Afro-Caribbean Culture

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The African diaspora in the Spanish Caribbean – namely, in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico – fomented the emergence of a syncretic identity. Likewise, this historical period brought forth similar ethnobotanical hybridity. This study endeavors to highlight the role of plants in the medicinal and spiritual practices that have come to characterize Afro-Caribbean cultures, as reflected in Santeria and traditional medicine (curanderismo). Of central focus will be the degree to which, according to social circumstances and the ecological profile of the Caribbean, West African plant knowledge was appropriated in the Spanish colonies, and how related customs were adapted to the new environment.
Involuntary dispersal of Africans to the Spanish Caribbean is historically rooted in colonialism as of the 16th century. Many indigenous peoples, belonging to groups such as the Tainos, did not survive this era, given the harsh working conditions established by the Spanish, violence, as well as infectious diseases to which non-Europeans were not immune. As such, the Spanish sought African labor as a replacement. Atlantic slave trade to the islands of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico thrived during the better part of the following centuries - until formally abolished completely in 1838 (in Cuba – the final cite to cede emancipation of enslaved peoples).
In Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the number of surviving indigenous peoples was insignificant; in contrast, Puerto Rico retained a sizable Taino population. As such, the environment in which Africans were introduced to the islands was largely dominated by the culture and customs of the colonists, criollos, and mestizos. Customs therefore, were largely characterized by ‘...

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...ora in the Spanish Caribbean, this is apparent, as demonstrated through the strong attachment to plants and associated practices. Maintaining pieces of this was integral to easing the process of assimilation in the new world: otherwise culturally diffuse, enslaved Africans achieved solidarity on the basis of conceptualizing their new physical space according to their traditional model – of understanding plants in any context; likewise, they fomented an identity surrounding a nature-based religion and medical practices. The relationship with plants arguably served as an agent of unity and resistance against loss of tradition, culture, and knowledge across the Atlantic. Rather than being a strictly geographical phenomenon, the human bond with plants can be seen under a lens of race. The uniquely Afro-Caribbean ethonobotanical legacy serves as tribute to this.

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