in most punta rock bands, to the disappointment of advocates of the use of indigenous instruments.

Belizean and Honduran Garifuna musicians have been the primary producers and exponents of punta rock, with Guatemalan Garinagu a distant third. (No punta rock artists or groups to date are from Nicaragua, where, unfortunately, much of the language and cultural practices have been lost.) However, differences of opinion exist as to the origin and early development of punta rock. Pen Cayetano, a celebrated self-taught painter and musician, is considered the creator and "king" of punta rock in Belize. He currently lives in Germany with his wife and two children, with whom he has created a punta rock band. He has played the role of mediator between traditional and modern cultural expression. The role of such a culture bearer as a liminal figure is echoed and articulated by Stephen M. Slawek (1991, 163) in an article about Ravi Shankar: "I hope to shed light on the singular role Ravi Shankar has played as a mediator between the traditional musical culture of which he is a part and the modern cultural spheres within which he exists."

In the following excerpt, Pen Cayetano (n.d., 1-3; reprinted by permission) describes the social and cultural context in which punta rock was created, reveals the source of his inspiration to create the music, and discusses early attempts to commodify it. This passage sheds light on the progressive levels of public exposure of punta rock on the local level, that is, from its early development in a small community to its premiere on Radio Belize. It concludes by demonstrating the international recognition that punta rock has received in the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

   Punta Rock is the creation of myself, Pen Cayetano, and it started in
   the year of 1978 in the Artist Studio at 5 Moho Road in Dangriga,
   Belize, C.A. [Central America]. Around that time and before Isabel
   Flores, (3) Machete, Walta, Coyboy Flores, Gabaga, Nabour and more
   were in charge of cultural music, not to forget the female singers
   like Mudu, Tugusu Kutu (Sarah Webu) and many more. (4)

      Cultural music like the Punta [was] only performed at a Beluria
   (ninth night) or celebrations.

      A big change came with the migration of many Garinagu to the USA
   to achieve higher education, which resulted also to leave the
   children in the care of grandmothers. Only a few kids were able to
   speak the native Garifuna and that effected [sic] the youth in that
   way not to understand the meaning of the traditional songs from the
   old folks. So during the celebration time around the 19th [of]
   November when the Garinagu celebrated their first landing to Belize,
   I remember this following incident, it was the 13 November 1978 when
   the Garinagu gave their annual tribute to T. V. Ramos their cultural
   leader; the two generations clashed together. Isabel Flores was
   leading with his drummers and singers a group when some young folks
   stared [started] to sing vulgar songs in Garifuna. Nobody could stop
   them so the old people with Isabel and Mr. Hiberto took their drums
   and left the youth doing their own thing. From then the youth were
   banned ... [from joining] the other celebrations.

      For me it was sad to watch what had happened, but at the same time
   it opened my eyes and mind that something got to be done for the
   younger generation. Instinctively I knew that the Garinagu culture
   had reached the time for a change. I studied the old songs and
   started to write my own songs and played the Garifuna drums and also
   discovered how to use different sizes of turtle shells as a
   percussion instrument. Usually after I worked on my paintings during
   the day, I began making music in the late afternoon. First, I
   practiced all by myself until later some friends joined in. We did
   only cultural music because I didn't tolerate imitating of hit
   records.

      My first song was entitled "Garifuna," but nobody knew it until I
   made "Miusunali Bou" and "Suha Wau." ... Around that time there was
   no television in Dangriga and no drugs like cocaine and crack. There
   was time to talk, time to create, time to make music. It was not
   until 1979-80 when the Turtle Shell Band was founded. Mohobob
   returned from Guatemala and myself and Myme started the first
   formation. Then came Faltas, Higgins and Jeep and the six of us
   practiced daily on the veranda of Pen's Art Studio. ... I finally
   got the idea of quickening the traditional Punta rhythm, adding the
   electric guitar and the turtle shells (5) to it and called the music
   Punta Rock and named the group "The Turtle Shell Band."

      Originality and culture were our basic principles. (6) After doing
   rehearsals for quite some time, we began to do the so called
   roadblocks. Our first roadblock we had in front of the Star Club on
   St. Vincent Street. It was very much appreciated by the Dangrigans.
   There was also a hat collection.... Around that time the band
   members were: Mohobob (lead turtle shell), Myme (Garifuna drums),
   Higgins (small-shells), Jeep (chaka), Faltas made his own drum the
   "cricket snare" and myself on the guitar and leader. The Turtle
   Shell Band was following my instructions and idea and message....

      Finally the Turtle Shell Band did a roadblock at 5:30 PM every
   Friday on Commerce or St. Vincent Street in front of the Ten
   Store.... One day we were invited by Mrs. "Din" Guerro, the owner of
   the Eden Rose Club, to perform at her club.... It started cool and
   easy with people checking the new sound until later in the night the
   crowd went wild and began to realty puntarock. The song "Goubana"
   was one of the favorite beats at the time and from then on Punta
   Rock had a price. We started to collect by the door $1 for gents and
   50 cents for ladies....

