A central theme in Caribbean literature is the absence of regional or national identity (Povey 275). Also Edward Kamau Brathwaite, one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon, focuses on transcending and healing the fragmented culture of the dispossessed people, mainly the descendants of West African slaves, living in the Caribbean region. In his poetry, he reexamines the history of the black diaspora in search for cultural wholeness in present-day Caribbean life. Brathwaite’s aim thereby is to offer a corrective to these people’s problems of dispossession of history and of language.
In his first major work The Arrivants, Brathwaite’s overall goal is to enact a trajectory from the slave experience in the Caribbean colonies to Africa and back again to the islands, and thereby explore the African roots as well as the contemporary situation of the African diaspora in the Caribbean. Thus, he is able to illustrate some important African values, considered to be long-lost, in today’s Caribbean society and moreover, he is able to portray the affiliation of these black people to the Caribbean culture.
Accordingly, based on Edward Brathwaite’s poetry volume The Arrivants, the importance of West African people to the Caribbean culture and especially their imported African elements, such as language, dance, song, and ritual-artistic expressions, will be outlined in this paper to depict their strong influence in the Caribbean and to support their strong survival identities. Therefore, first of all, the social and cultural history as well as the languages of the Caribbean are described to help the reader better understand the contemporary historical background to which Brathwaite’s poetry refers. Subsequently, a brief overview of The Arrivants is given, to later on go into more detail by interpreting two of its poems, namely New World A-Coming and Caliban. In these poems, Brathwaite points out the brutal reality of historical deprivation in the New World and thus, the search of identity of African slaves for almost 300 years. But against this background, he later on emphasizes the desire for self-determination and the resistance of these black people, their newly developed African rituals and hence, their great influence on all aspects of Caribbean culture.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Historical Background of the Caribbean
2.1 Cultural and Social History
2.2 Language in the Caribbean
3. Interpretation of Brathwaite’s Poems
3.1 Brief Overview of The Arrivants
3.2 New World A-Comin’
3.3 Caliban
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the essential role of West African influences in shaping Caribbean identity and culture, as depicted in Edward Kamau Brathwaite’s poetry trilogy The Arrivants. It explores how, despite the trauma of the Atlantic Slave Trade, forced depersonalization, and colonial oppression, African descendants reclaimed their heritage through rituals, language, and artistic expression to establish a resilient, unique cultural identity.
- The historical and social context of the Caribbean region under colonial rule.
- The linguistic evolution of Caribbean creoles as a fusion of substrate and superstrate elements.
- The significance of the journey motif in Brathwaite’s portrayal of the African diaspora.
- Literary analysis of the poems "New World A-Comin’" and "Caliban" regarding themes of resistance and self-determination.
- The role of cultural rituals, such as the limbo dance and calypso, in fostering community and survival identities.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 New World A-Comin’
The second poem in Rights of Passage is called New World-A Comin’. It pictures the reality of historical deprivation in the New World and thus, broaches the issue of a rootless wandering of the African slaves; a journey which leads to exile.
Right in the beginning, the lack of identity of the African slaves is pictured: “helpless like this/ leader-/ less like this,/ heroless,” (Brathwaite 9). As already described on page three, slavery has alienated millions of people from their roots. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, Africans were used for trading and equated with things, such as manufactured goods or plantation products. Their identity was totally cut off: African slaves worked and lived in anonymity, social practices were forbidden or performed under supervision and they had no connection left to their homeland or families.
