Bahamians

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Bahamians

LOCATION : Bahamas
POPULATION : 307,451
LANGUAGE : English; Bahamian dialect
RELIGION : Christianity

INTRODUCTION

Although the islands of the Bahamas are actually located in the western Atlantic Ocean, they are often identified with the Caribbean. They were the first islands to be sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1492, and the explorer named them baja mar (literally, "low water" in Spanish) for the shallow sea that surrounds them. Since the Bahamas lacked the mineral wealth found on other islands in the region, the Spanish did not settle them but rather used the more than 32,000 native populations of Lucayans as slaves on Hispaniola and other islands. Within a quarter of a century, the islands were depopulated and remained so for over 100 years. During the 17th century, the Bahamas became both a refuge for English settlers and a base for pirates, including the notorious Blackbeard.

In 1647 the Company of Eleutherian was founded in London with the objective of exploiting the land of the Island of Eleutheria, formerly known as Buhama in America. The formation of this company was the kick off for the first permanent English settlement in the island, which was a community founded in 1649 by 70 colonists from Bermuda, comprising religious independents as well as women who originally came from England. With the pass of time, more settlers followed, bringing African slaves with them. Even though the English imagined a prosperous plantation colony, unproductive soil and Spanish interference made the project fail. In 1670 King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas who rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, and administering the country. But, under the Lords Proprietors administration the Bahamas and the region became a dangerous place infested by pirates. To solve this problem, the Bahamas was made a British Crown colony in 1718. In the 1780s the islands received an influx of British loyalists—also with slaves—from the colonies following the defeat of the British in the American Revolution. By the end of the 18th century, the number of Blacks in the Bahamas was twice that of the European population.

As it was common in the Caribbean region, the Bahamas witnessed slave riots during the years that preceded the elimination of servitude. Slavery was abolished in Britain and its possessions in 1833, but illegal slave traders used the Bahamas as a base to smuggle slaves into the southern United States. During the American Civil War, New Providence became a site of blockade-running and gunrunning for the Confederate States. In the following decades, the Bahamian economy languished, except for a temporary period of prosperity during the Prohibition era in the United States, when rumrunners operated on Nassau. With the introduction of commercial aviation in the 1930s, the islands' tourism industry began, and by the end of the following decade it had become their primary source of income.

A series of constitutional changes in the 1960s led to full national independence in 1973. In the 1960s new tax and finance restrictions in the United States led to the Bahamas's becoming an international center of finance.

The Bahamas has becomes one of the richest countries in the Caribbean and its economy relays heavily on tourism and offshore banking. Since 1986 total tourist arrivals—mostly from the United States—has topped 3 million per year, over half of which are cruise ship passengers. The tourism realm accounts for around 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. The increased demand for visiting the zone has meant an extraordinary boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences.

Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36% of GDP. In 2007 close to 90% of the population was employed in the service realm, 7% was occupied in the industrial sector, and just 3% was working in agriculture. It is important to remember that just 0.58% percent of the land is arable.

In 2007 the Bahamian economy grew 3.1%.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

Located in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida;s southeastern coast, the Bahamas is an archipelago consisting of approximately 700 islands, of which about 30 are inhabited, as well as over 2,000 reefs and cays. Their total land area of 13,934 sq km (5,380 sq mi, or slightly more than the combined area of New Jersey and Connecticut) is spread out over nearly 260,000 sq km (100,390 sq mi). The islands are bisected by the Tropic of Cancer, which passes between Great Exuma Island and Long Island. Besides the United States, the Bahamas' nearest neighbors include Cuba to the southwest and Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands to the southeast.

The two main islands of the Bahamas are New Providence, where the capital city of Nassau is located, and Grand Bahama, the site of Freeport, the nation's only other metropolitan area. The remaining, less-developed islands are generally called either the "Family Islands" or the "out islands." Among these are Bimini, Abaco, Eleuthera, the Exumas, Andros, Cat Island, Long Island, Rum Cay, and Crooked Island. The islands" terrain includes rocky cliffs, dense jungle swampland, pine forests, isolated coves, and sandy beaches. The highest point in the Bahamas, on Cat Island, is only 63 m (207 ft) above sea level.

The Bahamas has an estimated population of some 307,000 people, of whom about 65% live in cities and about 35% in rural areas. New Providence and Grand Bahama, the most densely populated islands, account for more than 75% of the Bahamian population. About 85% of Bahamians are of African descent, 8% are of mixed ancestry, and the remainder are White (mostly of British origin). Most White Bahamians live on New Providence, the Abacos, or Grand Bahama.

