Oral Traditions or Spoken Word in the Caribbean

When I think of a poet, images of scowling, mustached men whose 19th century wardrobe could use an update spring to mind—a somber Edgar Allen Poe type whose ink strokes inquire of unrequited love interests and dreary days alone in the snow. I certainly do not imagine modern, multi-ethnic women who live in the same state as me. However, as soon as I read Natasha Trethewey’s poetry, I immediately admired the way her words so effortlessly danced on the page, my mind’s eye watching the elegant choreography with each syllable read. Moreover, when I learned of her tragic history, and the strength and resilience she possessed to carry on, I could not help but to respect the way she turned pain into beautiful art. The right words carry great power

In what the author describes as “Glocalisation’, it is noted that in Jamaica, Western cultural patterns are ‘domesticated’ and adapted within the cultural pattern of the Jamaican society. In other words, Jamaicans fuse most of what the world offers with aspects of their culture.

2. "… there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered “Listen,” a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour." (p. 11)

Claude McKay and Langston Hughes were both prominent African American Men in the Harlem Renaissance of the early 1900s. As such, they have received their fair share of the racism prevalent during this time period. Their concerns with this issue are addressed in McKay’s “America” and Hughes’ “I, Too, Sing America.” Both poets show disregard for the treatment they receive but still desire for an America in which African American prejudice does not exist. However, McKay conveys his vision of a bleak, foreboding fate for blacks while Hughes displays his confidence that America will have a hopeful future in which he is treated as an equal.

Michelle Esther Alexander Fankhauser (2010), identifies Schoolcraft’s dual influential environment, in her paper “Booked: ‘Womanhood is too Tightly Bound to Give Me Scope’” which asserts, “Schoolcraft’s choice of poetry as a genre meant to be read and heard out loud is an indicator that even when working within a literate tradition, her upbringing in an oral one was never far from her mind” (p. 52-53). Schoolcraft, much like many of the early American Renaissance writers, were unable to write in isolation and consequently their works were inadequate in their entirety to be exclusively romantic pieces of literature (Parker 2009). Therefore, neither can Schoolcraft’s work be singularly influenced by her Ojibwe

The culture of Haiti is a various mix of African and European elements due to the French colonization of Saint Dominguez. I chose to research this culture for two reason one reason being that I have a friend who is Haitian and I never understood why she did what she did, or even her mother. The second reason is because many people in Haiti is associated with voodoo, and that’s something I personally wouldn’t get to involved with due to my religious views. Throughout this essay we will see in detail the differences in culture from ours to theirs. We will learn about their primary language, religion, their different values and beliefs and last but not least their social practices. While reading on Haiti I started to appreciate their culture more due to the fact that know.

Frances E.W. Harper and James Whitfield are two of the most influential anti-slavery poets of all time. Both individuals use poetry as a form of resistance and as a way to express themselves during a time of great racial tension. Their poems reach out to many different audiences, shedding light on racial injustices that were present in America. Harper’s and Whitfield’s poetry, like many other works that were written during this time, help us to better comprehend the effects of slavery on African Americans.

In accordance with Du Bois’ definition of double-consciousness, the African American has no true self-consciousness, but does have one that is more true to the self than the other (“the other” here being how one sees one’s self through the eyes of white America). Being that Dunbar was an African American at the turn of the century, one may assume that Dunbar’s dialect poetry is most true to his “self” over his “classical” style, but this is not true. The content and style of Dunbar’s dialect poetry is riddled with incomplete phrasing, poor diction, and is not what he experienced and learned growing up in Dayton, Ohio excelling at an all-white high school. For example, in his dialect poem When Malindy Sings (1897), Dunbar wrote what is assumed to be natural organs as “nachel o’gans.” (1039).

During the 1920’s a new movement began to arise. This movement known as the Harlem Renaissance expressed the new African American culture. The new African American culture was expressed through the writing of books, poetry, essays, the playing of music, and through sculptures and paintings. Three poems and their poets express the new African American culture with ease. (Jordan 848-891) The poems also express the position of themselves and other African Americans during this time. “You and Your Whole Race”, “Yet Do I Marvel”, and “The Lynching” are the three poems whose themes are the same. The poets of these poems are, as in order, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude Mckay.

     Langston Hughes and Bob Dylan are two poets from different eras in modern American poetry. Although Bob Dylan is more characterized as a songwriter, I see much of his work as poetry. In this essay, I will discuss Hughes’ poem “Harlem [1]” and Dylan’s “Times They Are A-Changin”’ as commentaries on are culture, but from different backgrounds.

The Caribbean is a vastly diverse area representing the effects of colonialism, slavery, and the combination of many cultures.

Colleen McElroy uses her poetry to describe her culture and heritage in a very historical manner. McElroy’s poetry is very different from Hughes and Clifton in the sense that she uses so many references to her ancestors culture back in Africa. “My memory floats down a long narrow hall, A calabash of history. Grandpa stood high in Watusi shadows Where effigies of my ancestors are captured in Beatle tunes, And crowns never touch Bantu heads. My past is a slender dancer reflected briefly Like a leopard in fingers of fire. The future Dahomey is a house of 16 doors, the totem of Burundi counts 17 warriors-- In reverse generations. While I cling to one stray Seminole. My thoughts grow thin in the urge to travel beyond Grandma’s tale. Of why cat fur id for kitten britches; Past the wrought iron rail of first stairs In baby white shoes, To Ashanti mysteries and rituals.” The use of African language and the names of tribes paint a geographical image that readers can begin to follow. Heritage is more than following the lineage of a people, the land in which they live is equally as involved. This ethnic and topographical following of these people gives her Clifton’s poetry the breath

Imagine being able to tell stories for generations to come without ever having to write down a single word. Oral tradition is used to pass stories down from generation to generation through different forms of communication without any writing system. Oral tradition stories are told by word of mouth, riddles, storytelling, and songs. It cannot be changed although the narrator might embellish it. Oral tradition is how Africans perceived the past. The significance of oral Tradition is due to the stories holding so much information and knowledge. Oral tradition contributed to understanding pre-colonial history because the pre-colonial Africa was influenced by two major movements which are the expansion of islam and the dispersion of the bantu. Oral tradition gave us the perspective as to why the expansion and dispersion took place. Oral tradition has its strengths and weaknesses. A strength of oral tradition is that it is being told from word of mouth and more people will listen to a good storyteller than to go read a book about the history. However, a weakness of oral tradition is that many of the stories get forgotten, left out, or embellished. With each re-telling the story gets further and further away from the original. Oral tradition is a primary way of conveying culture and is a way of life in African history.

(Group Tainos) The cacique was the head of the Tainos society. The cacique was a hereditary title which passed down from father to son. Generally speaking, the Tainos practised monogamy. However, the cacique was allowed to practise polygamy (this was to increase his chances of having a heir).

Culture can be defined as the way of the life of a people, with regards to both the material and non-material aspects. However, as a result of a developing and maturing society, in addition to the birth of various generations and external influences, these “ways of life” can be inadvertently retained, renewed and even discarded. Our own Caribbean society, specifically Barbados is not exempt from such occurrences.