Garífuna

Garífunas are one of Honduras’ ethnic groups. “They are AfroCaribbean people of mixed Amerindian and African descent. They are a resilient people who suffered many historical injustices from the slave trade to exile, and who fiercely resisted 150 years of European imperialism. They are a migratory people who live across the world today. Most of all, the Garinagu are a people with a rich ancestral culture who are fighting to maintain their traditional practices, beliefs, and artistic expressions.” (Excerpt from www.stanford.edu I really recomend reading their articles about Garífunas which include photos and music. Click here to visit the site.) Of course I had heard all that during Peace Corps training and was looking forward to meeting them and forging my own opinions.

The first community we visited lives in Cayor Mayor (the biggest of all keys) in a community called East End but they pronounce “Eestem”. Eestem inhabitants are a group of about 8 or 10 fishermen and their families. To most of them, this is only a seasonal residency and they usually have another residence in a village on the coast. Like in any Honduran community Eestem has is good share of “bolos” (alcoholic in Honduran slang). When we arrived we were greeted by the “bolos” and one of them, Lionel, followed us all morning while we visited the other families. Max and I had met Lionel before while we visited one of the aldeas on the coast. When we asked what he was doing there he told us he was there for the carnival. We pointed out that the carnival was over about a week ago and he laughed and said… “Exactly, and I am still here drinking and dancing. Tell my friends from Eestem I am still drunk”. This whole conversation happened at nine in the morning. Lionel might be a bolo, but he’s also a really funny guy and I enjoy his company.

Cayo Mayor is the greenest of all the keys, and it is really neat to see all the vegetation right on the beach. You will find anything from palm trees and mangrove to plantain, banana, and lemon trees (the last three introduced by the inhabitants). You will also see chickens roaming the island and a dog or two sitting in the shade. The houses are all on the beach, fairly close to each other and made of mud and/or wood. Houses are mostly a place for sleep since people spend their day outside in a hammock talking to the neighbors or playing with the kids. There is no power on the island but the women have battery powered radios they use to listen to music and a radio soap opera called “Los Anscestros Nuncan Mueren” (Our Ancestors Never Die). It was really interesting that, even though no one had a watch, they all knew what time to turn the radio on and listen to the soap. When it was time for the soap, Anabel and I had to stop the conversations and listen, too. The soap was about very modern topics such as HIV and emigration to the states. In Eestem, I met a 12 year old boy that makes sea shell necklaces and bracelets and who made one for me. I’ve been wearing it since. I specially remember his family because his mom also showed us a card she had received from a medical organization that showed she had been tested negative for HIV and also showed us the card of a family member who had tested positive. She used the moment to remind his 12 year old kid that he needs to use a condom if he doesn’t want to get infected. That is definitely a much more liberal approach than the typical Honduran. With the community of Eestem I might be working on developing tourism by building cabins for tourists and helping market it. This would be a community project and portions of the proceeds would go to the school in the Island where about 30 of the kids from the keys attend elementary school.

After our visit to Eestem we headed to another key... Chachauate. There’s about 60 or 70 people living on this one despite the fact that it is a tiny island. Like in Eestem the houses are built of mud and wood right on the beach, but Chachauate is not as green. The beach there is post card beautiful, with white sand and crystal clear waters. About half the inhabitants are below 13 years old and they really are “communal” children. I couldn’t really tell whose kids were whose and everybody took care of each other. The kids roam around the island naked, dancing to the beat of the drums being played by the adults. Garífunas dance “punta”, a rhythmic afro-dance in which you get on the tip of your toes and shake your body in a way I haven’t really figured out yet. Of course, they all insisted I dance, and I tried, but it was a little embarrassing to dance in front of the whole village watching. I promised I’d keep practicing. Everyone was really friendly, specially the kids who kept touching me calling me “amiga” (my friend). I even put two baby girls to sleep that afternoon… I wanted to take a few of them home with me.

Cayos Cochinos really sounds like paradise, and in many ways it is, but there’s also a lot of work to be done there. I met a 19 year old girl that has 3 kids already, the oldest looks about 4. They don’t have toilets or latrines and they poop in an outhouse that is situated directly over the water so that the waste falls directly into the sea. There’s no trash pick up and they dump most of their trash in the ocean, too. And these are only the few problems I noticed on my short visit there.

At night, back at the station, I hung out with the staff… they were all chilling in hammocks drinking beer. Far in the distance I could still hear the drums and the chanting from the Garífuna town and once again it hit me, how lucky I am to be working here in this wonderful place with this wonderful people…