Belizean Kriol people
Encyclopedia
The Belizean Creoles, locally known as Kriols, are Creole
descendants of English
and Scottish
(the Baymen
) log cutters, as well as Black African
slaves
brought to Belize. Other small minorities include Creoles and the Miskito from Nicaragua
, Jamaica
ns, and other West Indians
who assisted in the logging industry. These varied peoples have all mixed to create this ethnic group. Kriol
was historically only spoken by them, but this ethnicity has become synonymous with the Belizean national identity, and as a result the Kriol is now spoken by about 75% of Belizeans. Found predominantly in urban areas such as Belize City
, this group is also found in most coastal towns and villages, and in the Belize River Valley.
of Belize
, but today they are about 25% of the population. This was due to an influx of Central American refugees coming in from neighboring countries, as well as emigration
of approximately 85,000 Kriols abroad, primarily to the United States. Today, identifying as a Kriol may confuse some; a blonde, blue-eyed Kriol is not an uncommon sight as the term also denotes a culture more than physical appearance. In Belize, Kriol is the standard term for any person of at least partial Black African descent and who is not Garinagu, or any person that speaks Kriol as a first or sole language. This includes immigrants from Africa and the West Indies who have settled in Belize and intermarried with locals. Indeed, the concept of Kriol and that of ‘mixture’ have almost become synonymous to the extent that any individual with Afro-European ancestry combined with any other ethnicity—whether Mestizo, Garifuna or Maya—is now likely to be considered "Kriol".
trade in 17th century, along with African slaves they imported to help cut and ship the logwood. The National Kriol Council of Belize says that black slaves had been established on the Central American coast from the 16th century and earlier and were working for the Spanish further down the coast. By 1724, the British too were acquiring slaves from Jamaica and elsewhere to cut logwood and later mahogany
. By most accounts, they led a better life than most in the West Indies, but were still mistreated, systematically raped, beaten and bullied. Many ran away to neighboring Spanish colonies, or formed small maroon settlements in the forest. These slaves reputedly assisted in the defense of the fledgling settlement for much of the late 18th century, particularly in the 1798 Battle of St. George's Caye
, though this is still a very controversial and political issue in Belize.
The Creoles settled mainly in Belize Town (now Belize City) and along the banks of the Belize River in the original logwood settlements including Burrell Boom, Bermudian Landing, Crooked Tree, Gracie Rock, Rancho Dolores
, lemonal, Flowers Bank and Belmopan City. There were also substantial numbers in and around the plantations south of Belize City, at All Pines and Placencia. Many Kriols were involved in the trade in live sea turtles, and other fisheries. As the 19th century progressed, they spread out to all the districts, particularly Dangriga
and Monkey River
, as the colony grew. Their sense of pride led to occasional clashes with authority, such as the 1894 currency devaluation riots, that foreshadowed greater conflicts to come.
In the 20th century, the Creoles took the lead in organizing the development of the settlement. Riots in 1919 and 1934, combined with terrible conditions resulting from a disastrous hurricane in 1931, led to Belize's first trade unions and eventually to its first political party, the People's United Party
(PUP). Creoles continue to lead the nation in politics. But conditions in Belize City worsened after another major hurricane in 1961
and shortly thereafter large scale migration began (and continues) to the United States and England, where successful individuals sent back money to assist those they left behind.
Attempts to unite Creoles for development, such as the United Black Association for Development, met mixed results.
, is a celebration include a maypole, which is a tall wooden pole, decorated with several long colored ribbons suspended from the top. This is similar to Palo de Mayo
or Maypole in RAAS
region in Nicaragua
. There is no definite answer as to how it got to Nicaragua. Many historians point out that there are many differences in the celebration and that it came from the Nicaraguan Creoles
that inhabited Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, other historians believe it came indirectly from Jamaica
.
The traditional fire sambai of Gales Point Manatee is an unusual Kriol dance which survives from colonial times, when slaves met in different parts of Belize City in "tribes" based on their African region of origin to celebrate Christmas holidays. Traditionally the group would form a big circle in the night around a full moon in the center of a square, and one person at a time would go in the middle of the ring to dance. The male dance is a little bit different than the female because it is a fertility dance. The dance marks the time when girls and boys are considered sexually mature.
