Accepting Cultures

Black in Latin America clarified many things for me this week.  Henry Louis Gates’ documentary on African influence and slavery in Haiti and the Dominican Republic made me have a deeper understanding and background history on African’s religions, thoughts, and how they see themselves.

The Dominican Republic was the 1^st place that imported slaves.  Nowadays the people of the Dominican Republic gather every Saturday to sing and dance for the remembrance of their past history.  Ninety percent of the make up of the Dominican Republic are Africans.  Although, many people in the Dominican Republic do not think they are “African” or “Black”.  One of the men that Gates interviewed spoke about how Africans had to learn how to be black.  The way that this particular person learned his heritage or his background on his race and culture was by visiting museums and learned ways from people outside of the Dominican Republic.  This seems very upsetting to me that peoples do not know where they came from or how their cultures live their life.  The fact that they are influenced to be someone else, forced to learn their way of life or how their culture thrives seems completely unethical in my opinion.  It made me question how someone could forget where they came from and how much their cultures have an impact on them.  The DVD brought up a strikingly strong word to help me wrap my head this question; acceptance.

            The Dominicans portray their thoughts or the way they see Africans in a way in which they probably don’t think anything of it, however to the people of the African cultures it is highly offensive.  One example that the DVD talked about was depictions of dolls to represent the African peoples.  The doll focused on features such as dark skin tone, nose, and lips.  Dominicans portray these dolls in way that the Africans don’t want to even consider themselves Africans because the dolls are depicted in an incorrect way.  An article that I read on line stated(link posted below); ”Dominicans are a mix of the Spanish, African slaves, and the Taino Indians, but that Dominicans are Indios and not black.”  Indio peoples think of Spain as their homeland, not Africa.  This makes me question why anyone would want to be associated with peoples that make them (the Africans) be ashamed of where they come from.

            Across the river is the homeland of Haiti; here they accept the Africans and the cultures that come with them.  Haiti was the first independent black nation in the world.  Many peoples of Haiti are Roman Catholics and practice the religion, but they also practice Voudo.  Voudo is a complex belief system that allows the peoples who practice to have strength, courage, organization, and leadership.   Our textbook says, “Voudo is organized around a graphic emblem called a vèvè.” The crossroads where the spiritual and the physical worlds meet and where the spirit arrives when invoked through ritual” (533).   One of the most amazing things about the Voudo religion is how everyone comes together for the deviation, much like any other religion does when they practice.  However, Voudo seems like a much more complex process involving chanting, sacrificing of animals, and the belief that their ancestors possess their bodies to fix problems in their lives while they are possessed.

            Even though the Dominican Republicans, the Haitians, and the Africans seem like they don’t fit, they all have key factors that tie all of these together; religion, culture, and influences.

http://sdonline.org/48/the-stigma-of-blackness-anti-haitianism-in-the-dominican-republic/