      So the Turtle Shell Band played in Dangriga for quite a while
   until on 28 July 1982 I decided to take a step out of Dangriga. That
   Friday we took the 6:00 AM bus to Belmopan where we did our show at
   the Market Place.... A hat collection gave us that time about $75.
   At 1:00 PM we got another bus to Belize City. Nobody had heard about
   the Turtle Shell Band from Dangriga as yet. We were looking for a
   place to play until late in the afternoon. Between 6:30 and 7:00 PM
   the group met Romel Perdomo and he invited us to jam at his Club
   "Bonfire." Our pay was about $50, food and drinks for the night. The
   next day, ... Saturday, became to be a historical day for the Turtle
   Shell Band. After we woke up at 7:00 AM ... we decided to go to the
   Central Park to do our show. Our first song was "Think about life."
   People started to gather and the crowd became thick and they [were]
   listening to our life music--to our message. This was one of my
   gorgeous moments in life. With the hit "Uwala Uwala Busiganu" (Don't
   be ashamed of your culture) the crowd got to a climax. Then it
   started to rain and the people began to scatter. It happened that we
   continued to play and created a song on the spot "Huya ma Huya ma ya
   Uburugu Balice" (It's raining in Belize). After the rain stopped we
   were invited from Radio Belize for a live recording in Belize' only
   studio at that time and we were more than glad to be welcomed and
   knew that Punta Rock was on [its] way up.

      The Turtle Shell Band took the Punta Rock out of Belize and spread
   the message across the Caribbean, Mexico and the USA. International
   recognition [was] gained in 1983 at the New Orleans Jazz Festival.
   The songs were written mostly in Garifuna language talking about the
   history, calling for pride and awareness of the culture and not
   losing it, ... [that is] what ... Uwala Busiganu [means]. Some songs
   are referring to the hardship of the Garifuna and their experience
   as well as love, joy and happiness.

Culturally, the conditions created by the emigration of parents from Dangriga and other Garifuna communities to the United States had a crippling effect on processes of artistic and social enculturation. Because the need for higher education and better employment could not be met in Belize, the vast majority of the inhabitants (specifically parents) who were closest in age to the youth and who typically bridged the gap between children and their grandparents left the country and were absent during the most impressionable years of their children's development. This contributed to a serious decline in the retention of the Garifuna language and, consequently, in the ability of youth to comprehend the meaning of indigenous music.

Pen's deliberate and calculated creation of the new musical genre was the artistic product of a desire to preserve culture by transforming it into a medium more amenable to youth. Themes implied in song texts suggest that from its inception, punta rock was a means of expressing Garifuna culture and ideology. Although uniquely interpreted and expressed by Pen Cayetano and the Turtle Shell Band, the ideals implicit in songs of the new genre resonated in the spirits of many Garinagu because the songs were based on a genre of indigenous music familiar to the listeners.

Although women traditionally compose indigenous punta songs, as implied in the passage by Pen quoted here, from its birth, punta rock was a genre created and dominated by men. Its songs are almost exclusively arranged, composed, and performed by men. Although they are usually based on the melody and text of traditional secular punta and paranda songs, they may also be derived from the text of other genres, including ancestor ritual songs. The movements associated with punta rock are provocative adaptations of the traditional punta dance. With the performance at the Eden Rose Club in the early 1980s and the realization that punta rock had a price, the genre has completed its metamorphosis from a traditional dance-song genre to a newly transformed one that had been validated as a legitimate form of musical expression. This new genre had become a commodity with tremendous economic potential. Pen's use of the term puntarock as a verb in this excerpt implies the active, participatory, and empirical nature of the music and dance. His exclamation, "The crowd went wild and began to really puntarock," implies that the place was "rocking" with people dancing punta. Therefore, in the context of performance, when punta rock (the genre) is at the height of its appeal, dancers internalize the rhythm, melody, and text in such ways that they begin to puntarock with their bodies.

Other accounts of the history and development of punta suggest that it was and continues to be influenced by non-Belizean contemporary Caribbean and Latin American music, specifically, reggae in Jamaica, calypso and soca in Trinidad and Tobago, and salsa. During an interview in Belize, Barbara "Bubie" Norales, a Garifuna promoter and producer of punta rock artists, recalled the many Friday evening roadblocks in Dangriga, to which Pen alluded. She also suggested that the first performances of punta rock in Dangriga occurred about the time of Bob Marley's death in 1981 and may have been held as a memorial to him. This belief may be due to the overwhelming prevalence of Jamaican reggae--it was the dominant genre of popular music played on Radio Belize at the time--and the coincidence that the roadblocks began or were coming into full swing at the time of Marley's death. Barbara also confirmed that Pen called the new genre "punta rock" because it was faster than the traditional dance-song style (Norales 2000).

Hector Vera, a Honduran Garifuna punta rock promoter and producer, believes that punta rock began almost simultaneously in Belize and Honduras. (Vera lives in Brooklyn, the borough in which most Garinagu in New York live.) Although his account of the origin of punta rock is not as specific as that of Pen Cayetano, Vera's explanation of the differences between Belizean and Honduran punta rock warrants examination: "Belizeans have ... the Caribbean influence.... so you hear the soca influence in their music and another thing is that they speak English [and Garifuna] ... and we [speak] ... Spanish and Garifuna. So naturally we are going to listen more to Spanish music, ... although now we listen to soca as well.... But they had ... the soca influence and we [Hondurans] had the salsa influence" (Vera 2000).

