Heritage Spotlight:
Garifuna Traditions
The New Jersey Folk Festival will be celebrating the history, heritage, and folk traditions of the Garifuna people in the United States through music, food, and craft demonstrations on Saturday, April 27, 2013. The Garifuna people are the descendants of Carib, Arawak, and West African people, exiled by the British from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent to Central America. Today, Garifuna people live in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and the island of Roatan. In the United States, there are diaspora communities of Garifuna people in New Jersey, among other regions.
The history and origin of the Garifuna people create a unique cultural experience. Garifuna people have a strong belief in and reverence for their ancestors, a belief that permeates both their spiritual and secular lives. Through music, dance, and other rituals, Garifuna honor those who came before and the struggles they endured. During a ceremony called dugu, Garifuna families come together for several days to celebrate and pay respect to the spirits of these ancestors. Community is an essential part of Garifuna culture. This holds true in spite of how spread out Garifuna diasporas have become as the Garifuna people migrate from Central America.
In 2001, UNESCO proclaimed Garifuna culture to be a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage in an effort to preserve and revitalize Garifuna culture worldwide. This year, the New Jersey Folk Festival is dedicated to the celebration of Garifuna culture and those who work to preserve and promote Garifuna traditions in the United States.
Craft Demonstrations
The Heritage Area of the New Jersey Folk Festival resembles a living outdoor museum of craft demonstrations, static exhibits, displays, and living history reenactments. Visitors to this area are able to observe craftspeople at work, ask questions, and learn about the production of traditional crafts in an interactive setting. The presenters are regarded as tradition bearers, people who have learnt the craft of their regional or ethnic group and have willingly perpetuated the legacy. The performers of the NJFF 2013 represent both Garifuna traditions and culture, and the folk culture of New Jersey.
Exhibitors
Brandon and Malcolm Bullock
The Bullock brothers of Keansburg, New Jersey, will be demonstrating traditional Garifuna drum making. Drums are the heart and soul of Garifuna secular and religious music, with roots stemming back to Africa. The precise process of drum making begins in the rainforest, where a tree must be cut down and transported to the drum maker’s yard. Once in the yard, the tree is cleared of branches and is sliced into sections measuring three to four feet long and several feet wide, depending on the log. Then, carefully circling the inside of the log with a saw, the drum maker leaves only a thin, even layer of wood around the edges of the log. Once the core is slipped out from the log, the remaining thin layer becomes the wall of the drum. After a little smoothing, shaping, and polishing, a piece of dried, stretched animal skin is secured on top to complete the drum. After the drum is completed, the drum maker will go back to the core and repeat the process, producing several drums from the same core.
Petra Carrano
Petra Carrano will be demonstrating Garifuna hair braiding. Petra learned how to braid hair from her grandmother, and she continues to braid hair today. Hair braiding is passed down from generation to generation, keeping Garifuna traditions alive for the future.
Myrtle Palacio
Myrtle Palacio will be demonstrating cassava preparation. Born in the predominantly Garifuna community of Dangriga, Belize, she was introduced at an early age to traditional Garifuna culture. Cassava is an important part of Garifuna rituals and daily diet. Myrtle holds a B.S. in accounting and business management and an M.S. in urban studies. She is also the Deputy Grand Marshal of the 2013 New Jersey Folk Festival.
Niki Giberson
Niki Giberson will be demonstrating spinning wool into yarn on a spinning wheel and needle felting with wool from her own sheep. Niki has worked in the fiber arts for over 30 years. She earned her BA in Early American Crafts and Culture at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. In 1988, she opened the Swan Bay Folk Art Center in Port Republic, New Jersey, where students of all ages learn basketry, quilting, weaving, wool felting and spinning, and how to dye wool from locally grown plants. She has displayed and demonstrated her work at the Noyes Museum and Tuckerton Seaport, and has participated in many craft shows and festivals, including the Salem County Sheep and Wool Festival and the Cranberry Festival in Chatsworth, among many others. Niki has also been a guest speaker at local historical societies and knitting guilds and has taught at various local schools.
Michael Long
Michael Long will demonstrate beekeeping through a live bee demonstration hive and display of beekeeping equipment. He is the owner and operator of Uriah Creek Apiaries in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, and has been a beekeeper for seven years. He is a member of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association and has served as president of the South Jersey Beekeepers Association. Michael is also a founding member of the Gloucester County 4H Beekeeping Club and an award-winning mead maker.
Martha Moreira
Martha Moreira will be demonstrating how to prepare popular Garifuna foods, including fried fish, darasa, and bundiga. Born in Punta Gorda, Belize, she is well known in her community for her cooking and her passion for Garifuna culture.
Luznerida Rosado
Luznerida Rosado will be demonstrating Garifuna doll making. Creating art has always been a large part of her life, and she has experimented with many different materials and colors. She holds a B.S. in Graphic Design from Touro College and a M.A. in graphic design from NYIT. Luznerida has been a doll maker for three years.