Barbadians

ALTERNATE NAMES: Bajans
LOCATION: Barbados
POPULATION: 281,968 (2008)
LANGUAGE: English with West African dialect influences
RELIGION: Christianity: Anglican church (majority); Roman Catholicism; Methodism; Rastafarianism; other groups include Jehovah's Witnesses, Hindus, Muslims, Baha'is, Jews; Apostolic Spiritual Baptist is the island's only indigenous religion

INTRODUCTION

Barbados is unique among the islands of the Caribbean in having been governed by only one colonial power, the British, and the resulting influence has given the country its nickname of "Little England." The Barbadians' name for themselves (Bajans—pronounced BAY-juns) is derived from "Barbajians," which is the way the British commonly pronounced Barbadians. Although previously settled by the Arawak and Carib Indians, the island was uninhabited when the British first landed there in 1625. Sugar-growing was introduced by the Dutch from Brazil shortly afterward and African slaves were imported to work on the great sugar plantations. After the abolition of slavery in 1834, Black workers stayed on the plantations and life on the island changed very little. Economic and political power was maintained by a small minority of White landowners, and the fortunes of the territory were dictated by the alternating booms and slumps of the sugar trade.

Following an outbreak of rioting in 1937, the Barbados Progressive League, antecedent of today's Barbados Labor Party (BLP), was founded to promote social, economic, and political reform. Sir Grantley Adams emerged as its leader. A series of political reforms culminated in universal suffrage in 1950 and Grantley Adams became premier of a self-governing Barbados in 1953. Errol Barrow broke away from the Barbados Labor Party in 1954 to found the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and led Barbados into independence in 1966. In 1976 Errol Barrow was defeated by Tom Adams, the son of Sir Grantley Adams. In 1974 Barbados participated in the founding of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community and Common Market) and in 1994 the island was the site of the United Nations Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. The BLP led the government for fifteen years, from 1993 until the 2008 general election, when the DLP led by David Thompson came to power.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

Belonging to the Lesser Antilles, Barbados is the easternmost Caribbean island, with a total area of 430 sq km (166 sq mi). The terrain of the pear-shaped island consists of lowlands and terraced limestone plains separated by rolling hills that run parallel to the coasts. With a 2008 estimated population of 281,968 persons on an island about the size of San Antonio, Texas, Barbados is one of the world's most densely populated countries (about 625 people per sq km or 1,620 people per sq mi in 2002). However, in recent decades its population has been controlled by an effective family planning program. The annual population growth rate in 2008 was 0.3%.

About 90% of the population is of African descent, descended from West Africans brought to the island to work as slaves on sugar plantations. About 4% are white, descendants of both wealthy plantation families and indentured servants from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (called "redlegs" because many wore kilts that allowed their legs to become sunburned). Most people in Barbados have some admixture of European blood. The remaining 6% of Barbados' population are of Asian or mixed race. Some of the most recent immigrants are from south Asia and the Middle East.

LANGUAGE

English is the official language of Barbados, but it is universally spoken in a dialect strongly influenced by the languages of West Africa. Many words, such as duppy, the term for ghost, are derived from African terms and the African practice of duplicate words ("sow-pig," "bull-cows," "gate-doors") has also been imported into the language. Doubling is used for emphasis ("fast fast" instead of "very fast"), another typical African practice. The present tense of verbs is used to express actions in the past ("She cook dinner last night"). Actions in the present are expressed by the present participle ("He dancing to the music"), while the simple present tense (accompanied by "does") is reserved for habitual actions ("He does dance on Tuesdays").

Common words and expressions in Barbadian and their standard English equivalents are:

FOLKLORE

Barbados has a rich body of folklore that harkens back to the African roots of most of its population. A number of folk beliefs center on ways to keep the ghost of a departed person— known as a duppy—from returning to haunt the living. These include sprinkling rum on the ground, walking into the house backwards, and hanging certain herbs from the windows and doorway. Other figures from Barbadian folklore include the Conrad, an avenging spirit thought to possess people, making them do and say strange things; the heartmen, who kill children and offer their hearts to the devil; and the baccoo, a tiny man who lives in bottles and can decide one's destiny.

Some examples of Barbadian proverbs are:

"One-smart dead at two-smart door" (No matter how smart you seem to be, there's always someone who can outwit you).

"Coconut don' grow upon pumpkin vine" (Children inherit their parents' characteristics—equivalent of U.S. proverb, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree").

"Coo-coo never done til de pot turn down" (equivalent to U.S. proverb, "It's never over until it's over" or "It's not over until the fat lady sings").