Vera's observations are correct, and it is to be expected that the Garinagu of Belize are exposed to the music of English-speaking Trinidad and Tobago (7) and Jamaica more than those of Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Conversely, the Garinagu of Honduras, like those of the other two Spanish-speaking countries, are exposed to salsa, cumbia, and other genres of Latin-American music more than those of Belize. Elements of salsa are incorporated in the punta rock adaptation of the popular paranda "Malate isien" by Fuerza Garifuna from Honduras. This song is analyzed in the final section of this article.

Ethnicity amt Garifuna Ethnic Identity

Ethnicity can be simply defined as a "quality of being" or "state of consciousness" of a group of people who share a common way of life. Because it is both internally and externally ascribed and defined (Behague 1994, v), the issue in this article is not simply "what is Garifuna identity" but who defines it and under what social and cultural paradigms is it defined. Another issue is the process by which Garinagu transform yet maintain expressions of their ethnic identity. I am interested here with internally rather than externally defined ethnicity. Internally defined ethnicity is concerned with "a population whose members self-define their collective survival by replicating a shared identity through cultural and biological self-reproduction" (v-vi).

Roy Cayetano, a Garifuna linguist, agrees that ethnic identity is internally defined. When asked what it means to be Garifuna, he stated that it is a matter of individual conceptualization rather than a formula of descriptive ideals based on biological descent, the ability to communicate in the indigenous language, or participation in cultural activities and rites of passage:

   The most important thing is identification; that you identify with
   this group of people called the Garifuna.... I know of at least a
   couple [of people] who aren't biologically Garifuna but who are
   raised in this Garifuna [environment].... The best example is of a
   young lady who was raised in Punta Gorda, originally of Mopan Mayan
   descent. But she was raised by a couple of older Garifuna people who
   treated [her] like [she was] Garifuna and taught her the language.
   And I remember she entered a contest to be Miss Garifuna.... None of
   the other contestants could speak Garifuna as well as she could. The
   most difficult thing for her was ... the dance because the old people
   didn't encourage her to dance. But where everything else was
   concerned she was head and shoulders above the others. I understand
   that she ... even [made] disparaging comments about Mopan Mayas.
   Typically she is Mopan Maya, but culturally in terms of
   identification she is Garifuna. So I would say that the most
   important thing is what a person thinks he is. (R. Cayetano 1996)

Although ethnic identity is commonly based on the recognition of idiosyncrasies collectively ascribed to a group of people, self-expression and experience are important factors that cannot be ignored. The case of the Garifuna/Mopan Maya girl reveals that ethnicity is directly linked to an individual's interpretation of his or her life experiences, upbringing, and how he or she fits into a community of people who share a common way of life. In short, cultural identity is revealed and expressed when individual experiences, unique to a particular way of life, are emphatically shared by others who have the same way of life. Gerhard Kubik (1994, 29-30) states:

   Ultimately, of course, any ideas are created by individuals, come
   from the individual experience, and can only become collective if
   ... the experience is multiplied.... The fact that "ethnicity" and
   "cultural identity" are emotionally charged concepts points to an
   origin in individuals within a social stratum where "cultural
   identity" had become a problem. These individuals must have passed
   through the painful experience of hetero-cultural deprival and
   rejection giving rise to basic existential questions such as "Who
   am I? Where do I belong?"

The young Mayan girl's acceptance into a loving Garifuna-centered home and community served as validation for her expressed Garifunaness despite her being Mopan Maya biologically. Conversely, in some social contexts, rejection and discrimination are the products of marginalization based on ethnicity. Feelings of cultural deprival are often found in older Belizean Garinagu, many of whom relayed to me past experiences of economic, political, and racial discrimination.

A second way of identifying ethnicity lies in the recognition of idiosyncrasies collectively ascribed to a group of people. When these idiosyncrasies are identified and defined within the culture, internally defined ethnicity is exhibited. Among the Garinagu, the phrase "Garifuna duo" is used. It implies moving from simply identifying ethnicity to being conscious of expressing it. Joe Palacio (1996), a Garifuna anthropologist, explains:

   Garifuna duo mostly means acting, behaving like a Garifuna. Examples
   are the tremendous ... hierarchy ... for the ancestors, a
   willingness to share and not to be selfish. [If] I don't attend the
   dugu [ancestral ritual], I am not acting Garifuna duo.... If I don't
   speak the language, I'm not acting Garifuna duo. So all these things
   ... are ethnic markers, and they are built into the culture in such
   a way that ... the index is right there.

In short, these idiosyncratic ethnic markers are conscious expressions of "Garifunaness" and, as such, are attempts to maintain and preserve ethnic identity in communal and social settings.

John Mariano, a Garifuna buyei (shaman) in Dangriga, comments on the maintenance and preservation of ethnic identity in the Garifuna diaspora. Mariano founded and organized Garifuna folk music and dance companies in Brooklyn, New York, where he lived for thirty years. He notes differences between the expression and celebration of Garifuna culture in the United States and Belize. He also implies that the need among African Americans to express cultural identity serves as a model for such expressions among Garinagu. Furthermore, this expression is directly linked to education and the need for self-expression among all people of African descent in the New World. Mariano also suggests that the intellectual and physical environment directly influences the expression of ethnic identity of Garinagu living in Central America as well as those residing in urban centers in the United States (Mariano 1996).