In the 1950s and 1960s—the era of the Civil Rights movement in the United States—race relations in the Bahamas began to change. Until then, economic opportunities for Blacks were severely limited, and they endured the overt racism of being barred from theaters, hotels, shops, and other public places. Thanks to a movement known as the Quiet Revolution, together with government policies that improved educational and job opportunities, the lot of Black Bahamians has improved and a new Black middle class has come into being on New Providence and Grand Bahama.

LANGUAGE

Standard English is the official language of the Bahamas, but most of the population speaks some version of an English-based Creole language called the Bahamian dialect. The rise of Creole language finds its explanation in the influx of Haitian migrations since the mid 20th century.

The language of the working class is the furthest from Standard English, while that of Whites and middle-class Bahamians of African ancestry generally falls somewhere on a spectrum between the official language and the creolized version.

An example of the Bahamian dialect can be found in the following verse from the poem "Islan' Life" by poet and playwright Susan J. Wallace:

Islan' life ain' no fun less ya treat errybody
like ya brudder, ya sister, or ya frien'
Love ya neighbour, play ya part, jes' remember das de art,
For when ocean fen' ya in, all is kin.

FOLKLORE

The Bahamas is rich in myths and legends, especially those related to specific islands. Little Exuma Island is said to be haunted by a woman named Pretty Molly Bay, who is actually the source of two different legends. In one, she is a drowned slave who roams the beaches at night; in the other, she is a young White woman turned into a mermaid. There are stories about creatures called "chickcharnies"—three-toed sprites with red eyes—who hang upside down from trees on the island of Andros and are capable of turning a person's head around to face backwards. Bimini is traditionally associated with the Fountain of Youth, and North Bimini is associated with the lost city of Atlantis.

The 19th-century Haitian leader Henri Christophe, who committed suicide according to official accounts, is popularly thought to have escaped to Inagua Island in the Bahamas. The American playwright Eugene O'Neill based his play The Emperor Jones on this legend. The Bahamas' history as a base for pirate operations in the 17th and 18th centuries has spawned tales about buried treasure throughout the islands (treasure has actually been found on some sunken ships and on Cat Island).

RELIGION

Most Bahamians are Christian. According to the 2000 census, Baptists account for about 35.4% of the population, while Roman Catholics represent 13.5%, and Anglicans account for about 15.1% of the population. Other important creeds in the islands are Pentecostals representing 8.1% and Methodist with a 4.2%. Other Christians account for 15.2% of the population and 2.9% do not have a specific religious tendency.

It is not unusual for Bahamians to attend services at their own church and others as well. The influence of Christianity is reflected in the popularity of gospel music on the islands. On some of the islands, Christian beliefs are combined with the ancient African practice of obeah.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

Public holidays in the Bahamas include the major holy days of the Christian calendar as well as Labor Day (the first Friday in June), Independence Day (July 10), Emancipation Day (the first Monday in August), and Discovery Day (October 12). The best-known celebration on the islands is Junkanoo, held on both Christmas and New Year's. Thought to be descended from the day off formerly given to slaves on Christmas, it is a boisterous, colorful event that shares much of its character with Carnival festivities in such Caribbean countries as Trinidad and Tobago. Costumed groups unified by specific themes compete for prizes as they and masses of other revelers parade through the streets to the accompaniment of whistles and goatskin drums called goombays. Fringes of brightly colored crepe paper adorn masks and costumes alike.

RITES OF PASSAGE

Christian ceremonies, such as baptism and confirmation, mark the major passages from one stage to another in a Bahamian's life.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

Bahamian culture is an amalgam of its African and European heritages and the influence of the peoples of the Caribbean and the Americas. Even though family life is still important in their culture, it is also important to point out that the incorporation of women to the labor force has diminished women's leverage as cultural agents.

The Bahamas has a large urban population heavily influenced by the country's large tourism industry. The legal system is based on English common law.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Living conditions range from the modern urban bustle of Nassau (on New Providence) and Freeport (on Grand Bahama) to the rural existence on the Family Islands (also called the out islands), whose inhabitants have little or no exposure to tourists and live a simpler, more traditional life. Migration to the cities for better jobs has produced an urban housing shortage, especially in low-income areas. In the 1980s new housing did not keep pace with demand. A World Bank report described 40% of the islands' dwellings as being in average to poor condition. Most Family Islanders live near the shore in villages whose scattered houses are simple wooden structures, some without plumbing or electricity (according to the World Bank, two out of three households in the Family Islands did not have running water in 1986).