RELIGION

Religion plays an important role in the lives of Barbadians. The school day usually begins with a prayer, small revivalist churches abound throughout the island, and there is a one-year waiting list for church choirs who want to perform on the popular Sunday afternoon television program, Time to Sing, which features a different group every week. Priests exert some influence over public policy and cultural life (one reason for the absence of casinos from the island), and a substantial amount of radio air time is devoted to religious programming.

The main religion of the Bajans is Christianity with the most members belonging to the Anglican Church, a legacy from the days of British rule. In 2007 there were about 70,000 members of the Anglican Church, with about 67% considered to be active members. Seventh-day Adventists made up the next largest group with about 16,000 members, 64% of whom were active members. Of the 11,000 Roman Catholics in 2007, about 20% were active. Other Christian groups include Pentecostals, Methodists, and Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as small numbers of Baptists, Moravians, and Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

Other religious groups, including Hindus, Muslims, and Baha'is, are generally made up of immigrants. A small Jewish community descended from Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain worships at a synagogue that dates back to 1640. The Jewish synagogue, destroyed in the hurricane of 1830 and rebuilt in 1834, fell into disuse in the early 1900s and was only recently restored with the help of public and government donations. Rastafarianism, which originated in Jamaica, was introduced to Barbados in 1975. After a rocky period when it was associated with rebellious youths and criminals attracted by its cocky image and dreadlocks, it has been accepted by Bajan society and includes among its ranks such well-known figures as actor Winston Farrell and calypso artist Ras Iley.

The Apostolic Spiritual Baptists (popularly known as "Tie-heads") occupy a special place in Barbados' religious spectrum, as the island's only indigenous religion. Fashioned after other West Indian revivalist religions, the sect, founded in 1957 by Bishop Granville Williams, combines Christian observance with the foot stomping, hand clapping, and dancing characteristic of African religious practices. Converts are baptized and then sequestered for 7 to 10 days in the "Mourning Ground," a special area of the church. Tieheads, so-called because of the cloth turbans worn by both men and women, sport colorful gowns in colors symbolic of particular qualities.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

The Christian holidays of Good Friday, Easter, Easter Monday, Whit Monday (Pentecost Monday), and Christmas are all national holidays. Other Barbadian holidays include New Year's Day (January 1), May Day (May 1), CARICOM Day (first Monday in August), Independence Day (November 30), and United Nations Day (first Monday in October). The island's major celebration is the Crop Over festival, which takes place in July and early August. This three-week festival was derived from the traditional festival that marked the end of the sugar-cane harvest. Events include the ritual presentation of the Last Canes and the judging of costumed groups (called "bands") on Kadooment Day, the climax and final day of the festival. The festivities include calypso music and abundant food.

RITES OF PASSAGE

Couples often engage in "visiting" relationships, in which the man visits the woman at her home, or common-law marriages, recognized after five years of cohabitation, both of which are similar in their rights and conditions to legal marriages. Major life events (birth, puberty, marriage, death, etc.) are marked by the religious ceremonies particular to each Bahamian's faith community.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

Barbadians are known for their politeness and civility, a legacy both of British influence and of the island's high population density—living in close proximity with others imposes pressure to avoid censure and unpleasant confrontations. Describing his homeland, well-known Barbadian author John Wickham wrote, "The inability of people to remove themselves from one another has led to concern for public order, a compassion for others, and a compelling sense of a neighbor's rights and integrity."

LIVING CONDITIONS

The standard of living on Barbados is among the highest in the Caribbean. The United Nations' 2007 Human Development Report rated the quality of life on Barbados—based on such factors as health, education, and earning power—first among 108 developing nations considered.

About 76% of Barbadians own their own homes. Nearly the entire population has access to safe drinking water. The traditional Barbadian wooden house, which can still be seen throughout the island, is called a "chattel" house. A single-story structure built from a single layer of planks, it boasts a unique feature—portability. It can be taken apart and moved to another location, traditionally when its owner is evicted by the landlord or saves enough money to buy his or her own plot of land elsewhere. The house is usually symmetrical, with a door in the center and windows to either side. The traditional roof of wooden shingles has given way to sheets of galvanized iron that create uncomfortably hot conditions within.

The newer type of house and the one favored by Barbadians today is the suburban "wall" house built of cement blocks and stucco, so-called because it is usually surrounded by a small cement wall. By economic necessity, the wall house, like its wooden predecessor, is often built in stages. Just as second and even third structures were often added to the chattel house ("two-roof house and shed"), the wall house may consist of cement block additions added to a wooden home, one room at a time.

