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The Know Your Caribbean Podcast

Bad Gyal Stories - Women in Resistance Post Emancipation

Celebrating the unknown and uncelebrated histories of women and resistance in the Caribbean. Emancipation and the apprenticeship period was not a 'lighter' version of enslavement for many as we were made to believe. How did Caribbean women resist? Find out here.

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  • Jumbies, Indentured Labour, and Wizards of Saint Vincent

    43:12|
    Continuing of our interpretation of Charles Day's book - Five Years in the West Indies, we head to Saint Vincent to hear a detailed description of an Igbo stilt walker, jumbles, life of indentured labourers and much more about Caribbean customs we still have today,See Below for further reading notes : https://thevincentian.com/a-brief-historical-overview-of-the-portuguese-in-st-vincent-and-the-grenad-p20809-133.htm#:~:text=Between%201845%20and%201850%2C%20about,only%20one%20or%20two%20years.
  • Wuk up and Landownership - life in 1850's Barbados

    42:59|
    Reading excerpts of Charles Day's book - Five years the West Indies, this highly racist account of life in the Caribbean unintentionally captures the beauty of Black people in the Caribbean. Show notes for references:Buckra - buckraNOUNbuckra, buckrasderogatory US, West Indian A white person, especially a man.OriginMid 18th century from Ibibio and Efik (m)bakara ‘European, master’.Music via on YouTube.
  • The Story of the Soucouyant and the Loogaroo

    24:31|
    She fall sunder many names, from the Boo Hag in the Carolinas, the Old Higue or Ole Haig in Guyana, Asema in Suriname, Soucouyant in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad, Martinique, Guadeloupe and more, even Louisiana. But who is she? Let's hear some stories about the elusive Soucouyant, closing off the episode with a a powerful story of resistance
  • Junkanoo Jam Session Part Two - The Bahamas

    17:34|
    In our second instalment of the Junkanoo Jam series, we take a look at Junkanoo in the Bahamas.(see Jamaican Junkanoo in part 1) The largest Junkanoo parade in the world, glitzy, glamorous, large and in charge. But what are the fundamentally African roots of Junkanoo in The Bahamas? Let's see where underneath the gold and glitter are sparks of resistance.
  • Obeah, Mermaids and Magic

    51:33|
    Touching on many topics, from how descendants of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean worshipped Mami Wata/ Mama Dlo, danced the 'Calenda' and Bele, and how rain was conjured out of nowhere in the heights of droughts.Excerpts from the book 'Obeah and Witchcraft in the West Indies' by Hesketh J Bell.Featured Kalinda music by : Red Drum Drumming - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMwyhjknOAkBele Music from Martinique by : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IslellMtIz8&t=464s
  • Life in a Slave Market in New Orleans

    09:17|
    A podcast minis ode, extending from our love story series, where enslaved people came from the Caribbean to New Orleans, what was it like in the slave markets. Some things you may never imagine being heard or said.
  • Junkanoo Jam Session Part One - Jamaica

    39:28|
    Junkanoo is an African centred festival found across many areas in the Caribbean, Central America and even parts of the USA. Found specifically during Christmas time, like much of our masquerade it is rooted in resistance, African spiritual and cultural practice and anti-colonial intent. Dying in some areas and flourishing in others. For part one of our Junkanoo Jam Sessions we head to the root of Junkanoo - Jamaica. Here we uncover the history and spiritual significance of a dying Jamaican Christmas time culture.Kenneth Bilby Essay:https://brill.com/view/journals/nwig/84/3-4/article-p179_1.xml?language=enFeatured Junkanoo music:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owJ_iy_79d8
  • Resistance and Revenge in the Caribbean

    45:55|
    Contrary to popular belief, acts of resistance occurred across the Caribbean during the era of slavery. This episode features 4 stories of revenge from two Caribbean islands, an insight into enslaved African spiritual beliefs, and how revenge was a bittersweet response to slavery.