. Its most well-known performer and innovator, Wilfred Peters
is regarded as a Belize
an national icon. It is a Kriol mixture of European harmonies
, African syncopated
rhythm
s and call-and-response
format and lyrical elements from the native peoples of the area. In its modern form, brukdown is rural folk music, associated especially with the logging towns of the Belizean interior. Traditional instruments include the banjo
, guitar
, drums
, dingaling bell, accordion
and a donkey's jaw
bone played by running a stick up and down the teeth. Brukdown remains a rural, rarely recorded genre. This music and the party associated with it are on the decline as youths adopt the culture of the outside world.
Creole in general eat a relatively balanced diet. The Bile Up (or Boil Up) is one cultural dish of the Belizean Creoles. It is a combination boiled eggs
, fish
and/or pig tail, with number of ground foods such as cassava, green plantains, yam
s, sweet potato
es, and tomato sauce
. Other important Kriol foods are Cowfoot Soup, a thick stew with cocoyam and tripe, and a wide variety of dishes made with fish. Coconut milk and oil are common ingredients, though they have become increasingly rare and expensive due to the plague of lethal yellowing which killed most of the coconut trees in the 1990s. In Belize
, cassava was traditionally made into "bammy," a small fried cassava cake related to Garifuna cassava bread. The cassava root is grated, rinsed well, dried, salted, and pressed to form flat cakes about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2-inch thick. The cakes are lightly fried, then dipped in coconut milk and fried again. Bammies were usually served as a starchy side dish with breakfast, with fish dishes or alone as a snack. Cassava Pone (Plastic Cake) is a traditional Belizean Creole and pan-West Indian cassava flour cake sometimes made with coconuts and raisins. Other common deserts include Sweet Potato Pone, Bread Pudding, stretch-mi-guts (a kind of taffy), tableta (coconut crisp), wangla (sesame) and powderbun, as well as a variety of pies.
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
descendants of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
(the Baymen
Baymen
The Baymen are the earliest European settlers of the eventual colony of British Honduras, modern day Belize.- Settlement :The first Baymen settled in the Belize City area in the 1650s. They were buccaneers and pirates trying to outrun the Spanish rulers in Mexico and Central America. They found...
) log cutters, as well as Black African
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
brought to Belize. Other small minorities include Creoles and the Miskito from Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
ns, and other West Indians
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
who assisted in the logging industry. These varied peoples have all mixed to create this ethnic group. Kriol
Belizean Kriol language
Belizean Creole English, known as Kriol by its speakers, is an English-based creole language most closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, Limón Coastal Creole, Colón Creole, San Andrés and Providencia Creole, Guyanese Creole, Jamaican Patois and English creoles of the Caribbean show similarity...
was historically only spoken by them, but this ethnicity has become synonymous with the Belizean national identity, and as a result the Kriol is now spoken by about 75% of Belizeans. Found predominantly in urban areas such as Belize City
Belize City
Belize City is the largest city in the Central American nation of Belize. Unofficial estimates place the population of Belize City at 70,000 or more. It is located at the mouth of the Belize River on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and...
, this group is also found in most coastal towns and villages, and in the Belize River Valley.
Etymology
Until the early 1980s, Belizean Kriols constituted close to 60% of the populationPopulation
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, but today they are about 25% of the population. This was due to an influx of Central American refugees coming in from neighboring countries, as well as emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
of approximately 85,000 Kriols abroad, primarily to the United States. Today, identifying as a Kriol may confuse some; a blonde, blue-eyed Kriol is not an uncommon sight as the term also denotes a culture more than physical appearance. In Belize, Kriol is the standard term for any person of at least partial Black African descent and who is not Garinagu, or any person that speaks Kriol as a first or sole language. This includes immigrants from Africa and the West Indies who have settled in Belize and intermarried with locals. Indeed, the concept of Kriol and that of ‘mixture’ have almost become synonymous to the extent that any individual with Afro-European ancestry combined with any other ethnicity—whether Mestizo, Garifuna or Maya—is now likely to be considered "Kriol".
