tibonanj

Latest Posts by tibonanj

Old and recent photos of UWI Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

The administration building was designed in the shape of an Akan stool, a West African symbol of cultural identity and ancestral wisdom. It was commissioned by Sir Hilary Beckles to reflect a collective will to reconnect with African heritage and envision future bonds rooted in that legacy.

In the 1970s, excavations at the Newton Slave Burial Ground uncovered the grave of a man believed to be a healer or spiritual figure. He was buried with powerful objects: metal jewelry, an iron knife, and a short-stemmed clay pipe likely made in Ghana.

Among his burial items was a necklace made from a mix of beads, some with fascinating origins.

One glass bead, made with European powder glass, was probably crafted in Ghana.

Another, a cylindrical carnelian bead, came from Cambay, India ; a region known for carnelian bead production since the first millennium. These beads were traded through East Africa, across the Sahara, and into West Africa.

Other elements of the necklace could have been acquired in Barbados, but together they reflect a deep continuity of African cultural traditions in the Caribbean.

Scholar Jerome Handler used ethnographic sources from West Africa to interpret the necklace, and strongly argued that the man was likely seen as an obeah or healer by the enslaved community at Newton.

This burial is one of the most powerful archaeological cases for the survival of African spiritual identity through the horrors of the Middle Passage and slavery.

Barbados Heritage District, honoring memory, land and spirit. Designed by world-renowned architect Sir David Adjaye. It will be built next to Newton Slave Burial Ground, the oldest and largest slave cemetery ever found in Barbados. The site will include a memorial, a museum, a global research center, and spaces for performances and reflection.It’s part of a national project called ROAD (Reclaiming Our Atlantic Destiny), which aims to reshape Barbados’identity and economy by making it a central place for learning about Atlantic slavery, from the Caribbean, not just from the West. Barbados actually holds the second largest collection of slave records after the UK. One key part of the project is to digitize these archives and give access to researchers, families, and future generations. But not everything has gone smoothly. Some activists, spiritual leaders, and museum workers protested the construction, saying it disrespected the sacred nature of the burial ground.Now, discussions are ongoing to create cultural and spiritual guidelines.There’s also talk of founding a spiritual university, in collaboration with Codrington College, to show how different faiths and traditions can live together. The Newton Burial Ground itself is powerful: about 1,000 enslaved people were buried there, between 1660 and 1820.They were laid to rest by their families and communities, often with rituals inspired by African traditions.It’s the only untouched slave cemetery ever excavated in the Caribbean.The artefacts and human remains found here tell us stories we couldn’t get from written documents alone. This project has the potential to transform how we understand slavery, heritage and identity. It also reminds us that healing history must include respect, spirit and the voices of the people.

Terno dos Reis, Henry John Drewal, January 5 1998. Madison Libraries Terno dos Reis (Day of the Kings) festivals are celebrated annually during the christmas season. The January 6th feast commemorates the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem bearing gifts for the Christ child. Brazilian celebrations include processions in which community members dress in costumes, dance, play music, and carry banners. This Terno festival took place on January 5, 1998 in Liberdade, Salvador.

My photos : Barbados, 2022

I created this blog to share resources about my research work and connect with others who are interested in the theme of African material culture in Caribbean. In a few days, I'll be heading to Barbados for a research mission. It's the most exciting part of the journey : being fully immersed in the field. I can't wait to share photos and moments with locals, researchers, and artists ! I also really want to share a few moments at the Rasta Temple, where an old Ras once taught me how to sculpt. I'm so looking forward to showing you all of this ! With Love.

