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November, 2016
PLACENCIA Breeze A Placencia BTIA Publication
Celebrating the Garifuna Culture in Belize Garifuna Settlement Day
town of Dangriga knows that the Garifuna people are a unique and special Excerpts from the Belize Hub contribution to Belizean Nearly 400 years ago, the society. With a strong focus
Garifuna Settlement Day is a national holiday in Belize and celebrated throughout the country with a strong focus on towns and villages
British began importing slaves from Africa to plantations on Caribbean islands like St. Vincent. Over time, these African peoples began to intermarry with local Arawak and Carib peoples, mixing traditions, languages, and music to form the Garifuna culture. After rising up against the British, the Garifuna were pursued through the Caribbean, ultimately making their ways to the shores of Belize on November 19, 1802, a day now celebrated as a national holiday known as National Garifuna Settlement Day.
with a large population of Garifuna such as Dangriga, Punta Gorda, Hopkins, and Seine Bight.
Why You Have to Attend a Garifuna Settlement Day Celebration on Your Vacation
on storytelling, drumming, dancing, and preserving traditional livelihoods like farming and fishing, the Garifuna have added their own special contribution to Belizean food, music, and culture. On November 19, the entire country turns out to celebrate the arrival of the Garifuna to the shores of Belize nearly 200 years ago. With exhibitions of both traditional music and styles like punta that were created by the Garifuna, the holiday is a great time to see street dances, enjoy Garifuna foods like cassava bread and hudut (fish cooked in coconut), and hear the oral history of the Garifuna people being told by village elders.
Any visitor who has had the good fortune of traveling Where in Belize Is to villages like Hopkins Garifuna Settlement Day or Seine Bight or the Located?
Best Way to Experience Garifuna Settlement Day on the Placencia Peninsula To truly make the most of this unique holiday, you’ll have to be on the beach in Seine Bight at dawn. Traditional Garifuna dugout canoes filled with locals dressed in traditional garb will re-enact the arrival of the Garifuna on the shores of Belize nearly 200 years ago. On the beach, the celebration will commence with plenty of drumming, dancing, music, and food. Later on in the day, Tipsy Tuna Seaside Bar will have their annual Uremei around 3pm on the beach in Placencia Village.
Garifuna Culture
influences, still preserving This unique culture is much of their heritage like an amalgam of African drumming, boat building, and native Caribbean and crafts.