Caribbean economy and slavery

• Religion:

  • Slaves retained their indigenous beliefs and practices
  • Beliefs included life after death, spirit world (duppies or ghosts), forces of good and evil, dead being part of the community
  • Two types of magic: Obeah for harm and Myalism for promoting life, love, health, and success
  • Music and dance were important in expressions of worship
  • Belief in ancestral spirits and making contact with them
  • Chanting of songs
  • Worship of gods of nature like rain, thunder, lightning, and fertility
  • Highest respect for Mother Earth
• Food:

  • Slaves prepared meals based on teachings from Africa
  • Allowed to grow their own provisions like yam, coco, dasheen
  • Culinary skills continued from Africa
  • Trinidadian slaves had beans and palm oils similar to Africa
• Dress:

  • Given two suits of clothing per year or equivalent yards of osnaburg
  • Women wrapped their heads with cloth similar to African style
  • 'Tie head' was not forgotten
• Language:

  • Slaves spoke different languages from West Africa
  • Created a new language known as patois
  • Several African words survived in their language
• Music and Dance:

  • Had various songs for different occasions
  • Music had rhythm and beat, used instruments like Tambourines, Banjos, Flutes, Rattles, and Xylophones
  • Dance involved movement, passion, gyration of the hip and pelvic areas, and shaking of the rear
  • Dance movements were seen as vulgar by many whites