Proclaimed by UNESCO on May 18th 2001 as a Masterpiece of the Oral & Intangible Heritage of Humanity, Garifuna Music including Dance and the language itself is a fascinating mix of African, French, Spanish and English influences.  The heart popping acoustics of drumming is central to Garifuna music and is as vibrant as the Garinagu themselves – an Amerindian speaking and peaceful people of African descent with Spanish surnames.  The Garinagu are the off springs of Caribbean Arawaks and Caribs’ union with the West Africans from St. Vincent – a windward island in the Lesser Antilles. The Garinagu first arrived in Belize in 1802, when the country was known as British Honduras. Dangriga, the homeland of the Garinagu, was founded after 1823 when the Garinagu from Honduras, under their leader Captain Alejo Beni, fled from the cold-blooded massacres in Honduras.

Today, the high spirited music of this rich cultural diversity can best be experience during Garifuna Settlement Day in the villages of Dangriga, St. Beight, Hopkins, and Barranco in the Southern districts of Belize celebrated on November 19, declared a National Public and Bank holiday since 1977. Arguably the largest celebration in Belize for the Garinagu, the eve of the national holiday kicks off with a grand music festival in Dangriga with the participation of the most popular local bands and artists in the town’s square until the wee hours of the morning. However, the fun does not stop here either. The highlight of the morning is the enactment of the Garinagu’s early arrival to Belize. The spectacle involves dozens of the town’s people recreating the events of 1823 when on one sunrise the Garinagu approached Belize’s southern coast in their tiny dories (dug-out canoes) carrying along their families, culinary utensils, some farm animals, and popular crops – plantain, bananas, cassava etc. After this enactment, upon sunrise, the day’s fun filled activities continues with the local parade. During these activities spontaneous outburst of singing and dancing can be witnessed while many try to keep up with the fast paced and heart-pounding beats of their key music instruments - drums, turtle shells, sisera (shaka), knee rattles, conch shells swells the festive air with intense excitement. Local and exquisite garifuna dishes such as Boil up (Tapau), Brown Flour Soup (Tikini), Sere Lasas (Falumo) and Hudut are on sale at all corners of the show grounds.

Garifuna drums are made of hollowed hardwood such as Mahogany, or Mayflower and sheep or deer skin.  Their distinctive drums include the Primero and the Segunda. Complimenting the drum beating are gourd shakers called Sisera, turtle shells, and knee rattles. Popular Garifuna music includes Punta Rock, Hungu hungu, Sambai, Chumba, and the very soulful – Paranda. If ever in the south, a guaranteed spectacle is the vibrant Wanaragua – also known as John Conoe.  Dancers are dressed in a fancy headdress, white mask and knee rattles commemorating the few times during the year when their enslaved ancestors were free to dance and party for an extended period of time. The John Conoe dancers would visit the houses of the white masters and receive food and drink in exchange for lawless entertainment.

Besides the six Garifuna settlements in Belize, some other forty-six settlements in Honduras, two in Nicaragua may be found as well as over 12,000 Garinagu residing in the US mostly in New York, California and Chicago. For further information on the Garifuna and cultural exhibits on the Garinagu, Splash Dive Center recommends visiting Luba Garifuna Cultural Meseum at 4202 Fern Lane, St. Martin’s Area in Belize City, email: Luba_Garifuna@yahoo.com; Gulisi Garifuna Museum in Dangriga, www.ngcbelize.org ; or the National Garifuna Council of Belize.

On this very special day for the Garinagu people, Splash Dive Center wishes all Belizeans a Happy Garifuna Settlement Day and extends a sincere congratulations for the preservation of a unique culture proclaimed as a world heritage by UNESCO.