Chapter Three: The Bahamas
Life in The Caribbean
Editor: Keith Thompson
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: New Africa Press (7 October 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-9987-16-015-0
The Bahamas
THE BAHAMAS is officially known as the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The origin of the name "Bahamas" is unclear. It may derive from the Spanish baja mar, meaning "shallow seas"; or the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, ba-ha-ma “large upper middle land.”
It's located in the northeastern part of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola (an island comprising the Dominican Republic in the east and Haiti in the west), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States near the state of Florida.
It has an area of 5,382 square miles and consists of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets or rocks. It's slightly larger than the American states of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and had an estimated population of 330,000 in 2010. Its capital is Nassau.
Originally inhabited by the indigenous Arawakan Taino, The Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first arrival in the New World in 1492.
Although the Spanish never colonised The Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans (as the Bahamian Taino settlers referred to themselves) to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1650 when British colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.
The Bahamas became a crown colony in 1718 when the British clamped down on piracy. Following the American War of Independence, thousands of pro-British loyalists and enslaved Africans moved to The Bahamas and set up a plantation economy.
The slave trade in the British empire was abolished in 1807 and many Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy were settled in The Bahamas during the 19th century. Slavery itself was abolished in 1834 and the descendants of enslaved and liberated Africans form the bulk of the population of The Bahamas today.
History
It's believed that Christopher Columbus's first arrival on land in the New World was on an island which is today known as San Salvador Island. It's also called Watling's Island. It's located in the southeastern part of The Bahamas.
Other historians contend that Columbus landed on Samana Cay, also in the southeastern part of the island nation. This theory is also based on calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic writer and editor Joseph Judge. He reached this conclusion based on Columbus's log. But evidence in support of this theory remains inconclusive.
Columbus made first contact with the indigenous Lucayans and exchanged goods with them.
The Spaniards who followed Columbus depopulated the islands, carrying most of the indigenous people off into slavery. The Lucayans throughout The Bahamas were wiped out by exposure to diseases, including smallpox, brought by Europeans and to which they had no immunity. The smallpox epidemic which ravaged the indigenous people after Columbus's arrival wiped out half of the population in what is now The Bahamas.
It is generally assumed that the islands were uninhabited by Europeans until the mid-17th century. However, recent research suggests that there may have been attempts by different groups of people from Spain, France, and Britain, as well as by other Amerindians to settle on the islands.
In 1648, the Eleutherian Adventurers migrated from Bermuda to The Bahamas. They were English Puritans who established the first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleuthera. The name is derived from the Greek word for freedom. They later settled on New Providence and named the island Sayle's Island after one of their leaders. To survive, the settlers resorted to using salvaged goods from ship wrecks.
In 1670, King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas who rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, collecting tax, appointing governors, and administering the country.
Eighteenth Century
During proprietary rule, The Bahamas became a haven for pirates including the infamous Blackbeard. To restore orderly government, The Bahamas were made a British crown colony in 1718 under the royal governorship of Woodes Rogers who, after a difficult struggle, succeeded in suppressing piracy. In 1720 he led local militia to drive off a Spanish attack.
During the American War of Independence, the islands were a target for American naval forces under the command of Commodore Ezekial Hopkins. The capital of Nassau on the island of New Providence was occupied by US Marines for a fortnight.
In 1782, following the British defeat at Yorktown, a Spanish fleet appeared off the coast of Nassau, which surrendered without a fight.
After American independence, some 7,300 Loyalists and their slaves moved to The Bahamas from New York, Florida and the Carolinas. These Americans established plantations on several islands and became a political force in the capital. The small population became mostly African from this point on.
The British abolished the slave trade in 1807. The abolition of the slave trade led to the forced settlement on Bahamian islands of thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy. Slavery itself was finally abolished in the British empire on 1 August 1834.
Twentieth Century
Modern political development began after the Second World War. The first political parties were formed in the 1950s and the British made the islands internally self-governing in 1964, with Roland Symonette of the United Bahamian Party as the first premier.
In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the Progressive Liberal Party became the first black premier of the colony, and in 1968 the title was changed to prime minister.
In 1973, The Bahamas became fully independent but retained membership in the commonwealth of Nations. Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first black governor-general (the representative of Queen Elizabeth II) shortly after independence.
Based on the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance, the Bahamian economy has prospered since the 1950s. However, there remain significant challenges in areas such as education, health care, international narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration from Haiti.