African Americans and Garinagu are related in their expressions of African identity through the concept of cultural memory that Samuel A. Floyd Jr. (1995, 8) defines as follows:

   A repository of meanings that comprise the subjective knowledge of a
   people, its immanent thought, its structures, and its practices;
   these thoughts, structures, and practices are transferred and
   understood unconsciously but become conscious and culturally
   objective in practice and perception. Cultural memory, obviously a
   subjective concept, seems to be connected with cultural forms--in
   the present case, music, where the "memory" drives the music and the
   music drives memory.

Garifunaness involves the unique collective expression of the African and Amerindian thoughts, structures, and practices that have been maintained for hundreds of years. Although ideals associated with these expressions are subconscious, they seem to acquire a more meaningful identity when expressed through media of cultural expression that are passed from one generation to the next, such as music and dance. Cultural memory serves as the catalyst for expressing Garifuna identity through punta, paranda, and punta rock. In turn, these genres provide the platform or vehicle through which Garinagu first remember and then express who they are. Although changes in environment and social structure occur between villages and urban centers, communal cultural memory--which makes possible maintenance, retrieval, and retention--is that which keeps people spiritually and artistically rooted in their own culture.

Modernity

Scholars are cognizant of the role that constant change and advancement in technology have played on the expression of the cultural identity in the lives of the researched. Because change has seemed almost constant due to advancements in technology during the second half of the twentieth century, the concept of modernity has become increasingly important in cultural studies. According to Bernhard and Spencer (1996, 376-379), "the term 'modernism' has its intellectual foundations in the study of literature and the visual arts. There it usually refers to a broad cultural movement characterized by a spirit of constant challenge to receive forms .... The process of modernization involves the 'shedding of tradition.'"

Concerning the expression of Garifuna identity and the stages of development of punta rock, modernity can be seen as a continuum for social, economic, and cultural change. This change directly affects the expression of identity in a world influenced by technological advancements in the reproduction, recording, and commodification (including the marketing and distribution) of music and other media of expression. As a metaphor for change, modernity functions as the catalyst and technological context in which cultural expression through the medium of music is retooled and transformed, in short, "metamorphosized." As both catalyst and context, modernity symbolizes change from the traditional to the modern (the ever-changing contemporary). Contextually speaking, modernity made possible the influence of popular contemporary music from other cultures.

It is possible that television has influenced the development, commercialization, and commodification of punta rock more than radio or any other mass media of expression. It is interesting to note that Pen Cayetano describes the late 1970s as a time when "there was no television in Dangriga and no drugs like cocaine and crack. There was time to talk, time to create, time to make music." By the early to mid-1990s, the scene had changed tremendously. During my first trip to Dangriga in 1994, I was surprised to see that homes ranging from large two-story structures made of cement blocks to small single-level two-room houses contained televisions equipped with cable service, showing music videos of the latest hits on MTV and BET. The influence of American pop music culture is evident in Gimme Punta Rock (1994), a documentary on the origin and influence of punta. This film incorporates a music video version of the 1990 hit "Ereba" (Cassava Bread) by Andy Palacio.

Although punta rock is more popular among youth, it has not replaced punta in traditional communal settings as the preferred genre of musical expression. Punta simply coexists with punta rock, maintaining its significance as the primary musical genre of social commentary especially among older Garinagu. Recordings of traditional puntas accompanied by the segunda, primero, shakka, and, occasionally, the conch shell trumpet are still being successfully produced, although punta rock has a greater commercial appeal. Furthermore, punta, as opposed to punta rock, is the genre of preference at traditional communal gatherings and rites of passage, such as settlement-day activities, belurias, and celebrations following the end of dugus. At such events, older Garinagu often serve as organizers and culture bearers and therefore maintain indigenous traditions. The use of electric instruments and the performance of the more provocative punta dance associated with punta rock are considered inappropriate in many of these settings. However, punta rock prevails in social settings dominated by teenagers and young adults.

Punta in its traditional form has served as a paradigm for a new language of musical expression (i.e., punta rock) as well as a continuum for the evolution of popular contemporary Garifuna music in general. No new forms of contemporary Garifuna music have been created since the development of punta rock. All recordings of Garifuna music that have employed electric instruments since the development of punta rock have been classified as such, regardless of the indigenous genre from which they were derived. Although advancements in technology have resulted in greater use of synthesized keyboards and drum machines--much to the dismay of traditional culture bearers--artists have continued to produce new arrangements of older celebrated puntas, as did Pen Cayetano during the conception and early development of punta rock. Therefore, punta, the paradigm, also serves as the context (the musical and literary folk art and source material) from which punta rock was created. As such, punta functions as the musical continuum of transformation in contemporary Garifuna music. In short, modernity and punta exists simultaneously as interrelated and interdependent continuums of technological and musical transformation, with modernity serving as the catalyst for the transformation of punta, and punta serving as the artistic medium through which the effects of modernity are evident.

