The Garifuna, A nation across borders: Essays in Social Anthropology

The Garifuna are a true Caribbean people-originating over 500 years ago, when the aboriginal inhabitants of the island of St. Vincent intermarried with African slaves, together resisting slavery and fighting fiercly against the conversion of their lands into slave plantations. British and French colonists vied to control the island and eventually deported the Garifuna to Central America, where the survivors formed communities along the Caribbean coast. Today, their vibrant culture has not only survived but is known worldwide through its music and dance. The Garifuna: A Nation Across Borders, Essays in Social Anthropology, is an impressive collection with an inspiring foreword by renowned social historian Nigel Bolland. The book is divided into two parts- the historical and the contemporary, covering topics on oral history, relations between the French and the Garifuna in St. Vincent, local government, spirituality, gender, cultural identity, aesthetics, and the background leading to UNESCO's 2001 Proclamation of Garifuna language, dance and music as a masterpiece of the oral and intagible heritage of humanity. The range of topics and authors presented in this volume complements and reaffirms the transboundary nature of the Garifuna people.