Geography
The closest island to the United States is Bimini which is also known as the gateway to The Bahamas.
The island of Abaco is to the east of Grand Bahama. The southeastern-most island is Inagua. The largest island is Andros Island.
Other inhabited islands include Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Exuma and Mayaguana.
Nassau, the capital city of The Bahamas, lies on the island of New Providence. It's also the largest city in the country.
All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 49 to 66 feet. The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia, formerly called Como Hill, which has an altitude of 207 feet on Cat Island.
To the southeast, the Turks and Caicos Islands and three more extensive submarine features called Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank, and Navidad Bank are geographically a continuation of The Bahamas. But they're not part of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Climate
The Bahamas are a group of about 700 atolls and cays in the western Atlantic Ocean, of which only between 30 and 40 are inhabited.
The largest of the islands is Andros Island located 120 miles southeast of Florida. The Bimini islands are to its northwest. To the North is the island of Grand Bahama, home to the second-largest city in the country, Freeport. The island of Great Abaco is to its east.
In the far south is the island of Great Inagua, the second-largest island in the country.
The land on The Bahamas is primarily either rocky or mangrove swamp. Low scrub covers much of the surface area.
Pineyards are found on four of the northern islands: Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, New Providence, and Andros.
On some of the southern islands, low-growing tropical hardwood flourishes.
Although some soil is very fertile, it is also very thin. Only a few freshwater lakes and just one river, located on Andros Island, are found in The Bahamas.
The climate of The Bahamas is subtropical to tropical and is moderated significantly by the waters of the Gulf Stream, particularly in winter. Conversely, this often proves very dangerous in the summer and autumn when hurricanes pass near or through the islands. Hurricane Andrew hit the northern islands during the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Floyd hit most of the islands during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season.
While there has never been a freeze reported in The Bahamas, the temperature can fall as low as 35.6–37.4°F during Arctic outbreaks which affect nearby Florida.
Snow was reported to have mixed with rain in Freeport in January 1977, the same time that it snowed in the Miami (Florida) area. The temperature was about 40.1°F at the time.
The climate of the archipelago has two seasons, summer and winter.
During the summer, which extends from May to November, the climate is dominated by warm, moist tropical air masses moving north through the Caribbean. Midsummer temperatures range from 69.8 to 93.2°F with a relative humidity of 60 to 100%.
In winter months, extending from December to April, the climate is affected by the movement of cold polar masses from North America. Temperatures during the winter months range from 59 to 75.2°F.
Yearly rainfall averages 52 inches and is usually concentrated in the May-June and September-October periods. Rainfall often occurs in short-lived, fairly intense showers accompanied by strong gusty winds which are then followed by clear skies.
Winds are predominantly easterly throughout the year but tend to become northeasterly from October to April and southeasterly from May to September. These winds seldom exceed 24 kilometers per hour except during hurricane season.
Although the hurricane season officially lasts from June to November, most hurricanes in The Bahamas occur between July and October. Before a long lull in activity which ended in the 1990s, the last one to strike was Hurricane David in September 1979. Damage was estimated at US$1.8 million and mainly affected agricultural products.
The most intense twentieth-century hurricane to strike The Bahamas was the 1929 Florida hurricane. Winds of up to 140 miles per hour were recorded. Many lives were lost, and there was extensive damage to buildings, homes, and boats.
Government and politics
The Bahamas is an independent nation. Political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom.
It's a parliamentary democracy with two main parties, the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party.
Tourism provides about half of all jobs. But the number of visitors has dropped significantly since the beginning of the global economic downturn during the last quarter of 2008.
Banking and international financial services also have contracted, and The Bahamas is one of 34 secrecy jurisdictions that would be subject to the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act introduced in the United States Congress.
The Bahamian archipelago is also a way station for drug smugglers and illegal aliens seeking to enter the United States. And aggressive anti–money laundering efforts have caused some offshore banks to incur losses and leave the country.
The Bahamas is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. And Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. She is represented by the governor-general. But the position of governor-general is more symbolic than functional. It's the prime minister who governs the country.
Legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament which comprises the House of Assembly and the Senate. The House of Assembly carries out all major legislative functions. As under the Westminster system, the prime minister may dissolve parliament and call a general election at any time within a five-year term.
The prime minister is the head of government. He's also the leader of the party which has the largest number of seats in the House of Assembly.