History
According to local research, the Belizean Creole descended from polyglot Buccaneers and European settlers who took over the logwoodLogwood
Haematoxylum campechianum is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to southern Mexico and northern Central America. It has been and to a lesser extent remains of great economic importance. The modern nation of Belize grew from 17th century English logwood...
trade in 17th century, along with African slaves they imported to help cut and ship the logwood. The National Kriol Council of Belize says that black slaves had been established on the Central American coast from the 16th century and earlier and were working for the Spanish further down the coast. By 1724, the British too were acquiring slaves from Jamaica and elsewhere to cut logwood and later mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
. By most accounts, they led a better life than most in the West Indies, but were still mistreated, systematically raped, beaten and bullied. Many ran away to neighboring Spanish colonies, or formed small maroon settlements in the forest. These slaves reputedly assisted in the defense of the fledgling settlement for much of the late 18th century, particularly in the 1798 Battle of St. George's Caye
Battle of St. George's Caye
The Battle of St. George's Caye was a short military engagement that lasted from 3 to 10 September 1798, off the coast of what is now Belize...
, though this is still a very controversial and political issue in Belize.
The Creoles settled mainly in Belize Town (now Belize City) and along the banks of the Belize River in the original logwood settlements including Burrell Boom, Bermudian Landing, Crooked Tree, Gracie Rock, Rancho Dolores
Rancho Dolores, Belize
Rancho Dolores is a village in the Belize District of the country of Belize.Its more precise geographic location is 17.53 latitude and -88.62 longitude. Rancho Dolores is still an integral of farming and cattle in Belize. The village also offers scenic views of the Belize River...
, lemonal, Flowers Bank and Belmopan City. There were also substantial numbers in and around the plantations south of Belize City, at All Pines and Placencia. Many Kriols were involved in the trade in live sea turtles, and other fisheries. As the 19th century progressed, they spread out to all the districts, particularly Dangriga
Dangriga
Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean coast at the mouth of Stann Creek. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District and also the largest town in southern Belize...
and Monkey River
Monkey River
Monkey River is a coastal watercourse in southern Belize that rises in the Maya Mountains and discharges to the Caribbean Sea near Monkey River Town. One of Belize's major rivers, Monkey River has northern headwaters which originate in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, where the Swasey Branch...
, as the colony grew. Their sense of pride led to occasional clashes with authority, such as the 1894 currency devaluation riots, that foreshadowed greater conflicts to come.
In the 20th century, the Creoles took the lead in organizing the development of the settlement. Riots in 1919 and 1934, combined with terrible conditions resulting from a disastrous hurricane in 1931, led to Belize's first trade unions and eventually to its first political party, the People's United Party
People's United Party
The People's United Party is one of two major political parties in Belize, and currently the main opposition party. It is a Christian Democratic party; the current Party Leader is Francis Fonseca....
(PUP). Creoles continue to lead the nation in politics. But conditions in Belize City worsened after another major hurricane in 1961
Hurricane Hattie
Hurricane Hattie was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the strongest, reaching a peak intensity equivalent to Category 5 hurricane intensity...
and shortly thereafter large scale migration began (and continues) to the United States and England, where successful individuals sent back money to assist those they left behind.
Attempts to unite Creoles for development, such as the United Black Association for Development, met mixed results.
Culture
As part of the September celebrations the annual Creole Festival was held today on the grounds of the House of Culture. The festival is notable because it is part of an effort by Belize's Creole population to assert itself as a distinct group, rich with its own traditions that go way deeper than just a plate of rice and beans. Today the Creole Council, the National Library Service, and the favorite pastimes of the Kriols are story telling, particularly of the trickster spider Anansi, construction of handicraft, and also having a good "bruk down" party with family and friends.Maypole
MaypoleMaypole
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer...
, is a celebration include a maypole, which is a tall wooden pole, decorated with several long colored ribbons suspended from the top. This is similar to Palo de Mayo
Palo de Mayo
Palo de Mayo is a type of Afro-Caribbean dance with sensual movements that forms part of the culture of several communities in the RAAS region in Nicaragua, as well as Belize, the Bay Islands of Honduras and Bocas del Toro in Panama. It is also the name given to the month long May Day festival...
or Maypole in RAAS
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur , sometimes shortened to RAAS, is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 27,407 km² and has a population of 382,100...
region in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. There is no definite answer as to how it got to Nicaragua. Many historians point out that there are many differences in the celebration and that it came from the Nicaraguan Creoles
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
that inhabited Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, other historians believe it came indirectly from Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
The traditional fire sambai of Gales Point Manatee is an unusual Kriol dance which survives from colonial times, when slaves met in different parts of Belize City in "tribes" based on their African region of origin to celebrate Christmas holidays. Traditionally the group would form a big circle in the night around a full moon in the center of a square, and one person at a time would go in the middle of the ring to dance. The male dance is a little bit different than the female because it is a fertility dance. The dance marks the time when girls and boys are considered sexually mature.