Punta and punta rock, as genres of Garifuna expression, coexist because they appeal primarily to Garinagu of differing age groups and are therefore used in different social contexts. This mutual coexistence of punta and punta rock seems to contradict Jonathan Spencer's description of modernity as "a process" in which modernization involves the "shedding of tradition" (Berhard and Spencer 1996, 378). For the Garinagu, modernity and the subsequent creation of punta rock did not involve the "shedding of tradition" but rather the maintenance of indigenous Garifuna proverbial ideals through the transformation of a traditional genre of musical expression. Pen Cayetano did not shed tradition; he simply transformed tradition so that ideals inherent in the music would find new life and expression among a generation of Garinagu increasingly influenced by popular Western culture. The transformation of the traditional is a significant outcome of modernity in Garifuna musical culture, and it is perhaps the most powerful of the many processes of enculturation, maintenance, and preservation in contemporary Garifuna society.

Stephen Blum's (1991, 1-2) ideas about the effects of modernity on ethnomusicological research apply here:

   Seeking to encourage and assist in the preservation and renewal of
   musical knowledge, many ethnomusicologists have feared that certain
   practices and even whole communities of musicians might not
   survive.... Even more significantly, however, ethnomusicological
   research has shed new light on human creativity and resilience, on
   the breadth and depth of our capacities to adapt, and on the
   fundamental importance of musical skills in human adaptive
   responses. Music often serves to reconcile opposing attitudes and
   modes of life (including different attitudes toward time and
   history): "Through experiencing music, people can attain a
   perspective which allows validly opposite opinions to coexist
   without damage to either" (Ellis 1985, 2). Modern music history
   became a subject of scholarly inquiry as musicians and scholars in
   several parts of the world raised questions about the causes and
   consequences of differences between "newer" and "older" practices
   and styles.

Preservation, modernity, and history, as discussed here, are also addressed emically, that is, from within, by Pen Cayetano, the creator of the genre, and Andy Palacio, the most celebrated of the current punta rock artists. The principal objective for the creation of the genre, as stated by these artists, was cultural preservation. In a newspaper article on Pen Cayetano in 1982, the year before punta rock was first performed outside Belize, Roy Cayetano reveals why Pen was interested in preserving culture by returning to traditional or "roots" music in punta rock: "Asked why he sees now as an important time for this return to roots, he replies that useful practices from the past can still be salvaged today 'because many of us still remember having been through them. When you have your own roots it shows that as a people you are mature.' This return-to-roots permeates Pen's art in his paintings and his music" ("Personality of the Month" 1982).

Through creativity and adaptability, Pen Cayetano produced a musical genre more appealing to Garifuna youth. Symbolically, these are the Garinagu who determine the procreation of cultural identity. It is not surprising that older and younger Garinagu often hold opposing opinions about the use of the Garifuna language, the provocative dance of punta rock, and the value of punta rock in the maintenance of ethnic identity.

Modernity made possible the employment of nonindigenous Garifuna instruments (electric guitars, keyboards, and drum machines) to express traditional Garifuna music in new ways. Recordings of punta rock by Mohobob Flores, Andy Palacio, Rico Ramos, Aziatic, Titiman Flores, Punta Rebels, Aurelio Martinez, and Fuerza Garifuna from Honduras and, most recently, Rhodel Castillo from Chicago attest to the increase in use of non-Garifuna instruments as well as the influence of American, Caribbean, and Latin American popular music. (See the Appendix, "Celebrated Punta Rock Artists and Songs," for a list of the most influential recording artists and their most popular punta rock songs.) Andy Palacio, the punta artist with the most extensive international exposure, was highly influenced by Pen Cayetano. Andy, like Pen, pursued a career in punta rock for the purpose of preserving the cuture in a way that might appeal to Garifuna youth. Andy states, "The level of cultural decay within the Garifuna community in Nicaragua had reached [a] level [that] was frightening to me. And I thought that if there was a way of making Garifuna culture "cool" to young Garinagu, ... music could be used in that way. And that there could be something such as Garifuna pop music. ... That would be very appealing to them" (A. Palacio 2000). His goal was successfully reached, and his popularity has extended beyond Garifuna youth in Belize. He has performed on numerous occasions in the United States, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Because modernity is also symbolic of advancements in recording technology and the advent of the audio compact disc, it has influenced the rate of public exposure to punta rock. Unfortunately, it has also come to symbolize a threat to the use of indigenous Garifuna instruments. There is growing concern that with the use of versatile electronic instruments such as synthesized keyboards and drum machines, punta rock is being robbed of some of the characteristic acoustic musical timbres around which it was created: the sound of the turtle shells, shakkas, and segunda. To counteract this, bands are now encouraged to incorporate these instruments into their ensembles, especially the segunda, which was replaced in many bands by the drum machine.

Musical Comparisons: From Paranda to Punta Rock

A brief comparative analysis of two punta rock adaptations of a well-known paranda will help in comprehending the role that modernity plays in the expression of Garifuna ethnic identity. These musical examples are based on commercial recordings made in Belize in 1999, in Honduras in 1998, and in Los Angeles in 1997.