Executive power is exercised by the cabinet. The prime minister choses his cabinet. Cabinet members are drawn from his supporters in the House of Assembly.
The country's largely two-party system is dominated by the centre-left Progressive Liberal Party and the centre-right Free National Movement.
A handful of splinter parties have been unable to win election to parliament. These parties have included the Bahamas Democratic Movement, the Coalition for Democratic Reform and the Bahamian Nationalist Party.
Although The Bahamas is not geographically located in the Caribbean, it is a member of the Caribbean Community.
The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English law.
Economy
The Bahamas is one of the most prosperous countries in the Caribbean. Tourism is the backbone of the country's economy. It accounts for over 60 per cent of the Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP) and provides jobs for more than half the nation's labour force.
An example of the vibrancy of the tourism industry is the number of cruise ships which anchor in the nation's capital, Nassau, where tourists visit the straw market to buy different items or have their hair braided.
After tourism, the most important economic sector is financial services, accounting for about 15 percent of the gross domestic product. Offshore banking plays a very important role in the country's economic growth. By December 1998, the government had licensed 418 banks and trust companies in The Bahamas.
The economy has a very competitive tax regime. The government derives its revenue from import tariffs, license fees, property and stamp taxes, but there is no income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, value-added tax (VAT), or wealth tax.
Steady growth in tourism and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the American economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 impeded growth in these sectors in 2001-03.
Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of the gross domestic product and show little growth despite government incentives to improve those sectors.
Overall prospects for economic growth depend on the tourism sector whose success is largely determined by what goes on in the American economy. Thats is because the United States is the source of more than 80 per cent of the visitors. For example, more than 5 million tourists visited The Bahamas in 2004. Most of them came from the United States.
Basic Ingredients of the Bahamian Economy
A major contribution to the recent growth in the overall Bahamian economy is Kerzner International's Atlantis Resort and Casino which took over the former Paradise Island Resort. It has provided a much needed boost to the economy.
Also, the opening of Breezes Super Club and Sandals Resort has contributed to economic growth.
The Bahamian government has also adopted a proactive approach to courting foreign investors and has conducted major investment missions to the Far East, Europe, Latin America and Canada.
Agriculture
Agriculture and the fisheries industry together account for 5 per cent of the country's GDP. The Bahamas exports lobster and some fish but does not raise these items commercially.
There is no large-scale agriculture. Most agricultural products are consumed domestically. With few domestic resources and little industry, The Bahamas imports nearly all its food and manufactured goods from the United States. The Bahamas imports about 80 per cent of the food it consumes. But the government is attempting to expand food production to reduce imports and generate foreign exchange. It actively seeks foreign investment aimed at increasing agricultural exports, particularly specialty food items.
American goods and services tend to be favoured by Bahamians due to cultural similarities and heavy exposure to American advertising.
The government officially lists beef and pork production and processing, fruits and nuts, dairy production, winter vegetables, and mariculture (shrimp farming) as the areas in which it wishes to encourage foreign investment.
The Bahamian Government maintains the value of the Bahamian dollar on a par with the American dollar.
And although The Bahamas participates in the political activities of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), it has not entered into joint economic initiatives with the other Caribbean states which are also members of CARICOM.
The Bahamas has a few notable industrial firms: the Freeport pharmaceutical firm, PFC Bahamas (formerly Syntex) which recently streamlined its production and was purchased by the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche; the BORCO oil facility, also in Freeport, which transships oil in the region; the Commonwealth Brewery in Nassau which produces Heineken, Guinness, and Kalik beers; and Bacardi Corp., which distills rum in Nassau for shipment to the United States and European markets.
Other industries include sun-dried sea salt in Great Inagua, a wet dock facility in Freeport for repair of cruise ships, and mining of aragonite from the sea floor at Ocean Cay. Aragonite is a type of limestone with several industrial uses.
The Hawksbill Creek Agreement established a duty-free zone in Freeport, The Bahamas' second-largest city, with a nearby industrial park to encourage foreign industrial investment. The hong Kong-based firm, Hutchison Whampoa, has opened a container port in Freeport.
Agriculture in The Bahamas is carried out on small plots throughout most of the islands. Only about 1 per cent of the land area is cultivated. The nature of the terrain limits the scope of farming which is mainly a household industry.
