Factors That Have Shaped Bahamian Culture - Essay Example

Factors that have shaped Bahamian culture There are a number of factors that have shaped the Bahamian culture and identity. The large number of Haitian migration to the Bahamas at the end of the 18th century has been instrumental in constant tension between the Bahamians and Haitians. However, “the Haitian retention of African based beliefs and customs, its music, folklore, and gambling habits, has had some effect on the Bahamas” (West & West-Durán, 2003, p. 23). Similarly, the educational and cultural developments since the 1970s in Bahamas have radically redefined its cultural outlook and identity. The educational system of the nation underwent drastic changes since 1960s. Secondary education was ensured to the majority of the Black population and scholarships were provided for the Bahamians studying abroad. Similarly, culturally, “since 1967, there have been developments in music, dance, festivals, literature, painting crafts, and architectural preservation, which have helped define a Bahamian identity” (& West-Durán, 2003, p. 23). The Department of Archives (1971) plays a dominant role in preserving the rich island architectural heritage and takes care of the antiquities, monuments and museums. However, the lack of recognition by other Caribbean countries has been a great stumbling block for the nation to establish its own identity and many outsiders viewed Bahamas “as an offshoot of the United States and a tourism Mecca with sun, sand, sea, and sex, and a society devoid of serious writers” (West & West-Durán, 2003, p. 23). Analysing the Bahamian culture one can understand that it is the Bahamian African culture that has shaped the Bahamian identity and that factors such as the tourism industry, the changed political scenario, and the oral tradition and newspapers have been instrumental in developing the Bahamian culture and identity. Bahamian culture and identity Yinna (2000) points out three distinct elements that contributed to the formation of a ‘collective self-image’ among the Bahamians after 1973: “a sense of place, a sense of history, and a heightened awareness of the African origins of the nation’s black majority (Yinna 2000, p. 13). One can notice a clear link between Bahamian culture and the Bahamian identity. The Bahamian identity originated from the emphasis placed on black racial identity and subsequent ‘rejection of the white counter identity’ that marginalized the blacks for a long time. Politically, the Bahamian blacks derived strong power ideas from the Blacks in America and established a strong black political power in the Bahamas that attributed great value to its rich cultural heritage. There are many like Carmichael who believes that “a true Bahamian culture can only be black” and such a culture is best preserved in the “Out Islands where Bahamians remained uninfluenced by the latest American fashions or the British cultural trends in the major urban centres” (Yunni 2000, p. 15). Thus, it can be concluded that the Bahamian identity is shaped by the African experiences and the Bahamian experiences of the natives. Yunni makes it clear that the black national identity of the Bahamians “was a reaction against the peripheralization of black Bahamians in history texts or the Eurocentric representations of African civilization and Afro-Bahamians in those texts where they were discussed” (Yunni 2000, p. 15). Similarly, Glinton-Meicholas (2002) purports that the isolation of Bahamians from the rest of the world, its colonial heritage, its proximity to the United States and the coexistence of religion and tourism in the nation have all played their role in creating the Bahamian identity. The author argues that the Bahamians need to “stop the expurgation, bowdlerization and compartmentalization of Bahamian history, culture and achievements” (Glinton-Meicholas, 2002) if the nation has to keep its rich cultural heritage intact. Tourism Bahamas is one of the most popular tourist spots in the world and “tourism provides the economy with about 70 percent of its revenue” (Smith, p. 19). In an interview with the minister of tourism in the Bahamas, the Hon. Clement T. Maynard makes it clear that the tourism industry has spread the basic Bahamian culture to the rest of the world. Besides, the tourism sector of the nation has helped to “establish for Bahamians a very high standard of living, a way of life and values different from those found in most of the West Indian islands” (Smith, p. 26). However, there are many writers and researchers who hold the view that the tourism industry has contributed to a black identity that is dominated by a white tourist culture: According to Higgs, the “Bahamians’ identity is developed into and determined by a ‘white tourist culture,’ a culture that creates an environment where predominantly white tourists can come and know that they are safe to experience the exotic, the heritage of a culture, scripted for them by actors who need their gaze for the advancement and virtual survival of their country” (Higgs, 2008, p. 24). According to Higgs, the Bahamian identity that is permeated through the tourism sector of the nation reinforces the social superiority of whites, encourages black subordination and servility, and feeds white prejudice and narcissism (Higgs, 2008, p. 26). The gap between the poor and the rich, between the whites and blacks is evident when it comes to the