The popular paranda "Malate isien" (Worthless Love) was composed by the late Gabaga Williams, who at 94 was the oldest living parandero in Belize when the compact disc Paranda: Africa in Central America was released in 1998 (Rosenberg 1999). It is typical of many traditional Garifuna songs in that the text is somewhat metaphoric, instructional (relative to basic lessons in life), and proverbial. This paranda is believed to be more than forty years old, and it is a favorite because its message is simple and has wide appeal:

   Mandayagua harabayan tuagu tirau nofuri
   Mabaraseba gia hau
   Luagu halugun heiginibu
   Luduga heigadi gurigie
   Malati isien gayeinwaruguti
   Michigaba purissima dan le misienwaba
   Malati isien gayeinwaruguti
   Malati dan le misienba O!
   Gundabadina luni latigirunina mutu luagu niduun au
   Buguya haruguti buguya hebenene
   Buma hafureindera ligia lagarida bun au

   They have ganged up on my aunt's daughter
   Don't worry about them
   How they tried to eat you alive
   For their love of human flesh
   Love that is bought is worthless
   Don't extend a greeting where you are not loved
   Love that is bought is worthless
   It is useless when you are not loved
   I would gladly agree to be hanged for a crime I have committed.
   You are their grandfather, you are their godfather
   They learned from you now it hurts you (8)

This song teaches valuable lessons for both young adults and children, as well as for parents. It is a reminder that children are a reflection of their parents because they learn from them and interact with others as their parents did.

Linda Castillo (2001), a retired Garifuna teacher, interprets the song as follows:

   More than one person is trying to fight [verbally attack] my aunt's
   daughter. Don't worry about them. How they tried to eat [viciously
   attack] you alive. They like to fight. If someone doesn't like you,
   they don't like you. It's useless bidding them the time of day. You
   can't buy friendship or love. I will be gladly punished for what I
   have done, but not for what I have not done. You are their
   grandfathers; you are their godfathers. It hurts you to see them
   extend themselves where they are not wanted, but they learned that
   from you.

The popularity of this traditional song among Garinagu in rural and urban communities in Central America and the United States can be attributed to the practical yet universal values of parental behavior and child emulation.

Performance of "Malate isien" (Worthless Love)

The performance on which the transcriptions of the text and music of "Malate isien" (Worthless Love) is based features five musicians: a parandero (the guitarist and vocalist), a second vocalist during the refrain (see Ex. 2), a turtle shell percussionist, two segunda drummers, and a primero drummer (as performed on the recording Paranda: Africa in Central America). The song begins with the duple-meter ostinato that traditionally accompanies punta songs, played on the segunda. After a single repetition of this rhythmic pattern, the primero drummer begins to play another rhythm lightly. This rhythm seems to serve as a response to the call of the segunda. Following the single repetition of this second rhythmic motive, the pandero strums tonic and dominate chord sequences on his guitar in an ostinato pattern similar to that of the player on the primero. As the rhythm played on the primero is taken over on the turtle shells, the primero drummer begins to improvise a series of repetitive rhythms. Although the primero typically functions as the lead drum, the motives commonly played on it during performances of each different dance-song genre exist as improvisational rhythmic responses to the constant call of the segunda, as if conversational answers to a single repetitive question in a dialogue of rhythm.

The arrangement of "Malate isien" by the punta rock band Fuerza Garifuna from Trujillo, Honduras, on the compact disc Con Sabor a Crema de Coco, begins with the refrain performed as a sultry salsa. This version features claves playing the customary three-plus-two pattern of salsa, a one-measure rhythmic ostinato played on the keyboard that changes pitch according to the harmonic progression, and rhythms played on the cymbals of a drum set to imitate the shaking of maracas. Following two seconds of silence, the tempo and style suddenly change to that of a typical punta rock song that one might hear today.

Aziatic, a popular young Belizean Garifuna punta rock musician who lives in Los Angeles, has also recorded a version of the song on the compact disc titled The Re Birth. His arrangement, like that of Fuerza Garifuna, begins with the melody of the refrain. However, here it is played on a synthesizer imitating the sound of an organ. A drum machine provides the steady repetitive beat traditionally played on the segunda. The cowbell repeats a syncopated pattern that seems to mimic the first two notes of the standard three-plus-two clave pattern.

Although the two contemporary arrangements of the song show the influence of other music cultures and technical advancements, its basic melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic structures remain the same. The ideals implied in the song text are maintained even though stylistic differences between artists clearly exist. Together with the music, these ideals continue to serve as principle unifying themes among Garinagu throughout the diaspora.

Conclusion

Punta, paranda, and punta rock are linguistic and musical media of cultural identity among Garinagu in Central America and the United States. As they provide modes of expression for all Garinagu, they aid in lessening differences related to gender, age, and social and cultural environment. Garinagu enjoy punta because it is familiar, enjoyable to dance to, exciting to perform, a form of social commentary, and replete with lessons for proper living. Musically, its appeal is based on the participatory nature of its responsorial singing, the use of a single fundamental dance and rhythmic ostinato, and the improvisatory yet dialogic manner in which the primero drummer interacts with the ostinato of the segunda while accenting sudden gestures by the dancers.