The Bahamians have made great progress in health care since the 1960s. Average life expectancy is 68 years for men and 75 years for women. However, during the last years, the effect on mortality rates due to AIDS has been catastrophic. Life expectancy has decreased to 62.5 year for men and 69 years for women.

In 1992 there was 1 physician for every 714 people. There is a system of clinics on the out islands (there were 107 clinics in 1992), and patients who need additional care are flown to Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau. Most Bahamian doctors receive their training in the United States, Great Britain, or Canada. Bahamians in the out islands often use folk medicine, including herbal remedies, such as boiling parts of certain plants to produce medicinal teas.

Motorists in the Bahamas drive on the left side of the road, a legacy of the British presence on the islands. The more densely settled islands of New Providence and Grand Bahama have modern, paved roadways, but few Bahamians own their own cars. In 1991 the country had only 70,000 registered passenger vehicles, including buses, taxis, government-owned vehicles, and motor scooters (a very popular form of transport). More than half the registered vehicles were on the island of New Providence. Most of the Family Islands have only one or two roads, which run the length of the island, and boats are the preferred mode of transportation, since settlements are usually located near the coast. There are no railways on the Bahamas, but there are international airports at Nassau and Freeport.

FAMILY LIFE

Although the model family in the Bahamas is the two-parent nuclear family, the migration of adults to Nassau and Freeport has left many families in the out islands headed by grandparents, and there are also households headed by single parents. However, it is unusual for unmarried couples to live together. A child's primary caretaker, generally either the mother or grandmother, is also the person in charge of discipline in the family. Adult children often give their mothers gifts or financial assistance. On the out islands men and women often do the same kinds of work, including farming and wage labor. According to a 1994 agricultural survey, 33% of the nation's farmers were women (and 50% of all agricultural workers were Haitians).

CLOTHING

Bahamians wear modern Western-style clothing. Colorful costumes of all kinds can be seen at the annual Junkanoo festivals in Nassau and other locations.

FOOD

Seafood is the mainstay of the Bahamian diet. The conch shell-fish is a national favorite used in many dishes. Other popular fish and shellfish include grouper, snapper, crayfish (which Bahamians call lobster), and shark. Peas and rice, reflecting the islands' African heritage, is a dietary staple consisting of dried pigeon peas and rice prepared with thyme and other spices. Souses—dishes containing lightly pickled meats—also figure prominently in Bahamian cuisine. Developed in the days before refrigeration to preserve meats in the islands' tropical climate, they are made from various meats (including lamb tongue and mutton) or conch stewed in lime juice and spices. Served with cooked grits and johnny cake (a type of bread), they are a popular breakfast food. The traditional Bahamian breakfast is based on the diet of fishers who needed a hearty meal before spending the day at sea.

Chicken Souse

2 chickens	2 cups chicken broth
cut-up celery stalks	10 allspice berries
4 potatoes, chopped	1 bay leaf
2 onions, chopped	1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 Scotch Bonnet peppers	½ cup lime juice
Put both chickens in a large pot with enough water to cover, and bring the water to a boil. After cooking for two minutes, pour out the water and add enough fresh water to cover the chickens. The vegetables and all other remaining ingredients except the lime juice should be added when the water boils, and the mixture should be allowed to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the lime juice and simmer for 10 more minutes. May be served hot immediately (after skimming off the fat), or served cold after refrigeration.

EDUCATION

Over 96% of adult Bahamians are literate. Education is mandatory between the ages of 5 and 14, but most students continue their schooling until at least the age of 16. The educational system is modeled on that of Great Britain, with secondary education referred to in terms of "forms" (12th grade is called 6th form in the Bahamas) and exams required in order to attend college. Students must also take exams at the end of every school year in order to pass to the next grade. Before independence in 1973, students from the out islands traveled to Nassau for their secondary education, but in the years since then secondary schools have been started on many of these islands.

