Afro-Haitians

Afro-Haitians are Haitians who trace their full or partial ancestry to sub-Saharan Africa. They form the largest racial group in Haiti and together with other Afro-Caribbean groups, the largest racial group in the region.

Afro-Haitians
Total population
c. 10,114,378[1]
Languages
French · Haitian Creole
Religion
Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholicism), Haitian Vodou
Related ethnic groups
European Haitians · other Afro-Caribbeans

The majority of Afro-Haitians are descendants of enslaved Africans brought to the island by the Spanish Empire and the Kingdom of France to work on plantations. Since the Haitian revolution, Afro-Haitians have been the largest racial group in the country, accounting for 95% of the population in the early 21st century. The remaining 5% of the population is made up of mixed persons (mixed African and European descent) and other minor groups (Europeans, Arabs and Asians).

Origins

The African people of Haiti derived from various areas, spanning from Senegal to the Congo. Most of which were brought from West Africa, with a considerable number also brought from Central Africa. Some of these groups include those from the former Kongo kingdom (Kongo), (Igbo Benin (Ewe[2] and Yoruba) and Togo land.[3] Others in Haiti were brought from Senegal,[4] Guinea (imported by the Spanish since the sixteenth century and then by the French), Sierra Leone, Windward Coast, Angola, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, and Southeast Africa (such as the Bara tribesmen of Madagascar, who were brought to Haiti in the eighteenth century).[5]

Demography

Although Haiti averages approximately 250 people per square kilometre (650 per sq mi.), its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. Haiti's population was about 9.8 million according to UN 2008 estimates,[6] with half of the population being under 20 years old.[7] The first formal census, taken in 1950, showed a population of 3.1 million.[8]

According to The World Factbook, 95% of Haitians are primarily of African descent; the remaining 5% of the population are mostly of mixed-race and European background,[1] and a number of other ethnicities.[9][10]

Culture
Kanaval in Jacmel Haiti 2014 34

Culture, religion and social organization are the result in Haiti of a process of syncretism between French and African traditions, mainly Dahomey-Nigerian. A small minority cultural practice in Haiti is Haitian Vodou. This probably originated in Benin, although there are strong elements added from the Congo of Central Africa and many African nations are represented in the liturgy of Sèvis Lwa. A generally ignored but significant element is that of the Taino people, the indigenous people of Hispaniola. The Tainos were influential in the belief system of Haitian Vodou, especially in the Petro cult, a religious group with no counterpart on the African continent. Characterized by the worship of the loa, the sect has influences from Native American folklore zemis. The entire northern area of Haiti is influenced by the practices of the Congo. In the north, these are often called Rites Congo or Lemba. In the south, the Congo influence is called Petwo (Petro). Many loa are of Congolese origin, such as Basimbi and Lemba.[11]

Polygyny persists alongside Catholic marriages. The dances and some forms of recreation tie in with African activities. The preparation of beans is done in the style of Western Africa. Popular literature retains fables and other forms that are expressed in the vernacular. Economic activities are typical of Western culture and clothing tends to be European, but the scarf worn by women over the head is typical of clothing worn throughout West Africa.

Two languages are spoken in Haiti. French is taught in schools and known by about 42% of the population,[12] but spoken by a minority of mulattos and blacks, in Port-au-Prince and other cities. Haitian Creole, with roots in French, Spanish, Taino. Portuguese, English and African languages, is a language with dialectal forms in different regions. It is spoken throughout the country, but is used extensively in rural areas.[13]

The music of Haiti is heavily influenced by the rhythms which came from Africa with the slaves. Two of these rhythms come directly from the harbour and the Congo; a third rhythm, the "petro", developed on the island during the colonial era. All are part of the rhythms used in Vodou ceremonies. These rhythms have created a musical style, rasin, where percussion is the most important musical instrument, and despite being closely related to religion has become a popular kind of folk music. Another type of music, which arises spontaneously from people with hand-held instruments, is twoubadou, a musical style that has endured to this day. Currently the music heard in Haiti's Compas genre is a little softer than the merengue, and combines Congo rhythms with European and Caribbean influences. Kompa is the most current version of this rhythm.[14]

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See also

References and footnotes
  1. "Haiti: People and society: Population". The World Factbook. July 2017.
  2. Fernández Esquivel, Franco (2001). "Procedencia de los esclavos negros analizados a través del complejo de distribución, desarrollado desde Cartagena" [Origin of black slaves analyzed through a distribution complex developed from Cartagena] (in Spanish). Revistas Académicas de la Universidad Nacional. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  3. "African Origins of Haitians". haiti360.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014.
  4. Hall, Catherine, Review of The Birth of the Modern World 1780–1914: Global Connections and Comparisons, by Christopher Bayly online at history.ac.uk, accessed 7 August 2008
  5. "Opinión: El merengue Dominicano y su origines" [Review: The Dominican merengue and its origins] (in Spanish). ciao.es. 16 August 2003. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  6. "Country profile: Haiti". bbc.co.uk. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  7. "New Haiti Census Shows Drastic Lack of Jobs, Education, Maternal Health Services". United Nations Population Fund. 10 May 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  8. "Haiti: Population". Library of Congress Country Studies. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  9. "The Virtual Jewish History Tour: Oceania: Haiti". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  10. Shanshan, Wang; Huang Zhiling; Guo Anfei (19 January 2010). "Chinese in Haiti may be evacuated". chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  11. "Zombis: Vudú haitiano" [Zombies: Haitian Voodoo] (in Spanish). linkmesh.com. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  12. Wolff, Alexandre (2014). La langue française dans le monde 2014 [The French language in the world in 2014] (PDF) (in French). Paris: Nathan. ISBN 978-2-09-882654-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  13. Michel DeGraff, "Language Barrier in Haiti," The Boston Globe, June 16, 2010
  14. "Población haitiana" [Haitian population] (in Spanish). mondolatino.eu. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
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