The main crops are vegetables: onions, okra and tomatoes. Okra and tomatoes are grown mainly for export. Okra is believed to be of African origin; so is the name okra which from one of the West African languages, perhaps Igbo or Yoruba.
Among the steps the government has taken to expand and improve agriculture is the reserving of 450,000 acres exclusively for farming. About 20,000 of those acres are used to grow fruit.
Export-oriented orange, grapefruit and cucumber production occurs on Abaco.
Agricultural products in 2004 included 55,500 tons of sugarcane, 13,000 tons of grapefruit, 8,700 tons of lemons and limes, 5,000 tons of tomatoes, and 880 tons of sweet potatoes.
Business environment
The Bahamas offers attractive features to the potential investor: a stable democratic environment, relief from personal and corporate income taxes, timely repatriation of corporate profits, proximity to the United States with extensive air and telecommunications links, and a good pool of skilled professional workers.
The government welcomes foreign investment in tourism and banking and has declared an interest in agricultural and industrial investments to generate local employment, particularly in white-collar or skilled jobs.
Despite its interest in foreign investment to diversify the economy, the Bahamian Government responds to local concerns about foreign competition and tends to protect Bahamian business and labor interests. As a result of domestic resistance to foreign investment and high labour costs, growth can stagnate in sectors which the government wishes to diversify.
The country's infrastructure is best developed in the main cities of Nassau and Freeport where there are relatively good paved roads and international airports.
Electricity is generally reliable, although many businesses have their own backup generators.
In Nassau, there are two daily newspapers, three weeklies, and several international newspapers available for sale. There also are eight radio stations.
Both Nassau and Freeport have a television station. Cable TV also is available locally and provides most American programmes with some Canadian and European channels.
Areas of opportunity
The best American export opportunities remain in the traditional areas of foodstuffs and manufactured goods: vehicles; hotel, restaurant and medical supplies; and computers and electronics. Bahamian tastes in consumer products roughly parallel those in the United States. And with approximately 85 per cent of the population being of primarily African descent, there is a large and growing market in the Bahamas for “ethnic” products including personal-care items for hair, skin and many others.
Merchants in southern Florida have found it profitable to advertise in Bahamian publications.
Demographics
Afro-Bahamians
Afro-Bahamians are Bahamians whose ancestry can be traced back to Africa south of the Sahara desert, mostly West Africa.
The first Africans to arrive in The Bahamas came from Bermuda with the Eleutheran Adventurers as freed slaves looking for a new life. Currently, Afro-Bahamians are the largest ethnic group in the Bahamas. And they have a much higher standard of living than those of previous generations.
Europeans
Euro-Bahamians have their roots in Europe. Most are descendants of British Puritans and American Loyalists who arrived in the Bahamian islands in1649 and 1783, respectively. They constitute 12 per cent of the population and are the largest minority group in the Bahamas.
A small portion of the European Bahamian population are descendants of Greek labourers who were recruited to work in The Bahamas to help develop the sponging industry in the 1900s. They constitute less than 1 per cent of the total population. They have their own highly distinctive characteristics, ethnic and cultural, not shared by the majority of Bahamians, enabling them to preserve their Greek identity and heritage.
There are also white Cubans, Dominicans from Dominican Republic, and Puerto Ricans as well as other smaller minorities.
About two-thirds of Bahamians live on New Providence Island, and about half of the remaining one-third live on Grand Bahama where the second-largest city, Freeport, is located.
The islands were sparsely settled and were a haven for pirates until the late 1700s when thousands of British loyalists and their slaves were given compensatory land grants following the American Revolution. At the turn of the 20th century, the total population of The Bahamas was only 53,000.
The Bahamas has a well-structured educational system. School attendance is compulsory between the ages of five and 16. There are 158 public schools and 52 private schools serving about 70,000 students.
The College of The Bahamas established in Nassau in 1974 provides programmes leading to associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees.
Culture of The Bahamas
In the less developed outer islands, handicrafts include basketry made from palm fronds. This material, commonly called “straw,” is plaited into hats and bags that are popular tourist items. Another use is for so-called “Voodoo dolls” even though such dolls are the result of the American imagination and not based on historic fact.
And although not practised by native Bahamians, a form of folk magic called obeah derived from West African practices, is common in some Family Islands – out-islands – of The Bahamas mainly because of Haitian migration to those islands. But the practice of obeah is illegal in the Bahamas and punishable by law.
