Question 4

It is believed by some individuals that Caribbean culture is creole (E.K

Brathwaite) and not African (M. Herskovitz, M.G Smith, etc.)

Culture is define by Ralph Linton as the way of life of its members; the
collection of ideas and habits which they learn share and transmit from
generation to generation
Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
law, custom and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of
the society. Culture helps to define who we are as a people and helps us to
see the world through the eyes of others

Knowing the history of the Caribbean region goes a long way toward
understanding its people. Each island has a unique cultural identity shaped
by the European colonialists, the African heritage of slaves, and the
enduring legacies of the native Indian tribes. This rich history and its lasting
influence is set against a backdrop of crystal clear waters and perpetual
sunshine.

Although not largely written about, Caribbean culture has arguably been
preserved more by the authentic voices of "intuitive scholars": artists,
farmers, merchants, and traders--educationally deprived, perhaps, but quite
learned in the cultural heritage of the island nations. They are the region's
best oral historians and cultural preservationists.

The Caribbean lifestyle is undoubtedly a product of its tropical setting. The

music, architecture, attitudes and customs have all, in some way, been
shaped by the physical landscape and climate. The cultures of the
Caribbean countries are a blend of colonial mainstays and pervasive
influences by major ethnic groups of the region such as East Indians and
Africans.
Creole culture can be seen as the combination of different cultural groups
which emerges to from a mixed culture.

E.K Brathwaite stated that it was through this process that the Africans
undergo the most change because their culture was inferior to that of the
culture of the Europeans. At the time of the “seasoning” process would
be a perfect example, because the new Africans were immediately
taught the European cultural traits by those who surrounded them.

The origin of creolization in the Caribbean region lies arguably within the
processes of colonization, slavery and migration which created the
foundation of the New World.

As a result of the slave trade, Africans of diverse cultural backgrounds

came into contact with people from Europe, China, South Asia and the
Middle East. Consequently, the Caribbean became a melting pot of
cultures thus; the process of creolization came into effect.

As mentioned the African went through a “seasoning process “, this is the

process of which the slaves were re-socialized to become more productive
and to behave in a certain manner that was seen as acceptable by the
Europeans. Re-socializing the slaves had to be done for many reasons;
the main one was teaching them language and as a result of this gave birth
to what we now know as creole languages.

Creole languages are nearly two hundred years old. They came about
during the first slavery era in the Caribbean. Creole is a "patois" language
that is a varied combination of African syntax and European lexicon, or
words. It evolved out of necessity, as slaves had to communicate with the
European plantation owners. Derivations include French Creole, with
regional dialects in Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, Dominica and
French Guyana; Papiamento, a Dutch, Portuguese, English and African
blend; and Patois in Jamaica.

Because the Creole language was associated with the poor labor class,
parents would often forbid their children to speak it. In recent times,
however, more people are appreciating and recognizing the historical
importance of the language, its linguistic appeal, and its significant place in
local culture.

Melville Herskovits with his theory on African retention opposed E.K

Braithwaite’s idea that the Caribbean culture was creole, his main
argument is that the slavery did not destroy the African culture and that in
fact African culture has survived in various forms in the Caribbean to the
point where certain cultural phenomenon must be seen in the light of
African cultural retention.

Herskovits admits that although not erased, African culture forms were
changed and some lost, however he contends that the African cultural
forms are still evident in parts of our cultural lives. He concentrated his
work on the examination of the Caribbean family forms.

He contends that African cultural forms survived in three main ways. Firstly,
through what he called

 Survivals cultural forms that closely resemble the original African

forms. For example, the practice of burying the umbilical cord of a
child and planting it a fruit tree over it.
 Secondly, African retention can be seen in syncretism which is the
practice of identifying elements in the new culture with parallel
components of the old. An example is the practice of identifying
Catholic saints with African deities.

 Finally, it survives through what he termed as reinterpretations. This

is seen where African culture is reinterpreted to suite the new
environment. The cultural practice no longer necessary looks like
traditional retention on the surface but upon closer examination, what
 appears to be unique West Indian construct is in its essence African
monogamy. He argues that the three forms of survival can be seen
as a continuum moving behavior that closely resembles African
culture (survival) to activities which may not on the surface look like
African retention. When reduced to its essence, it obviously
becomes an activity influenced by our African past (reinterpretation)

In his famous The Myth of the Negro Past (1941) Herskovits fought the
“myth” about black Americans, according to which all cultural ties between
Africans in Africa and those in America were severed, African-Americans
being totally assimilated to American culture. In Herskovits’ time it was
believed that African culture was "primitive," with limited or no contribution
to the history of the world. Herskovits on the contrary, believed that African
roots are still alive in the African-American subculture. Moreover, he
claimed, white culture is influenced by those traits.

M.G. Smith's plural society theory (1965) - Conflict between cultures,

social stratification and pluralism

One of the most persistent set of criticism concerns Smith’s contention

that the plural society is a separate kind of society that cannot be
understood through social stratification theory and can be analyzed in
no other terms than those Smith proposes. Critics such as E.K
Brathwaite and others have taken issue with the idea those colonial
societies, multicultural societies

Multiracial societies, plural societies, or any other kind of society

requires a unique body of sociological theory. They argue that social
stratification applies to all societies (or at least to all complex societies)
and is equally relevant with the admittedly complex reality of pluralism.

Political Pluralism  Smith’s preoccupation with pluralism as a political

phenomenon, along with his conviction that the section that
monopolizes political control will not readily relinquish it, apparently
underlies his lack of concern with such alternative routes to
modification as acculturation and economic interdependence.

The pivot around which M.G Smith’s writings seem to revolve is that
plural societies are first and foremost politically different from non-
plural societies. They are maintained in politically different ways, by
means of implicit or explicit threat of force or its use, and are therefore
characterized by potential or actual internal conflict.

Short of the unlikely eventuality that the politically dominant and

privileged section will agree to modify or abolish its own privileged
position, change may be expected to result from violent pressure
exerted by less privileged groups.