tourism industry. Politics The long years of colonization and the political domination by the British, American and European influences have prevented the Bahamians to have an independent identity of their own for long. However, the majority rule by the PLP by the end of the 1960s brought about drastic changes to the Bahamian identity and made it possible for the Bahamians to rediscover their rich cultural heritage. Anastasia Elaine Dahl Smith in his seminal book Aspects Of Bahamian Culture depicts the efforts of the PLP (majority black Government) to improve the culture and life styles of the Bahamians and make them aware and proud of their black culture. The colonial period under the Spanish and the British empires turned many of the Bahamians into slaves to their white masters both physically and intellectually; however, many of the blacks, in spite of all their tribulations, kept their black culture intact and were proud of their African heritage. Colonialism negated opportunities for the Bohemians to grow as a group and racial discrimination prevailed in the nation until power was shifted to the PLP. Women were provided the right to vote in 1960 and the second general election that followed in 1967 resulted in a tie with both the UBP and PLP having eighteen members each. Later, the majority black government under the PLP was established in the nation which played a crucial role in the creation of the black identity. The majority black government promoted the tourism industry in the nation as it realized that tourism is the greatest asset to their country. The black government offered more job opportunities to the blacks, offered equal pay for same works, and scholarships were ensured for the students. The PLP was re-elected in 1972 and this “launched and era of Bahamianization” in which the Bay Street Boys and many Englishmen, Canadians, and other foreign whites were removed from positions of power and were replaced with blacks” (Smith, p. 18). The Oral Tradition and the Newspapers The Media especially the newspapers have immensely contributed to the making of the Bahamian identity: the Bahamian newspapers “followed the stories of the black struggle and some made comments concerning the ideologies and teachings of Dr. King” (Smith p. 20). For instance, the Nassau Herald and the Bahamian Times propagated the views of Martin Luther king, Jr. The PLP government under Lynden O. Pindling put extra efforts to study the black liberation movements and made all efforts to put an end to the economic exploitation and racism that prevailed in Bahamas under the white rule. In 1973, Bahamas gained complete independence and became a self-governing nation under the British Commonwealth of Nations. Since then, the nation has been making tremendous progress industrially, socially and economically and the political leadership under the PLP boosted a new spirit of black nationalism among the Bahamians which Cracknell (1974) describes as a “rediscovery of the positive virtues of the African culture and way of life” and the developmental slogan of Bahamas is “forward, onward, upward and together” (Smith 25). Similarly, another major factor that adds to the Bahamian culture is the emphasis on the oral tradition. As Bethel (2002) points out ‘informality’ is common in the Bahamas and the economy of the nation “rests on it; oral, not literate, communication is favoured; custom often regulates individuals’ lives, rather than law; and the state, though central to political conceptions of the nation, is in many ways tangential to individual realities” (237-238). The author believes that the oral tradition of the Bahamas has been instrumental in transmitting its past culture and traditions to the new generations; for him, “the understanding and the function of history in an oral society depend not upon history itself, but on how it informs and affects the present” (Bethel, 2008, p. 239). Conclusion: To conclude, it can be stated that the Bahamians still maintain a unique identity of their own which is a product of their African dissent and rich cultural heritage. Even though, there are external influences on the Bahamian culture and intermarriages are common in the nation, the culture of the Bahamian is predominantly African. As West & West-Durán (2003) purports despite “the pervasive influence of the United States, psychologically and materially, the African heritage in the Bahamas is still strong, contributing to a black national identity that is especially prominent in its culture” (p. 27). References Anastasia Elaine Dahl Smith. Aspects Of Bahamian Culture. (provided by the customer). Bethel, Nicolette. (2002). “Navigations: Insularity versus Cosmopolitanism in the Bahamas:Formality and Informality in an Arichipelagic Nation”. Special Section: Cognitive and Social Islands. Social Identities. Carfax Publishing: Taylor & Francis Group, 8 (2), 237-253. Glinton-Meicholas, Patricia. “Uncovering the Bahamian Self”. YINNA (2002) vol. 1. Higgs, Dellareese M. (2008, Aug). “BEHIND THE SMILE: NEGOTIATING AND RANSFORMING THE TOURISM-IMPOSED IDENTITY OF BAHAMIAN WOMEN”. A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. Johnson, Howard. “National Identity and Bahamian Culture”. In Yinna (2000). Journal of Bahamian Association of Cultural studies, 1, 13-20. West, A & West-Durán, A. (2003). African Caribbeans: a reference guide. Illustrated Edition: Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More