The interrelatedness of modes of communication such as language, music, and dance is essential to the expression of Garifuna identity. Joe Palacio (2000) relates this to the expression of cultural identity among all indigenous peoples. He states that the West has often been unsuccessful in its constant attempts to "categorize and pigeonhole cultures," that linkage among modes of expression is a simple way of life for the Garinagu, and that it is the responsibility of outsiders to try to understand that linkage. Andy Palacio (2000) believes that the inseparability of music and dance is directly related to Garifunaness and the inherent expression of Garifuna identity associated with it: "Music and dance are integral parts of this culture. You cannot separate music and dance from Garifunaness."

The continued use of the Garifuna language in punta rock has been observed among Garinagu as important to cultural retention. Although this may result in a disconnection from English- and Spanish-speaking listeners, it is the price that Garifuna musicians are willing to pay to promote cultural preservation and maintain linguistic authenticity. Andy Palacio states: "The Garifuna language ... is what works best for me for composing punta rock songs.... There are certain things that you are able to say in Garifuna that you could not say in any other way.... Any other language would just not do it justice, even though I may lose a fraction of my audience.... I feel that it's more important for my expression ... [to] be carried over to those who do understand." But Phyllis Cayetano (2000), like many other Garinagu, is concerned with the poor pronuniciation of the language in many punta rock songs. She believes that the use of good Garifuna language in punta songs may be an important challenge facing the culture.

Since the early 1990s, the National Garifuna Council of Belize has implemented projects in various Garifuna communities to preserve indigenous Garifuna culture. Cultural survival projects have included pedagogical documentary films on the construction of indigenous objects used for food preparation and headdresses for Christmas processional rituals. But the most significant project involved language instruction. The purpose of the language workshops was to reintroduce the indigenous language to Garifuna communities where it had been supplanted by Creole. The use of English in the classroom in Garifuna communities, the popularity of the English-based Creole in Belize, and a decline in use of the indigenous language in the home resulted in an increased number of youth unable to communicate in the language of their culture.

The retention, survival, and preservation of culture and language have been focal points of punta rock since its conception. Pen Cayetano's efforts to create a genre that would appeal to the younger generation began with his examination of indigenous Garifuna songs. Although he was influenced by reggae and other genres of music popular at the time, he opposed the imitation of the hit records, insisting instead that the Turtle Shell Band perform and write only "cultural music" (P. Cayetano n.d., 2). Early punta rock songs were intentionally written and performed in Garifuna as deliberate gestures of cutural retention. Pen states, "Only a few kids were able to speak the native Garifuna and that effected [sic] the youth in that way not to understand the meaning of the traditional songs from the old folks" (1). Andy Palacio uses native Garifuna in his music to maintain authenticity in communicating meaning because the idiosyncrasies of the language are unique to the expression of Garifuna cultural ideals. Furthermore, because the meanings of many Garifuna words are lost in the translation of song texts, he prefers to maintain the use of the indigenous language in his punta rock songs. Garifuna traditionalists and culture bearers advocate the use of the indigenous language in popular music only when it is spoken correctly. They believe that because replication is an essential element of retention, correct Garifuna (rather than Creole, English, English slang, or any combination of the three) must be used in punta rock music. The primary method of expressing musical idioms and ethnic ideals in contemporary society is through language.

Finally, because punta rock is essentially a contemporary revitalization and retention of traditional folk music, it symbolizes the maintenance of Garifuna identity, although this identity may be "modernized." Song is an important method of language replication and enculturation for Garifuna youth in Belize who speak more Creole than Garifuna and for those in the United States whose best opportunity to hear the language is at home, if it is spoken there. Phyllis Cayetano (2000) states that the release of the compact disc Paranda: Africa in Central America has resulted in Garifuna youth learning many more traditional songs. Although it is an acoustic recording of traditional music, it has become popular among Garinagu of all ages throughout Central America and has helped curtail the loss and erosion of the language among youth. While punta the song form symbolizes the retention of culture through music, punta the dance form symbolizes the continuity of life. The basic dance appeals across lines of gender and age whether it is expressed in the original, more conservative manner, with gentle swaying hips (implying sexual desire), or in the more aggressive, provocative manner (emulating sex). Because the rhythms are constant and pulsating, the dance represents the most direct and physical form of intimacy. Therefore, it is also appealing to people of various ethnicities.

The use of music, language, and dance as intertwined agents of cultural expression continues to be essential to Garifuna identity. Although Garinagu throughout the diaspora are drawn to the music and dance of punta, it is the universality of the message in its texts that is the true testimony of the enduring nature of many of these songs. As contemporary artists explore their music roots, they create new avenues for maintaining the collective ideals of their ancestors. Although modernity and social and environmental change have affected the expression of Garifuna identity, the Garinagu have been able to survive and continue to express their way of life. Punta transcends national borders because it is an integrative expression of ethnic identity through music, dance, and language in Central America and the United States. Because of cultural memory and collective awareness, punta has and will likely continue to be a symbol of identity for all who consider themselves members of the Garifuna Nation.

