The Bahamas: The Cultural And Ethnic Identity Of The Bahamas

stand unwavering in defense of [their] identity” (Bishop 63). Their identity that according to the constitution excludes anyone, who though having been born in The Bahamas, if born to non- Bahamian parents, are not automatically considered citizens. It is common knowledge that The Bahamas is currently a melting pot of people from many different cultures, races, and religions. With such a diverse mix of people, it is difficult to say and identity who is a ‘true’ Bahamian, and who has become a part of the Bahamian community through citizenship. Pnina Werbner explains that “Identities are not simply pre-given or inherited: they are formed, made and remade; they exist in practice, dialogically, through collective action and interaction” (Werbner
Junkanoo, the main defining symbol of the Bahamian identity, “along with Bahamian Creole[dialect] and Bahamian storytelling, which reflects the legacy of oral history and literature from West and Central Africa are examples of a culture that has African origins” (Johnson, 17). These crucial Bahamian signs that are labeled as ‘authentically Bahamian’ have roots in many different cultures. yet many people when asked, feel strongly that The Bahamas is for the ‘true’ Bahamian people only, no other cultures and identities associated within the Bahamas are a part of the Bahamian Identity. We can see this most clearly when looking at how Bahamian people ostracize Haitian Bahamians; children who were born in The Bahamas to Haitian
It functions by removing all outside forces that do not meet follow the dictator’s regime and implementing new forces to take its place that is under their control. As in the case of the Tonton Macoutes; whose name is derived from the Creole term ‘bogeyman’, who were loyal to Fancies Duvalier and was given free regime to do what they wish through violence that reduce the Haitian people to compliant terms. Danticat in her book Brother I am Dying states, “He [Papa Doc] had created a countrywide militia called the Tonton Macoutes, a battalion of brutal men and women” (Danticat,