Junkanoo is another cultural practice in The Bahamas. It's a traditional African street parade of music, dance, and art held in Nassau and a few other settlements on Boxing Day and on New Year's Day. Junkanoo is also used to celebrate other holidays and events such as Emancipation Day.
There are also regattas which are important social events in many family island settlements. They usually feature one or more days of sailing by old-fashioned work boats and an onshore festival.
Some settlements have festivals associated with the traditional crop or food of that area, such as the “Pineapple Fest” in Gregory Town in Eleuthera, or the “Crab Fest” on Andros Island.
Other significant traditions include story telling with strong African influence.
Bahamian culture is a hybrid of African and European cultures.
Though increasingly influenced by commercialisation – due to tourism – and American music and television, Bahamian culture retains much of its uniqueness.
Bahamian culture is related to other creole cultures throughout the Caribbean Basin but also to the Gullah culture in coastal South Carolina and Georgia in the United States. Many Gullah people were taken to the Bahamas after the American Revolutionary War.
Music
Bahamian music has clear connections to African forms. For example, the goombay drums used at junkanoo and goombay festival have been traced to West African djembe drums. And dances such as the fire dance and the ringplay also can be traced to Africa. But the fire dance has become a thing of the past.
Groups like The Baha Men, Ronnie Butler and Kirkland Bodie known for junkanoo music have gained massive popularity in Japan, the United States and elsewhere.
Junkanoo music is indigenous to the Bahamas and is inextricably linked with festivities on Boxing Day and New Year's Day. This traditional celebration started with an African slave named of John Canoe.
Slaves were given a special holiday at Christmas time when they could leave the work of the plantation behind and celebrate.
Parades are characterised by spectacular costumes made of crepe paper and powerful rhythms beaten traditionally on goatskin drums – accompanied more recently with tom-tom drums or bongo drums – as well as rich brass bands and shaking cow bells.
Bahamian music also incorporates other Caribbean forms such as Calypso, Trinidadian Soca and Jamaican Reggae as well as American-inspired Rap and Hip Hop, all of which have African roots.
Calypso and Rake 'n' Scrape singers and bands such as Baha Men have gained great popularity not only in the Caribbean but also in many other parts of the world including the United States and Japan.
Other prominent Bahamian singers include Ronnie Butler, “King” Eric Gibson, K.B. Macklyn, and the Brilanders. They are popular at home and abroad.
Calypso
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad and Tobago. It has spread in many parts of the Caribbean including the Bahamas.
Soca
Soca is a form of dance music which originated from calypso music. It originally combined the melodic lilting sound of calypso with insistent percussion – which is often electronic in recent music – and local chutney music.
Soca music has evolved through the years since the late seventies and early eighties, given prominence by musicians from various Anglophone Caribbean countries including Trinidad, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica, Belize, as well as the United States Virgin Islands.
Junkanoo
Junkanoo was formerly practised in North Carolina in the southern part of the United States and remnants still exist in Belize, Jamaica and Bermuda. In The Bahamas, the most well-known centres of junkanoo are Nassau, Freeport and the Family Islands.
But since the 1950s the influence of American culture has had a profound impact on The Bahamas in many areas including music. This influence comes mainly from television and radio broadcasts beamed from stations in Florida. Also other Caribbean styles have made inroads into The Bahamas. They include calypso, soca and reggae from Trinidad, Jamaica and other islands including Cuba which has its own style of music.
But in spite of all this influence, more traditional Bahamian performers such as Joseph Spence still have enjoyed successful careers playing junkanoo.
Junkanoo's origins are obscure and much-debated. Researchers like E. Clement Bethel have studied the issue extensively, and likely conclusions include that African slaves were allowed celebrations only around Christmas time, and chose to celebrate John Connu, a headman from 18th century Africa. Whether John Connu really ever existed – even the spelling of his last are not Africa – or not will never be known.
Another theory is that the term junkanoo itself has its origin in the functional utility of scrap metal or other objects – junk, hence junkanoo – used to create the distinctive goombay drum.
Similar celebrations once existed across the Caribbean and in North Carolina. But they're now virtually extinct except in The Bahamas and Belize.
In 1973, the year The Bahamas won independence from the United Kingdom, black professionals of the middle and upper classes began to dominate junkanoo celebrations. Costuming and competitions became more complex and commonplace and soon became a tourist attraction.
