Caribbean Connected people, Ties then and now Exhibition Magazine CARIBBEAN TIES By Corinne Hofman, Jorge Ulloa Hung & Tibisay Sankatsing Nava Introduction The colonization of the Americas is one of the most transformative but neglected episodes in world history. The Caribbean was the port of entry to a universe of wealth that allowed for the construction of the largest colonial empire of the 16th century. Corinne Hofman is the corresponding project leader of ERC-NEXUS 1492. Her The indigenous peoples of the Caribbean were the research is highly multidisciplinary and first in the Americas to have suffered the impact of centers around mobility and exchange, colonial encounters, and inter-cultural Spanish invasions. dynamics. Her projects aim to contribute to the valorization of heritage in the culturally The Caribbean was the first important role and impact of and geopolitically diverse Caribbean. place where Amerindian-African- the first peoples of the region European intercultural dynamics throughout the history of were played out. Particularly in colonization. This has been further the Greater Antilles, the Spanish exacerbated by the strong divide experimented and developed that exists between pre-colonial strategies of conquest which archaeology and investigations of turned out to be essential to the the colonial period, and has clearly gradual expansion of their control led to the disregard of indigenous over the rest of the continental cultural legacy in today’s Jorge Ulloa Hung is a researcher in the Americas. Although indigenous multicultural Caribbean society. NEXUS1492 project, Museo del Hombre Caribbean peoples were at the Dominicano and INTEC. He studies changes center of the first waves of in material culture in relation to social and contact, they became largely cultural landscapes, as well as indigenous invisible within colonial narratives. legacies in current Caribbean cultures. Instead, these narratives shifted their attention to the growing conflict between colonial powers, the emergence of the plantation system, and the consequent intensification of the African slave trade. The marginalization of Caribbean Tibisay Sankatsing Nava is the project indigenous peoples in colonial coordinator of the international Caribbean narratives, in contrast to the Ties exhibition. She focuses on co-creation ‘great’ civilizations of the Maya, and the co-production of research. Inca and Aztec, has obscured the 1 CARIBBEAN TIES NEXUS1492: New World encounters in The present exhibit - Caribbean Ties, a globalizing world is a project funded Connected People Then and Now - is by the European Research Council and is a joint effort that reflects the complex based upon many years of research and diversity that existed in the Caribbean mutual collaboration with partnering archipelago before the arrival of institutions throughout the Caribbean. Europeans and which remains a vibrant The project addresses the impacts of reality in the region today. The exhibition colonial invasion, exploitation, and the is developed through international transformation on Caribbean cultures collaboration with over 20 partners across and societies. Furthermore, the project the Caribbean and Europe. The main seeks to increase the historical awareness, themes, presented internationally in protection, and safeguarding of the museums and community centers across tangible and intangible heritage of the the region, are expanded with locally Caribbean region. relevant content in each country. The design of the exhibition is a state-of-the- This transdisciplinary project brings art modular concept, which allows each together international researchers, host partner to select the appropriate institutes, NGOs, governmental module for their space constraints, local organizations, and local communities. context, interests and budget. It addresses major themes, including transformations in landscapes, health, Caribbean Ties features the results of foodways, funerary practices, migration, the latest scientific research undertaken mobility and exchange, and material by the NEXUS1492 project. Combining culture repertoires. It also focuses on oral local, regional, and global perspectives, traditions, the resilience of indigenous the exhibition focuses on the connections cultural and religious practices, legislation, between past and present indigenous heritage management, museum cultures and our current multi-ethnic collections, and education. communities, and as such explores the living and current impact of indigenous “The exhibition focuses on heritage the connections between The exhibition opens in 2019 across 15 past and present indigenous Caribbean and European nations. It is presented in Spanish, English, French, cultures and our current Dutch, Creole, and Papiamento. The multi-ethnic communities.” structure of the exhibit follows a narrative over four interrelated themes: NEXUS1492 uses cutting edge methods 1. Multicultural landscapes, and techniques (e.g. ancient DNA, isotope, 2. Travel, migration, exchange, paleobotany, use-wear analysis, forensic 3. Changing diets and beliefs, and studies, remote sensing, and network 4. The future of the past. science) and develops new analytical tools to understand the transformation With the present exhibition, the of indigenous cultures and societies at NEXUS1492 team and partnering the advent of the European invasion. institutions hope to engage the general Knowledge exchange and public outreach public and contribute to the consciousness are at the fore of NEXUS1492. The project and safeguarding of an indigenous also aims to contribute to the current heritage which is shared by all of us. Sardo Sutherland, Kalinago from Saint societal debates on decolonization, Vincent, participating in the experimental inter-cultural dynamics, inclusivity, social construction of the Argyle village on Saint cohesion, identity, and climate change. Vincent in 2016. Photo: Menno Hoogland. 2 3 CARIBBEAN TIES Construction of an indigenous house at the archaeological site of Argyle with members of the Garifuna community from Greiggs. Cayo village, Argyle, Saint Vincent. Photo: Menno Hoogland. Caribbean Ties The Caribbean is home to over 40 million people. Every island and the neighboring mainland has their own languages, traditions, and landscapes. Between 8000 and 6000 years ago, the first indigenous peoples, also known as Amerindians, moved from South and Central America into the islands. Thereafter, the archipelago was populated by communities related to each other through family and social networks of travel, migration and exchange. When Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492, a brutal history of colonization began. The indigenous societies were dramatically uprooted, their peoples were enslaved and exposed to war, disease and involuntary mass relocation. The exploitation of the Caribbean helped transform Europe into the world’s economic and political center of power. New relationships were created from the mix of Amerindians, Europeans, enslaved Africans, Jewish people and later indentured laborers from Asia. This is the origin of today’s multicultural Caribbean. Scientific research reinforces the importance of the Caribbean for world history. Archaeology and the study of contemporary cultural practices highlight the indigenous voices. This heritage remains vibrantly present in Caribbean life today. Caribbean Ties invites you to explore the role that the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean played in global history and continue to play today. 4 5 CARIBBEAN TIES Multicultural landscapes The indigenous Caribbean was inhabited by peoples who spoke Arawakan and Cariban languages, with loan words from Warao, Tol, and Chibchan and Tupian languages. The European colonizers and later scientists used names such as Arawak/Taíno and Carib to erroneously label the peoples of the islands as peaceful versus warlike. But we know now that these labels, still present in schoolbooks, are incorrect and misleading. During colonization, indigenous peoples Indigenous societies were gradually from Central America and the mainland destroyed and their social networks Caribbean were translocated and disrupted. However, survivors resisted and enslaved. Together with the displaced managed to integrate into the colonial population of the islands and enslaved system. The indigenous world is still Africans they were forced to work in the remembered and forms a shared legacy pearl fisheries and goldmines, and made within today’s multicultural landscape. to cultivate fields and build towns and forts for the Spanish colonial enterprise. According to scientific There are many indi- Did Columbus discover The Caribbean islands In this exhibition, the research, more than genous words that we the Americas? The word served as a base for word ‘indigenous’ is 20% of the indigenous still use today. Think ‘discovery’ is still used anti-colonial resistance used to refer to the peoples in the Carib- of originally Arawakan today, as if this region by their indigenous in- diverse groups of bean were not born on words like hurricane, and its peoples did not habitants. In the Lesser people who lived in the the islands where they canoe, barbecue, and exist before Europe Antilles for example, the region before European were buried. Just like hammock, or Cariban found out about them. mountains of Dominica invasion. Indigenous is today, migration was words such as papaya Its continued use ne- provided refuge for also used for the peo- always an important and morrocoy (turtle).