Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-6-2012 The Anagó Language of Cuba Maria J. Concordia Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI12111902 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Concordia, Maria J., "The Anagó Language of Cuba" (2012). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 732. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/732 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida THE ANAGÓ LANGUAGE OF CUBA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN STUDIES by Maria Concordia 2012 To: Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and Sciences This thesis, written by Maria Concordia, and entitled The Anagó Language of Cuba, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Astrid Arrarás _______________________________________ Jean Robert Cadely _______________________________________ Sherry Johnson, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 6, 2012 The thesis of Maria Concordia is approved. _______________________________________ Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and Sciences _______________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2012 ii © Copyright 2012 by Maria Concordia All rights reserved. iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Jorge Morales Rodriguez Oggun Lana and Miriam Licea Jimenez Ochun Migua, two Lucumí elders who wholeheartedly supported my studies, and to my parents Joseph J. Concordia and Teresa Marie Concordia Campaneli. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Jean Robert Cadely, Dr Astrid Arrarás, and especially my major professor Dr. Sherry Johnson. I would also like to thank Dr. Tometro Hopkins of the Florida International University linguistics department, Dr. Joseph Murphy of Georgetown University and Professor Michael Spiro of Indiana University. Finally, I would like to thank Rosa E. Parrilla for her patience and support. v ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS THE ANAGÓ LANGUAGE OF CUBA by Maria Concordia Florida International University, 2012 Miami, Florida Professor Sherry Johnson, Major Professor This thesis investigates the socio-linguistic factors that led to the emergence of a new language in Cuba known as Anagó. This language emerged from contact between multiple dialects of the West African Yoruba language and Spanish. Language contact between the Yoruba language and Spanish took place in Cuba beginning in the nineteenth century after the introduction of large numbers of Yoruba speakers into Cuba during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This thesis argues against the opinion that Anagó is simply a corrupted and imperfect form of Yoruba. Instead, it maintains that Anagó is a new language that emerged in Cuba and became a functional vehicle for the transmission of ideas and culture. Additionally, this study will present evidence that the Anagó speaking community was a constituent part of Cuban society since the nineteenth century, and is therefore an inextricable part of Cuban cultural patrimony. Twentieth century examples of Anagó language are examined as evidence of a vital Anagó speaking transnational community. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 Key Definitions ........................................................................................................4 Contribution to the Field ..........................................................................................9 Research Design .....................................................................................................12 Literature Review...................................................................................................16 II. SOCIO-POLITICAL FACTORS ................................................................................26 Socio-political Factors in Africa and the Caribbean ..............................................26 Yoruba Speakers Arrive in Cuba ...........................................................................30 The Anagó Speaking Community in the Late Nineteenth Century .......................34 III. CUBAN INSTITUTIONS AND IDENTITY ............................................................40 Cabildos de Nación ................................................................................................40 Plantation Based Pre-Casa Templos ......................................................................46 Pan-African Sociedades de Color ..........................................................................49 Lucumí Identity in Twentieth Century Casa-Templos ..........................................50 Ethnographic Studies in the Twentieth Century ....................................................53 Secular Expressions ...............................................................................................57 IV. LANGUAGE ANALYSIS ........................................................................................65 Description of the Anagó Language ......................................................................65 Linguistic Analysis of Anagó ................................................................................69 The Source Language - Yoruba ............................................................................70 Classifying Anagó Speakers as Bi-lingual .............................................................76 Interview Analysis .................................................................................................77 V. MOTIVATIONS AND TRANSMISSION .................................................................81 Motivation for Language Preservation ..................................................................81 The Power of Speech -- Bara .................................................................................85 The Akpuon and Obá Oriáte, Key Transmitters of Ritual Language ....................88 VI. RESULTS ..................................................................................................................100 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................100 LIST OF REFERENCES .................................................................................................104 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................117 vii Chapter I Introduction The history of the Anagó language in Cuba is definitively tied to the importation of thousands of Africans into Cuba during the trans-Atlantic slavery experience. Before this event, Anagó did not exist in Cuba or in Africa. Slavery was the seminal event that created a variety of communities and sub-communities in Cuba, each with its own distinct language or dialect. One of these communities was created from the influx of Yoruba speakers into Cuba in the mid and late nineteenth century. The community of Yoruba speakers and their Creole descendents in Cuba are referred to in the literature as the Lucumí1 or Anagó speech community. The origin of these terms is fully explained in the section on key definitions which follows this introduction. The Anagó community of speakers has preserved many cultural and religious concepts of the Yoruba ethnic groups that were brought to Cuba from West Africa. Thus the Anagó language is inextricably tied to the legacy of Yoruba traditional religion in Cuba. The Anagó language is an essential language for religious and ritual communication in the religion known as Lucumí, Santería or Regla de Ocha.2 The origin, characteristics and evolution of this community of speakers is the subject of this study. My thesis will critique the viewpoint of John Mason (1992), Wande Abimbola (1997), and Miguel Ramos (2011) who have stated that the Anagó language is a corrupted and incomplete version of Yoruba. Instead my study follows the logic of linguists such as Noam Chomsky (1986, 2000, 2006, 2012) and Steven Pinker (1994) who offer non-prescriptionist3 views of language. Instead of passing judgment on the 1 form used by the Lucumí community to communicate and preserve their culture and religion, my study will present the position that the Anagó language is a functional vehicle for the transmission of ideas and culture and is an irreplaceable cultural component of the Lucumí community. Additionally, the present study will present evidence that the Anagó speaking community was a constituent part of Cuban society since the nineteenth century, and thus is an inextricable part of Cuban cultural patrimony. My thesis offers a socio-linguistic overview of the events which shaped the Anagó speaking community, beginning in the nineteenth century, continuing into the twentieth century and up to the present day. The study will examine samples of Anagó language from different periods in the development