Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about the Garifuna people and showcases the Garifuna song "Watina".
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective. Thanks to the publisher of this video and thanks to all those who quoted in this post.
Hat tip to Denise Oliver Velez for her 10/13/2019 Daily Kos article "Celebrating the Afro-Indigenous Garifuna community" https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/13/1891192/-Celebrating-the-Afro-Indigenous-Garifuna-community
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE GARIFUNA
Excerpt #1:
From http://aintilatina.com/2017/03/18/growing-up-garifuna/ [quoted in Daily Kos article whose link is given above]
..."Garinagu origins aren’t crystal clear, but the story has been narrowed down to two possible accounts. The most widely accepted version of the origins of our people is that we descended from West Africans who were transported to South America as slaves but escaped due to a shipwreck off the island of St. Vincent. There we intermarried with a local indigenous Arawak tribe; hence, the Garinagu were born. The other version of the story points to resistance, noting the Garinagu overturned the ship. From there, Garifuna people migrated and settled in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize. The Garinagu have immigrated to the U.S. The largest Garifuna population outside of Central America resides in New York City, specifically Harlem, South Bronx and the East New York section of Brooklyn. We’re also in Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Houston, among other major cities"...
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Garifuna
"Definition of Garifuna
: a member of a people of African and American Indian descent that live mainly along the Caribbean coast of northern Central America
— called also Black Carib
also : the Arawakan language containing many Cariban elements spoken by the Garifunas
First Known Use of Garifuna
1901, in the meaning defined above"
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Excerpt #3
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garifuna
..."The Garifuna people developed through a process of ethnogenesis on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent, and were exiled in the colonial period to the Caribbean coasts of Central America. Since the late 20th century, many have emigrated from what are now Honduras, Belize and Guatemala to the United States. For the Garífuna, the politics of diaspora are complex because they have several different homelands and different relationships to them: from the mainly symbolic relationship to Africa and Saint Vincent, to the closer relationship to various national homelands of Central America. The specific form of identification by individuals with each homeland has different political implications. Garifuna identity in diaspora is complex, involving local, national, and transnational processes, as well as global ethnic politics.
-snip-
definition of ethnogenesis
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnogenesis
"Ethnogenesis (from Greek ethnos ἔθνος, "group of people, nation", and genesis γένεσις, "beginning, coming into being"; plural ethnogeneses) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group."[1] This can originate through a process of self-identification as well as come about as the result of outside identification.
The term is a mid-20th century neologism, and refers to the observable phenomenon of emergence of new social groups that are identified as having a cohesive identity, i.e. an "ethnic group" in anthropological terms. Relevant sciences do not only observe this phenomenon but search for explanation of its causes. The term ethnogeny is also used as a variant of ethnogenesis.[2]"...
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GARIFUNA LYRICS: WATINA
(Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective)
Wátina
Sítina
Dimuretina tuma
Lugunena mua
Máhati ayudante
Lanügünina
Arihabei lásügürün amuleñei
Le ya lémeri wageira
Sügürügü sügürügü ugunei
Bungiu Baba, sánsibei me
Ei niwiwan nu aü lidan irumu le
Mama luéigien naríengu bun
Aü luni basansiruni niwiwan
Luni báfarunina
Ígiraraü yebe bana
Ya lun ügüriu me
Dagagüdaraü yebe bana
Ya lun ügüriu me
Gálati nubusedun
Gebegiti nupasei ei
Menege hamutina gaseinsutian
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ENGLISH TRANSLATION: WÁTINA
I called out. I whistled. I shouted at the vehicle
The person refused to pick me up
Just look at this brother suffering here on our country's roads
The vehicles just keep passing him by
Oh God, please change my life this year
I ask you to change my life but please do not take it away
Please leave me here where I can be a bothersome spirit
Just leave me here where I can be bothersome spirit
I have money in my pockets
I can pay my fare but my appearance does not make me look rich.
published in this video's discussion thread by Ryan Hernandez, 2009
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Andy Palacio - Watina
Brent Toombs, Feb 16, 2007
music video for Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective. Directed by Brent Toombs. Belize 2007. Sadly, Andy passed away on January 19, 2008. I am honoured to have had Andy as my friend. He was an amazing artist and a great person. For more on Andy's life and music please visit www.stonetreerecords.com
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