Mujeres Garifuna:Tradiciones, Memorias y Desplazamientos

Garifuna Ancestral ceremony at Orchard Beach, New York City, June 2023. Photo, Nodia Mena

Garifuna people live along the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and the United States; they share a common origin, language, music, and ancestral placation system. They are genetically and culturally mixed with St. Vincent’s Amerindians (the Carib, Arawak, and Taino peoples in the Lesser Antilles) and West Africans (believed to be of Yoruba, Ibo, and Ashanti descent) who were brought to the new world to be enslaved in 1635 (Greene, 1998, p. 168).

The women in this community have created and safeguarded ancestral traditions that are essential to their social values. As knowledge producers, they are culturally and spiritually engaged in their communities. In other words, Garifuna women are teachers.

My grandmother, along with many Garifuna women, played a vital role as community educators by organizing and participating in cultural events such as fedu (traditional Garifuna celebrations), añahani (ereba-making), dugü (religious ceremonies), arani (medicinal, home-based remedies), and atirajani (a theatrical reenactment of the battles between Moors and Christians in Spain). Over time, newer generations have continued this legacy, ensuring the transmission of cultural knowledge. The continuity of these practices has been essential in preserving the Garifuna language, strengthening cultural identity, and sustaining shared community values. In particular, fedu and añahani—among the most significant community-building traditions—have played a central role in maintaining the use and vitality of the ancestral Garifuna language.

Fedu

During fedu, Garifuna lead singers—gayusas—sing in the Garifuna language while swaying their bodies to the rhythm of the garawon (drums).

Añahani

During añahani, a food-way of turning cassava into an edible product, every tool is recognized in the Garifuna language. This practice not only helps preserver the language, but also maintains the authenticity of this food production system.

Through their community-making customs, Garifuna women act as oral archivists, preserving life histories and collective memories. This archiving process has immortalized important messages about struggles, spirituality, inter-collective work, resistance, and resilience. Additionally, the traditions of Garifuna women highlight how the Garifuna people sought protection from the predatory practices of colonizers on the Island of Saint Vincent, our original homeland from which we were displaced.