An Ethnographer's View of the Haitian Culture
An Ethnographer 's View of the Haitian Culture
Haiti, a name that means "mountainous country," comes from the language of the Taino Indians who inhabited the island before European colonization. After independence in 1804, the name was taken by the military generals, many of them former slaves, who expelled the French and took possession of the colony then known as Saint Domingue. In 2000, 95 percent of the population was of African descent, and the remaining 5 percent mulatto and white. Some wealthy citizens think of themselves as French, but most residents identify themselves as Haitian and there is a strong sense of nationalism.( 1. qtd in CIA Factbook).
Haiti covers 10,714 square miles. It is located in the subtropics on the western third of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Caribbean, which it shares with the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic. The neighboring islands include Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Three-quarters of the terrain is mountainous; the highest peak is the Morne de Selle. The climate is mild, varying with altitude. The mountains are full of calcium and carbonate rather than volcanic terrain and give way to different micro-climatic and soil conditions. A tectonic fault line runs through the country, causing devastating earthquakes. The island is also located within the Caribbean hurricane belt. The population has grown from 431,140 at independence in 1804 to an estimated 8 million in 2000. Haiti is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. According to research completed in December 1999 by the Federal Research Division, until the 1970s, over 80 percent of the population lived in rural areas, and today, over 60 percent continue to live in provincial villages and hamlets scattered across the rural landscape. The capital city is Port-au-Prince, which is five times larger than the next biggest city, Cape Haitian. (2. pg. 252). Orientation is one 's place and direction relative to one 's surroundings; bearing,
Haiti, a name that means "mountainous country," comes from the language of the Taino Indians who inhabited the island before European colonization. After independence in 1804, the name was taken by the military generals, many of them former slaves, who expelled the French and took possession of the colony then known as Saint Domingue. In 2000, 95 percent of the population was of African descent, and the remaining 5 percent mulatto and white. Some wealthy citizens think of themselves as French, but most residents identify themselves as Haitian and there is a strong sense of nationalism.( 1. qtd in CIA Factbook).
Haiti covers 10,714 square miles. It is located in the subtropics on the western third of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Caribbean, which it shares with the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic. The neighboring islands include Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Three-quarters of the terrain is mountainous; the highest peak is the Morne de Selle. The climate is mild, varying with altitude. The mountains are full of calcium and carbonate rather than volcanic terrain and give way to different micro-climatic and soil conditions. A tectonic fault line runs through the country, causing devastating earthquakes. The island is also located within the Caribbean hurricane belt. The population has grown from 431,140 at independence in 1804 to an estimated 8 million in 2000. Haiti is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. According to research completed in December 1999 by the Federal Research Division, until the 1970s, over 80 percent of the population lived in rural areas, and today, over 60 percent continue to live in provincial villages and hamlets scattered across the rural landscape. The capital city is Port-au-Prince, which is five times larger than the next biggest city, Cape Haitian. (2. pg. 252). Orientation is one 's place and direction relative to one 's surroundings; bearing,
Bibliography: Listing: “Haiti.” CIA World Fact Book, 2010. Central Intelligence Agency. July 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html. Federal Research Division, Ed. Helen Chopin Metz, Dominican Republic and Haiti. Library of Congress, 1999. p 251-492 Cesar Gavria Trujillo, Secretary General of the Organization of American States http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/speech.asp?sCodigo=04- (N.D.) N.P. Crumley, Carole L 1997. Towards a locational definition of a state systems of settlement. American Anthropologist p 67-77 http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Haiti N.P. (N.D.) N.Pag. Spradely, James McCurdy, David W. “Glossary” Conformity and Conflict (2008) Boston, New York, San Fransisco, Mexico City, Montreal, Toronto, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Cape Town, Sydney: Pearson education, Inc. 2008 p. 1-451