Music
From colonial days, music and dance have been an essential part of the Kriol culture. Drum-led dancing was a major part of Christmas and other celebrations in Kriol communities. A style of music called Brukdown originated from the all night brams or parties thrown by Kriol families that focuses both on social commentary and hijinks. Brukdown is a genre of Belizean musicMusic of Belize
The music of Belize has a mix of Kriol, Mestizo, Garifuna, and Maya influences. After many centuries of Maya habitation, British colonizers arrived in the area in the 17th century. Belize was Britain's only colony in Spanish-dominated Central America until self-government in 1964 and gaining full...
. Its most well-known performer and innovator, Wilfred Peters
Wilfred Peters
Wilfred Peters, MBE was a Belizean accordionist and band leader, known as the "King of Brukdown". He toured Europe and North America with his band, the Boom & Chime Band, and was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth in 1997 for his cultural contributions.A Belizean national icon Mr. Peters was one of...
is regarded as a Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
an national icon. It is a Kriol mixture of European harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, African syncopated
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
s and call-and-response
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
format and lyrical elements from the native peoples of the area. In its modern form, brukdown is rural folk music, associated especially with the logging towns of the Belizean interior. Traditional instruments include the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, dingaling bell, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and a donkey's jaw
Jaw
The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...
bone played by running a stick up and down the teeth. Brukdown remains a rural, rarely recorded genre. This music and the party associated with it are on the decline as youths adopt the culture of the outside world.
Food and drink
Among the main staples of a Creole dinner are rice and beans with some type of meat for example stewed chicken, baked chicken, stewed pork, stewed beef etc. and salad, whether potato, vegetable, or coleslaw, seafoods including fish, conch, lobster, some game meats including iguana, deer, peccary and gibnut; and ground foods such as cassava, potatoes, cocoa and plantains. Fresh juice or water are typically served, occasionally replaced by soft drinks and alcoholic beverages (homemade wines made from sorrel, berries, cashew, sorosi, grapefruit and rice are especially common). Usually to be seen on a breakfast table are delicious creole bread and Kriol bun, johnny-cakes and frycakes (also called fry jacks). In recent years Creoles have adopted foods from other groups, particularly "Spanish" dishes made with tortillas, as a more general national Belizean cuisine has developed.Creole in general eat a relatively balanced diet. The Bile Up (or Boil Up) is one cultural dish of the Belizean Creoles. It is a combination boiled eggs
Boiled eggs
Boiled eggs are eggs cooked by immersion in boiling water with their shells unbroken. Hard-boiled eggs are either boiled long enough for the egg white and then the egg yolk to...
, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and/or pig tail, with number of ground foods such as cassava, green plantains, yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
s, sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
es, and tomato sauce
Tomato sauce
A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...
. Other important Kriol foods are Cowfoot Soup, a thick stew with cocoyam and tripe, and a wide variety of dishes made with fish. Coconut milk and oil are common ingredients, though they have become increasingly rare and expensive due to the plague of lethal yellowing which killed most of the coconut trees in the 1990s. In Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, cassava was traditionally made into "bammy," a small fried cassava cake related to Garifuna cassava bread. The cassava root is grated, rinsed well, dried, salted, and pressed to form flat cakes about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2-inch thick. The cakes are lightly fried, then dipped in coconut milk and fried again. Bammies were usually served as a starchy side dish with breakfast, with fish dishes or alone as a snack. Cassava Pone (Plastic Cake) is a traditional Belizean Creole and pan-West Indian cassava flour cake sometimes made with coconuts and raisins. Other common deserts include Sweet Potato Pone, Bread Pudding, stretch-mi-guts (a kind of taffy), tableta (coconut crisp), wangla (sesame) and powderbun, as well as a variety of pies.
Creole organizations
- Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
- United Black Association for Development Education Foundation (UEF)
- National Kriol Council (NKC)
- Creole Gyal Prodokshans (local production company)