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Culture and Customs of Haiti
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J. Michael Dash
Book Code: GR0498
ISBN: 0-313-30498-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-30498-9
200 pages, maps, photos
Greenwood Press
Publication: 10/30/2000
List Price: $57.95 (UK Sterling Price: £31.95)
Discount Price: $28.98 Greenwood Press Fall 2008 Backlist Sale. Use code 0826. Save 50%. Ends 12/31/2008.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Paperback Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • [D]ash has given us a book which is worth reading. If it raises more questions than it answers, that is in the very nature of his subject: the complex, elusive and invariably intellectually intractable panorama of Haitian history.
    —Caribbean Studies     June 2003
  • [A]ppropriate for both public and academic library collections.
    —Reference and User Services Quarterly     Summer 2001
Description: Haiti is the only country that is considered Latin American but has a language and culture that are predominantly French and a population that is primarily of African descent. It is also the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and a country of extremes. Culture and Customs of Haiti fleshes out the evolution of this diverse society through discussions of the Haitian people, history, religion, social customs, media, literature and language, and performing and visual arts. This much-needed resource gives students and other readers a balanced picture of a Caribbean nation known in the United States mainly for its "boat people," the Duvalier dictatorships, and "voodoo." Culture and Customs of Haiti begins with an overview of the mountainous island that seemed forbidding to European colonizers. Historical periods, including French colonization, U.S. occupation in the early 20th century, Independence and the Duvaliers' reigns, until today, are reviewed and provide the framework for the volume. A chapter on the people and society details the pride of the black state that managed the only successful slave revolution in history. The extremes of society from the elite to the peasantry and slum dwellers are depicted, along with Haitians in diaspora. Religion in Haiti, with the strong amalgamation of Roman Catholicism and vaudou, a West African import, is then explained. A "Social Customs" chapter notes the joy that is found in such an economically depressed culture. The media and literature and language chapters necessarily unfold in the context of Haiti's political history. A section on writing in Creole is especially intriguing. Finally, chapters on the performing arts and visual arts evoke the energy and color of the people in such forms as vaudou jazz and dance, contemporary rara rock, and the folkloric influence on Haitian painting. A chronology and glossary supplement the text.
Table of Contents:
  • Series Foreword
  • Context
  • The People and Society
  • Religion
  • Social Customs
  • Mass Media and Cinema
  • Literature and Language
  • The Performing Arts
  • The Visual Arts and Architecture
  • Index
LC Card Number: 00-033126
LCC Class: GN564
Dewey Class: 306
PDF Catalogs:
Sale Catalog 2008.pdf
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