DANCE (Text by Felicia Nunez, Darius Avila; Roy Cayetano )
Garifuna music and dance are closely related. It is seldom possible to speak of one without the other. In fact the name used for each type of dance is also the same name given to the type of music associated with it. For this reason, the music and the dances are usually treated together.
Songs and singing permeate just about every facet of Garifuna life. As a consequence, there is a wide variety of songs covering every mood, and circumstance imaginable. There are certain types of songs that are associated with work, some with play, some with dance and some that are reserved for prayer or ritual use.
Punta: the most popular type of Garifuna music. Most popular dance, performed at wakes and other events. During funerals, Garifuna gather at the home of the deceased to dance the punta. Not only do they dance and play music to ease the transition of the deceased from this world to the next, but also, to bring some joy and happiness to the remaining family . Dancing as couples, men and women try to outdo each other. Punta Songs are written by men and women.The tempo is upbeat and fast paced. This type of music is normally played at parties and other social events. It is danced by making swift twists of the waist.
Hunguhungu – A circular dance similar to the sacred dance of Dugu, the Garifuna feast for the ancestors. Drums play a simple three – beat rhythm and everyone sings in unison. The dance to the rhythm is a circular dance danced by shuffling the feet and swaying from side to side.
Combination – Alternating of Punta and Hunguhungu rhythms
Wanaragua – Also known as Johnkunnu or ” John Canoe” this masked dance was once performed throughout the Caribbean at Christmastime. In Belize, parties of Johnkunnu dancers dressed in decorated head dresses, knee rattles , and masks go from house to house, collecting payment for entertainment. Wanaragua masks were once made of basketry, but are now made from a metal screen, painted with a stylised face. Wanaragua songs are composed and led by men and danced in thoroughly African style. Some costumes include a skirt, completing the female disguise. The drummers drum to the dance of the dancer. The dance, which is very flashy, is characterized by strong knee and open arm movements.
Abaimahani – This semi-sacred women’s song is chanted without instruments. Standing in a line, linked by their little finger, women dance rhythmically to an irregular meter.
Matamuerte – This mime dance depicts a group finding a body on the beach and poking it to see if the person is alive, often with too much enthusiasm. The dance is performed with a rhythmic background of the drums, common among the garinagu dances. Matamuerte is a humorous dance that conveys the image of people coming through a body on a beach and getting into it to see if he’s alive or dead.
Gunjai – A graceful, dignified social dance, in which each man dances with each woman in turn. The European influence can be seen in the Gunjai dance as it’s known in Honduras and Belize and Quadrille in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It is described as a graceful dignified social dance, in which each man dances with each woman in turn.
Charikanari – In this dance, a hunter meets up with the ladies man and a cow. He started courting the woman, the cow gets jealous and chases him. The CHARIKANARI “Two Foot Cow” is a fun dance involving a man dressed in a cow-shaped face with a larger-than-life rare end added on to emphasize the dancing movements. It is a mocking dance of the past slave owners’ attire and mannerisms as they dance throughout the streets.
Chumba – a polyrhthmic song , danced with individualised solo. The chumba is another dance performed by women, and done to a three-beat rhythm within the circle. Some Garifuna scholars claim it is danced as a defiant reminder of the days when women were the sexual subjects of the colonizers, and also as a form of protest against slavery in the sugar industry.(Amy Serrano ) – When dancing to this music, the dancer makes movements that depict the performance of a chore, task or some aspect of Garifuna life.
Paranda – In a sense, comparable to “Blues” music because the lyrics gives stories of death, life struggles, personal experiences etc. It is played at a slower pace than Punta and is danced by making forward and backward movements of the feet and body. This music is also played at parties.
Garifuna dances were not originally intended for a stage where the audience sits in an auditorium and the dancers perform on a stage. In their natural cultural context there is no distinction between audience and performer. In a ninth night wake, for instance, we find the drummers with the main singers standing behind them and the other people standing around so that there is a circular space available for dancing in front of the drummers. There is a certain fluidity so that the individual can participate to the extent that he or she wishes. Everyone can join in the singing, the two dancers in the ring keep changing as the man or the woman steps back into the crowd and is replaced by another who may have just been standing around or sporadically joining in the singing as the songs that he or she likes are sung.
For every type of dance there is a corresponding type of song, which bears the same name. In addition, it is generally felt that the dancer should always, whenever possible, join in the singing because only so can the best performance possible be assured. In other words, the performance is usually at a higher level when the dancer knows and likes the song and can join in the singing – singing for his feet, as it is referred to.
The hüngühüngü, punta, gunjai and the paranda are what can be characterized as ordinary dances as the dancer has the usual relationship with the musician. The dancer listens to the music and dances accordingly. Another set, namely the sambai, the chumba and the Wanaragua are unusual in that the dancer dictates the patterns that the lead drummer (primero drummer) plays. In these dances the drummer has to have a clear view of the dancer’s feet and translates the movements into sound.
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES:
Over the years , commencing in 2004 Garifuna dance workshops have been organised by the Garifuna Heritage Foundation supported by the Ministry of Culture with the aim of teaching young children the various Garifuna dances. Dance teachers have been brought from Belize and various parts of the United States to conduct Dance workshops. Of note is the HABINAHA workshops held in 2011 and 2023 with noted Dance teacher , Mrs. Eleanor Bullock supported by drummer and musician Mr. James Lovell
Months of the year Garifuna Phrases
January- Asinaù Buiti achülürüni-WELCOME
February-Marirubanu Saragu nigundan nasubudirúnibu –Nice to Meet You!
March- Baguma Ka biri? – What is your name?
April- Isura ________ níribei. –My name is ________.
May- Sirirugati Narihubadibu haruga. –I’ll see you tomorrow.
June-Wareidi Buiti Binafin. – Good morning.
July- Ebedimu Gúndatina narihinibou. – I am glad to see you.
August- Mube Ida biangi? How are you?
September- Lubunigiri Magadientina. –I am fine.
October- Urawa Buiti rabounweyu- Good afternoon.
November- Yabura Ka weyu uguñe? –What day is today?
December- Lugumu Irumu Ayó! Dei ariñoun. –Good bye! Until later.