The excellent health care system developed on Barbados in the postwar period has reduced the incidence of infectious disease and improved the overall health of the population significantly. Average life expectancy is 71.2 years for males and 75.2 for females (2008 est.). The infant mortality rate was estimated at about 11 deaths per 1,000 births in 2008. In addition to modern medicine, many Barbadians still rely on folk medicine and use home remedies either as a supplement or as an alternative to conventional treatment.

Barbados' small size and flat terrain have facilitated travel, and it is possible to get to any point on the island quickly and easily, a fact that has enabled many rural dwellers to commute to urban jobs. However, the traffic congestion accompanying Barbados' growing prosperity has strained the narrow, winding roads of Bridgetown, a city founded in 1628.

FAMILY LIFE

Many Barbadian households are based on arrangements other than that of a legally married couple living together with their children—this is a legacy of slavery, which often separated men from women and from their children, as well as the traditional shortage of males on the island due to emigration. As such, there are many single-parent families with the mother as head of household. Other relatives, particularly grandmothers and aunts, play an important role in child-rearing, often taking care of the children so that the mother can work. Older children may be expected to take on many household chores, including care of younger siblings.

Common-law marriages are legally recognized after five years and each partner is entitled to half the joint property.

CLOTHING

Barbadians wear modern Western-style clothing in casual, business, and formal situations. Colorful and inventive costumes may be seen at festivals, especially the Crop Over celebration in July and August. Members of the Apostolic Spiritual Baptist sect (popularly known as "Tieheads") are known for their turbans—worn by both men and women—and their colorful gowns.

FOOD

Generations of Barbadian cooks have triumphed over the island's limited selection of produce—as well as the Barbadian's traditionally limited budget—to create a rich culinary tradition that draws on West African, English, Spanish, French, and other types of cuisine. Cou-cou, one of the most popular national dishes, is a cornmeal and okra pudding related to the African foo-foo. It is typically served with gravy and salt cod, another dietary staple. Another favorite food is flying fish, a locally abundant species. These fish are served fried, steamed, or baked using a special Barbadian seasoning that combines onion, garlic, pepper, thyme, paprika, lime juice, and other flavors.

Rice served with any of a variety of peas (including green, blackeye, cow, and gunga) is another dietary staple. The variety of ways pork is used to supplement the islanders' diet has inspired the claim that the only part of a pig Barbadians can't use for some dish is its hair. The most famous pork dish is pudding and souse. A black pudding made from sweet potatoes and pig's blood, stuffed into cleaned pig's intestines and boiled, is sliced and served with "souse," made from cooked pig meat pickled in lime juice and hot peppers and served with onions, cucumbers, and peppers.

Popular beverages include coconut water, lemonade with fresh limes, and drinks made from such fruits as mangoes, guavas, gooseberries, tamarinds, and passion fruit. Mauby is a beverage made from the bark of a tree. Falernum is an indigenous liqueur made from lime juice, sugar, rum, and water, flavored with almond extract. A favorite dessert is coconut bread, which may be prepared using the following recipe:

Coconut Bread

6 oz brown sugar
2 tsp almond extract
6 oz shortening
¼ lb raisins or mixed fruit
1 large egg
1 cup milk
3 cups grated coconut
1¼ lbs flour
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp powdered nutmeg
3 tsp baking powder

Combine shortening and sugar. After beating the egg, add it in and mix thoroughly. Next, mix in the spices, almond extract, fruit or raisins, grated coconut, and milk. After sifting, mix in the dry ingredients and pour the dough into two greased loaf pans—a 1-lb pan and a 2-lb pan. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake loaves for one hour, or until browned. Cool on racks before serving.

EDUCATION

Educational opportunities on Barbados have expanded greatly since World War II and the country boasts a literacy rate of between 95% and 100%, the highest in the Caribbean. One of the strongest values typically imparted by the Barbadian family is the importance of academic achievement. In 2003 primary school enrollment was estimated at 100% while secondary school enrollment was listed as about 90% of age-eligible students. Attendance is legally required between the ages of 5 and 16, and all education is free, including college.

Students are tracked into classes based on standardized test scores, so many travel great distances to schools located far from their homes. Thousands of children can be seen at bus terminals throughout the country every day on their way to or from school. However, new zoning was introduced in the 1990s to ameliorate the situation.

Thanks to movements aimed at giving recognition to the Barbadians' African heritage, children are now exposed to African folklore and music in the schools. A branch of the University of the West Indies was opened on Barbados in 1963, and other institutions of higher learning include Barbados Community College, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, the Codrington College Seminary, Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity, and Erdiston Teachers Training College. Students may also receive scholarships for college studies in the United Kingdom and other Caribbean institutions.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Although Barbados has a long oral storytelling tradition, written literature by Barbadians received its first real debut in the 1940s and 1950s in a Barbadian literary magazine called Bim, which was the first showcase of works by a number of Caribbean writers destined for future fame, including Derek Wolcott, the 1992 Nobel laureate in literature, who was born in St. Lucia but has spent a large portion of his time in Trinidad. Well-known Barbadian writers include essayist John Wick-ham, novelist George Lamming (best known for In the Castle of My Skin), and poet Edward Kamau Braithwaite, winner of the 1994 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and a professor of Comparative Literature at New York University.