The government-run College of the Bahamas opened in 1974, and the Bahamas has also been home to a branch of the University of the West Indies since the 1960s. The Industrial Training Center offers programs in such fields as electrical installation, plumbing, and auto mechanics, and the Bahamas Hotel Training College prepares students to work for hotels, tourism organizations, and other tourism-related businesses. In addition, many Bahamians attend colleges and universities in North America and Great Britain.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Susan Wallace, from the island of Grand Bahama, is the nation's best-known poet. She has also edited Back Home, an anthology of Bahamian literature. Playwright Winston Saunders, author of You Can Bring a Horse to Water, is the director of the Dundas Theatre, which stages plays by Bahamian and other authors. The meticulously groomed and disciplined Royal Bahamas Police Force Band, reflecting the British influence on Bahamian history and culture, performs at all major public events. Well-known artist Alton Lowe captures many facets of Bahamian life in his realistic paintings.

WORK

The government is the largest employer in the Bahamas. Many government jobs are related to tourism, which together with related employment, provides jobs for the majority of Bahamians—estimated at 50% or more of the labor force. Agriculture and industry are much smaller contributors to the nation's economy and employ far fewer people. Subsistence farming and fishing have traditionally been the main occupations on the out islands, whose inhabitants also earn money producing crafts or through seasonal employment in resort areas. Because of the shortage of salaried jobs in these areas, many residents move to Nassau or Freeport to seek employment.

SPORTS

Softball is the most popular sport in the Bahamas, whose teams compete regularly in the World Softball Conference. Other favorite sports include basketball, volleyball, and track and field. Student athletes compete in intramural and interscholastic basketball and volleyball, and scholarships in these sports have helped many Bahamian young people attend universities in the United States. Water sports, including sailing, windsurfing, and fishing, are popular with Bahamians and tourists alike. Many islanders race in the Family Islands regatta, held every April and based in George Town, on the island of Exuma.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

In addition to the indigenous Bahamian goombay (goatskin drum) music, calypso, soca, and reggae are also popular, as is gospel music, which is performed in concert halls and on outdoor stages as well as in churches. There is approximately one television for every four persons in the Bahamas. Programming includes American situation comedies, professional sports, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programming, and British and Canadian educational broadcasting. Church programs are broadcast on Sundays. Radio programming includes calypso music, soft and hard rock, "oldies" music, and talk shows.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

Bahamian folk music is closely related to the African-based Junkanoo festival, where the popular goatskin drum called the goombay was originally heard. Today, goombay is also used to refer to the calypso-style music whose satirical lyrics it often accompanies. In the out islands, local bands playing the goombay, the guitar, and the saw entertain at weddings and dances. Folk dance in the Bahamas ranges from the European quadrille to the African-derived jump dance and the West Indian limbo.

Crafts including woodcarving, quilting, basketry, and shell-work that were once produced chiefly for use by their creators have become profitable commercial items for sale to the country's tourists. The straw work produced on the out islands is especially distinctive. Using palm fronds braided into long strips that are then sewn together, the island women make hats, baskets, purses, and other items, often decorating them with raffia paper and seashells.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The Bahamas has not traditionally been a violent society and, in the past, serious crimes, such as homicide, have been rare. However, in recent years, drug trafficking has caused a substantial increase in crime. In New Providence the use of crack cocaine has resulted in frequent armed robberies.

GENDER ISSUES

Even though family life is important to most Bahamians, single women head an increasing number of households. Before the 1940s, women tended to be stay-at-home mothers and wives. Now, as a result of increased educational opportunities and the development of the tourist industry, most women work outside the home.

Although legally Bahamian women have equal status under the law, men tend to dominate the higher-income and higher-status positions in the public and private sectors. While men dominate fishing and other maritime endeavors, the building trades, and the transportation industry, women dominate fields such as nursing, elementary school teaching, and office work. Out-island women tend to be farmers, shopkeepers, craft specialists, and domestics when they are employed.

Regarding marriage, a sexual double standard exists in which Bahamian women are supposed to be chaste until marriage and faithful during marriage whereas men are expected to have premarital and extramarital affairs. Because women are almost eight times more prone to get infected with HIV than men, the Bahamians's sexual standard tends to play in favor of spreading of the virus.

Among the hardest hit regions in the world, second only to Sub-Saharan Africa, Bahamas has the highest annual incidence of HIV/AIDS in the English-speaking Caribbean. Moreover, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for Bahamian men and women between the ages of 15 and 44 years. As in most of the world, women in the Bahamas represent the fastest growing segment of the population with HIV/AIDS.

The first female member of parliament was elected in 1982. Since that time, there have been female cabinet ministers, legislators, and supreme court justices.