APPENDIX

Celebrated Punta Rock Artists and Songs (9)

Artist                 Song                Compact Disc, Tape, Album

Andy Palacio           "Punta Medley"
                                            Keimoun
                                            Til da Mawnin
Auerelio Martinez      "Companera           Inocencia
                         de la Galina"
Aziatic                "Prym Tym 69"        The Re Birth
                       "Chiki Tikolla"      Jam 96
Chatuye                                     Heartbeat in the Music
Chico Ramos            "Karate Punta"       Karate Punta
                       "Conch Soup" (10)    Married to Ah!
Figaga                 "Yahum bei"
                                            Giribuba
Fuerza Garifun                              Con Sabor a Crema de Coco
Garifuna Legacy                             Unfinished Business
Lita Ariran            "Yurumey"            Songs of the Garifuna
                                              (Honduras)
Mohobob Flores         "Ital Food"          Ital Food
                       "Teena Nibuganya"
Mohobob Flores                              Marcos Sanchez Dial
  with Sounds
  Incorporated
The Original                                The Beginning ...
  Turtle Shell Band
Punta Rebels           "Save it"            Areda bei
                       "Pat Up"
Rhodee                                      In Exile

(1.) the etymology of the terms Garinagu and Garifuna has been examined in relation to historical and cultural perspectives. From the root word Karina, we have derived Callinago, Garinagu, and Karifuna. Hence, today the Caribs of Dominica refer to themselves as Karifouna, whereas the Black Caribs of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Nicaragua have always believed themselves to be Garinagu (the people), speaking Garifuna (the language). The term Black Caribs was first used by European explorers in the seventeenth century (S. Cayetano 1990). In his text on Garifuna ancestor rituals, Byron Foster (1994, 11) states that Garifuna and Garinagu are simply Africanizations of the pronunciation of the Island Carib (the Carib-Arawak people) words karifuna and kalinago. His study dates the African-Amerindian encounter around 1635 A.D. and does not take into account any pre-Columbian African influence or presence on Saint Vincent.

(2.) Sebastian Cayetano (1990, 33-34) states the following concerning the deportation: "By October 1796, 4,338 'Black Caribs' plus 44 slaves said to belong to them and 102 'Yellow Caribs' had been captured and sent to the island of Balliceaux, one of the Grenadines.... Between October 1796 and March 1797, some twenty-four hundred of those interned died of a mysterious 'malignant fever,' presumably yellow fever, aggravated by malnutrition. ... On March 3, 1797, the remaining 2,248 were loaded onto eight ships, which set sail for Roatan, on March 13. After a stopover in Jamaica, the convoy arrived at Port Royal, on April 11." Myrtle Palacio (1993, 4-5) adds, "On April 12, 1797, some 664 men, 720 women, 642 children totalling 2,026 arrived in Roatan opening a new chapter in the life of the Black Caribs."

(3.) The late Isabel Flores is considered the greatest of Belize's Garifuna master drummers. He moved from Honduras to the village of Hopkins, located six miles from Dangriga, in the late 1920s (Ryan 1993, 3).

(4.) Many Garinagu have nicknames, and it is not unusual for people to know an individual only by his or her nickname.

(5.) The use of turtle shells as instruments can be attributed to their prevalence in Pen's art studio. He would often take turtle shells from the river to his studio and paint designs on them (Ryan 1993, 4).

(6.) As with traditional punta, the sources of primary inspiration for punta rock song texts were personal experiences and everday life.

(7.) Musical influence and cross-fertilization occurred in both directions between Belize and Trinidad and Tobago. The soca tune titled "Leh We Punta" (Let's Go Punta) by Calypso Rose, the most celebrated of Trinidad's female calypsonians, was very popular in Great Britain in the late 1980s. The enormous success of this recording encouraged many Caribbean artists to listen to punta (Miller 1991, 54).

(8.) Translation by Gabaga Williams (1998). Reprinted by permission of Stonetree Records.

(9.) This list of popular Garifuna punta rock artists and songs was compiled with the assistance of Hector Vera, a promoter and distributor of Garifuna music. He may be contacted via e-mail at [e-mail]. For a more complete listing of Garifuna music, see www.garinet.com.

(10.) Much controversy existed surrounding the commercial release of this song. Although it was composed by Chico Ramos, it was released by the group Banda Blanca as "Sopa de Caracal" (Snail Soup) in 1990 and became an immediate hit (Scruggs 1998a, 741). A lawsuit filed by Ramos against Banda Blanca for copyright infringement was settled out of court in favor of Ramos.

DISCOGRAPHY 

Aziatic, Malatel. The re birth. Sta-tic Productions (1999). Compact disc.

Guzman, Dale, and Gabaga Williams. Malate isien. Paranda: Africa in Central America. Detour 3984-27303-2 (1999). Compact disc.

Fuerza Garifuna. Malate. Con sabor a crema de coco. Flores/Sierra Entertainment Group (1998). Compact disc.

The Original Turtle Shell Band. The beginning. Gema [1982](2000). Compact disc.

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OLIVER N. GREENE JR. is Assistant Professor of Music at Georgia State University, where he teaches courses on indigenous world music, the music of carnival in Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil, and popular world music of select countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. His publications include "The Dugu Ritual of the Garinagu of Belize: Reinforcing Values of Society through Music and Spirit Possession," BMRJ vol. 18, 1/2 (1998).