Barbados has a flourishing community of artists producing paintings, murals, sculptures, and crafts, many of which reflect strong African influences. The arts in Barbados have been supported since the mid-1950s by the Barbados National Arts Council, and tourism has provided many local artists, especially musicians, with patrons.

WORK

Most Barbadians belong to a large middle class that includes both skilled blue-collar workers and white-collar professional and managerial employees. The labor force contains an equal number of men and women. About 75% of employment on Barbados is in service-sector jobs, while industry accounts for about 15% and agriculture at 3.5%. The unemployment rate in 2003 was estimated at 10.7%. Many Barbadians work abroad and send money back home. In 2003 the World Bank estimated the total value of remittances to be about us$97 million, or about us$385 per capita, accounting for approximately 3.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP). In 2007 about 25% to 30% of the workforce was unionized.

SPORTS

Cricket is by far the most popular sport on Barbados—some have called it a "national religion." When the nation gained its independence in 1966, it immediately challenged the rest of the world to a cricket match. Most of Barbados' national heroes are cricket stars, such as Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Clyde Walcott, Sir Frank Worrell, and Sir Garfield Sobers, recognized as the greatest all-around cricketeer of all time. The effigy of Sir Frank Worrell adorns the island's five-dollar currency note. Other popular sports include horse-racing, soccer, hockey, rugby, volleyball, and softball. The local game of road tennis, played with a homemade wooden paddle and a long piece of wood for a "net," is a cross between ping-pong and lawn tennis.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

The traditional locale where Barbadian men spend their leisure time is the rum shop, which combines the functions of grocery store, bar, and domino parlor. The island has one rum shop for every 150 adults. Women have traditionally gravitated toward the local church as a social center. Dance, music, and theater are all popular pursuits, and about 80% of Barbadian households now have television sets.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

In additional to the popular calypso, reggae, and steel band music that reflects the influence of neighboring Trinidad and Jamaica, Barbados has its own indigenous musical tradition, the tuk band, which provides the backbeat for all major celebrations on the island. Composed of pennywhistles, snare drums, and bass drums, it is reminiscent of a British military band, but with a distinctly African flair.

Barbadian crafts include pottery, mahogany items, and jewelry. The Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) supports the preservation of the island's handicrafts by operating numerous shops where local craftspeople sell their wares, as well as offering workshops for beginners and experts alike.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Some observers have seen a connection between the growth of tourism on Barbados and the rise of such problems as crime, drug use, and prostitution. In addition, tourism has contributed to water pollution and damage to the island's coral reefs, as well as overly rapid development of the coastline. A more traditional indigenous problem is family violence, which however has been decreasing as women have become empowered by increased educational and employment opportunities. There are no laws to prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities or to compel private businesses to be handicap-accessible. As a result, some disabled persons have faced difficulties in both work and social endeavors. While new public buildings are generally equipped with such features as ramps, reserved parking, and sanitary facilities for the disabled, private establishments and businesses housed in older buildings have not always followed this example. The government has a National Disabilities Unit that offers such programs as call-aride, but there are some fees associated with the use of services and some users, particularly parents of disabled children, have complained about the cost.

GENDER ISSUES

Having gained increased power since the 1960s due to better educational and job opportunities, women have been freed from some of their traditional roles as bearers of children and homemakers, and have become more empowered in their domestic relationships with men. Some problems still exist however. There are no specific laws dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace and many women choose not to report harassment for fear of losing their jobs. While there are laws against domestic violence, such abuse still remains a problem, often because many cases go unreported. Women do have the right to vote and to hold public office; however, female candidates often find it difficult to gain financial support for their campaigns. This may be due to the fact that women are still often regarded as the primary domestic caretakers for husbands, children, and the elderly. Taking time away from these duties to participate in politics may prove to be difficult, both financially and emotionally.

Homosexual relations are illegal and there are no laws to prohibit discrimination against any person on the basis of sexual orientation. While the government has made attempts to discourage discrimination against those infected with HIV/AIDS, social discrimination against homosexuals has been reported.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Carrington, Sean. A–Z of Barbados Heritage. Oxford: Macmillan Caribbean, 2003.

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—revised by K. Ellicott