To emphasize the helplessness of the African slaves, Brathwaite repeats the above mentioned quote and amends it by the addition of well-known persons that are not able to help the black people: “[o] who now will help/ us, help-/ less, horse-/ less, leader-/ less, no/ hope, no/ (…) / Cortez to come,/ Prempeh imprisoned,/ (…) Asantewa bridled/ and hung” (Brathwaite 10). During the struggle for territories in the Ashanti region – today’s Ghana – with the British, Prempeh I., the King ruler of the Asante state of the Kingdom of Ashanti, was imprisoned by the British in 1896 (Davidson 97). Subsequently, one of the British leaders demanded the Golden Stool, the symbol of the Asante nation. Thus, Yaa Asantewa, the queen mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire, led the last Ashanti rebellion, known as the War of the Golden Stool, against British colonialism in 1900. During the rebellion, she was captured, ‘bridled and hung.’ Therefore, slave trade in the Ashanti region, today’s Ghana, occurred without supervision, the Africans had no one to fight for them because all African leaders were captured and killed. They were helplessly exposed to the brutality happening in this region. This is why Brathwaite also includes the Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés, the famous leader of the Spanish. The aim is to demonstrate that every nation had a leader, a person that campaigns for his/her nation, except the Africans, they were leaderless and helpless in the struggle of slavery. Probably this is also a reason why the Africans could be suppressed so easily.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the paper's focus on Edward Kamau Brathwaite’s poetry as a means to explore cultural identity and the influence of West African heritage in the Caribbean.
2. Historical Background of the Caribbean: This section provides a historical overview of colonization, the Atlantic Slave Trade, and the subsequent formation of the plantation economy and fugitive communities.
2.1 Cultural and Social History: This sub-chapter details the impact of the plantation system on African slaves and the emergence of resistant, clandestine cultural practices.
2.2 Language in the Caribbean: This sub-chapter examines the diaglossic structure of Caribbean society and the development of creole languages as reflections of the region's multilingual, colonial history.
3. Interpretation of Brathwaite’s Poems: This chapter transitions to a literary analysis, introducing Brathwaite’s trilogy as a study of the African diaspora’s journey and struggle for wholeness.
3.1 Brief Overview of The Arrivants: This sub-chapter provides an introduction to the thematic trilogy, focusing on the use of the journey motif and the quest for spiritual recovery.
3.2 New World A-Comin’: This sub-chapter analyzes the poem’s depiction of historical deprivation, the loss of roots, and the struggle of leaderless African slaves.
3.3 Caliban: This sub-chapter interprets the poem in the context of colonial legacy and the reclamation of identity through rituals like the limbo dance.
4. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the primary findings, emphasizing the resilience of African descendants and the enduring, transformative impact of their heritage on modern Caribbean culture.
Keywords
Caribbean literature, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, The Arrivants, Atlantic Slave Trade, cultural identity, African diaspora, creole, nation language, New World A-Comin’, Caliban, limbo dance, resistance, self-determination, postcolonialism, historical deprivation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental subject of this academic work?
The work explores the cultural and historical significance of West African influences in the Caribbean, specifically through the lens of Edward Kamau Brathwaite’s poetry.
What are the primary thematic fields addressed?
The paper covers the history of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the formation of creole languages, the impact of colonial trauma, and the survival of African traditions within Caribbean society.
What is the core objective of the research?
The primary objective is to demonstrate how Brathwaite’s poetry articulates the search for identity and the resistance of Afro-Caribbean people against historical depersonalization.
Which scientific methodology is employed in this paper?
The paper utilizes a literary analysis approach, contextualized by historical and sociological research regarding the Caribbean region and the African diaspora.
What topics are discussed in the main section of the paper?
The main section details the socio-historical background of the Caribbean, analyzes the linguistic development of creole languages, and offers a deep interpretation of the poems "New World A-Comin’" and "Caliban."
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Key terms include Caribbean identity, The Arrivants, African diaspora, postcolonial resistance, and the cultural synthesis represented in Brathwaite's work.
How does Brathwaite use the figure of "Caliban" in his poetry?
Brathwaite reclaims the Shakespearean symbol of Caliban to represent the exploited African slave, transforming the character into a revolutionary figure who actively shapes Caribbean history and culture.
What role does the limbo dance play in the poetry analysis?
The limbo dance is analyzed as a symbolic performance that allows slaves to "reverse" the trauma of the Middle Passage and recover a sense of identity and cultural continuity.
- Quote paper
- B.Ed. Lena Groß (Author), 2014, The indispensability of former West African people to the Caribbean culture, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/272886