Aside from being a type of drum, goombay is also percussion music made famous by Alphonso 'Blind Blake' Higgs who for several years played to tourists arriving at Nassau International Airport.
Rake-and-scrape is a unique type of instrumental music made by bending a saw and scraping with a small object, most typically a screwdriver. The music is used to accompany dances derived from European forms like polka and waltz.
Rake-and-scrape's popularity has been declining in recent years but performers such as Lassie Do and the Boys continue to keep the tradition alive.
Christian rhyming spirituals and the ant'ems of sponge fisherman are now mostly dead traditions, supplanted by the arrival of pop music.
E. Clement Bethel's master's thesis on traditional Bahamian music was adapted for the stage as Music of The Bahamas by his daughter, Nicolette Bethel and Philip A. Barrows. It was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1991 and was performed for Bahamian audiences in 2002. A recording of the show is available for sale from Ringplay Productions.
Rake and scrape
Rake and scrape music comes from the musical traditions of the Turks and Caicos Islands and is characterized by the use of a saw as the primary instrument. It was brought by immigrants from those islands. The settled on Cat Island and elsewhere in The Bahamas from the 1920s to the 1940s.
Rake and Scrape is traditionally used to accompany the Bahamian Quadrille and the heel-toe polka, both relics of the initial mixture of African and European cultures.
Many of the Turks and Caicos islanders who settled in The Bahamas became some of the most famous musicians in the island nation. And many of them eventually moved back to their homelands, taking with them junkanoo from The Bahamas. Turks and Caicos are now the second most well-known home for junkanoo, surpassed only by The Bahamas.
Ripsaw
Rake-and-scrape music is very closely related to Ripsaw, a musical genre which originated specifically in the Middle and North Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Its most distinctive characteristic is the use of the common handsaw as the primary instrument, along with various kinds of drums, box guitar, concertina, triangle and accordion.
The saw is played by scraping an object, usually an old knife blade, along the saw's teeth. The sound is similar to a paper being ripped, and is believed to be the origin of the term ripsaw. In contrast to that, rake-and-scrape is derived from the method used by a player to create sound from the saw.
Although little is known about ripsaw's genesis, there are two major theories about its origin. One states that the saw was played to imitate the sound of the guido, a Dominican and Haitian accordion. The other theory says Loyalist colonists in the United States brought their African slaves to the islands and invented the ripsaw to imitate the sound of the shekere instrument.
In the Bahamas, Cat Island is the only place where rake-and-scrape is enjoyed and celebrated on a large scale. During June's Labour Day celebration, the island holds a Cat Island Rake and Scrape festival.
Cat Island's rake-and-scrape tradition may be descended from immigrants from Turks and Caicos who moved there in large numbers in the 20th century.
Language
English is the official language of The Bahamas. But a vast majority of the people speak “broken” English known as Bahamian dialect.
There are some minor regional differences from island to island in terms of pronunciation. But, in general, they're all the same.
The second most spoken language in The Bahamas is Haitian creole. It's spoken by 30,000-60,000 Haitian migrants, including a large number of illegal Immigrants.
Religion
The Bahamas is a very religious country. It's often described by Bahamians as “a Christian nation.”
In addition to Christianity, the largely hidden and rarely-mentioned practice of obeah is said to persist in different parts of the island nation.
A form of witchcraft, obeah is sometimes compared with Haitian voodoo. But those who practice it don't call it witchcraft. They call it a religion or a form of religious worship that goes all the way back to Africa.
Storytelling
Storytelling and folklore played a large role in traditional entertainment in Bahamian communities, especially before modern television.
Many of these highly amusing tales are highly instructive, full of wisdom, just as they are in Africa where many if not most of them originated.
For many years, there was a decline in the practice of this important tradition. But it has witnessed a revival through the works of Patricia Glinton Meicholas and other authors.
Few people dispute its African origin. One of the best examples of these stories is ber bookie ber rabbi.
Bush Medicine
Bush medicine has been practised since the arrival of African slaves in the Bahamas. They brought the practice from Africa. And it's still used today.
People afflicted with various diseases are treated using herbs and other plant products. Many plants are similar to those found in Africa because of similar environments. Both, The Bahamas and Africa, have a tropical or subtropical climate.
Life in The Caribbean
Editor: Keith Thompson
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: New Africa Press (7 October 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-9987-16-015-0