The Gingerbread Houses of Haïti : Between Heritage and Community After the Haitian Revolution, a new architectural style emerged : the Gingerbread Houses. Designed to break away from French colonial architecture, these homes still drew inspiration from European styles, adapting and reinterpreting them to fit the Haitian climate and aesthetic. Initially, they were built for the elite, who resided in these grand homes, while the general population incorporated certain architectural elements into their own houses. However, beyond their elite origins, these homes have also become spaces of exchange, culture, and resistance. The iconic dancer and choreographer Viviane Gauthier transformed her Gingerbread house into a meeting place for artists, musicians, and dancers ; a space of sharing and transmission deeply rooted in Haiti’s popular and African heritage. This communal way of life, based on solidarity and collective support, has been present in Haiti since the forced arrival of enslaved Africans, particularly the Bossales, who maintained strong community structures. This same philosophy of home-as-community can be found in Edna Brodber’s novel Nothing’s Mat, which explores the idea of the house as a place of gathering, knowledge, and cultural continuity. It deeply resonates with me. When I return to Haiti, I dream of having a large house with a communal space ; a place for family, neighbors, and the village to come together for intellectual and creative activities. A home that is not just a shelter, but a living, breathing hub of culture and exchange. Would you live in a house like this ? How architecture shapes community life in your culture/place ?

Caribbean Vernacular Architecture, fretwork rooted in local or African history and symbolism.

See "Creole and vernacular architecture: embryonic syncretism in Caribbean cultural landscape", Patricia Elaine Green

Happy memory captured with my camera : friend who contemplates the city and walks in the streets of Santo Domingo passing by the Colmado corner.

Tomorrow I'm going to become a teacher, I'm going to do my first class. I can't wait! I have prepared everything. 

It's a big step for me. Once my thesis is finished, I want to become an anthropologist and historian of Caribbean societies. My dream is to do research, write on many subjects, transmit knowledge, make cultural films and many other projects!! 

I have so much gratitude to all those who have accompanied me and who are still with me.  Future.

Working on The Sacradness of the Mother and her Child give me joy !

Dans le vodoun ayitien, on dit que chaque humain marche avec son kò kadav = le corps matériel, son nanm = l'âme, son tibonanj, son gwobanang, ses lwa têt, ses mystères et ses anges. Le kò kadav est, entre autres, l'expression physique et actuelle de tout les ancêtres qui nous habitent. Quand je travaille sur les objets je me sens connectée à un tissage ancestral. Les objets sont plus que de simples ustensiles ou décorations. Ce sont des productions culturelles qui expriment des perceptions philosophiques, scientifiques, esthétiques et qui surtout témoignent de vie humaine !

Figure animalière sur une production culturelle du groupe Aluku, en Guyane. Le serpent est animal privilégié dans la cosmogonie des peuples Marons et Amérindiens de Guyane. Le serpent se retrouve régulièrement dans les productions artisanales et artistiques. Chez les Aluku, il est à la fois le symbole du féminin et du masculin. Plus largement dans les traditions afro-diasporique, comme dans le sèvi Ginen (vodoun ayitien), il peut être associé a des esprits ou des divinités. On retrouve aussi le symbole du serpent sur des productions matérielles du peuple Akan (Ghana).

Comparing perceptions of race in Latin America and the United States, the fundamental question posed is "why did Latin America not have black movements... [or] racial 'pride' that could spur such movements?" The common explanation is that state ideologies around racial mixing have served as a mechanism through which to deny the existence of racism.

Tatiana Flores, "Latinidad Is Cancelled: Confronting an Anti-Black Construct" (2021)

“Vodou means “spirit.” It’s a Fon [a people of Benin, formerly Dahomey] word. It’s like, in English you say “spirit”; in Spanish you say “espirito,” and in French you say “esprit.” But it’s all the same; this is what we are. Our bodies are made of pieces of dust, just made up of dust. Inside the body is a spirit. That’s the mystery. An ant is a mystery; the chicken is a mystery; plants are mysteries. All is spirit. Until we understand that and raise our consciousness to see that we are not only made of flesh, we remain prisoners. We must be conscious that we are spirit. That way we will know what possibilities we really have, what power we really have as people.”

— Mimerose Beaubrun, interview in Angels in the Mirror: Vodou Music of Haiti

Figures gardiennes de reliquaires du peuple Fang du Cameroun

Calao, oiseaux à cornes, production du peuple Sénoufo présent en Côte d'Ivoire et Mali.

Arme d'apparat. Elle a été réalisée à La Rochelle pour Andris Poucouta, macaye (premier ministre) et mafouque (ministre des relations commerciales) à Cabinda.

Omo Valley, Ethiopie

Roberto's alter in Perico, Cuba, image by Susan Matthews

Susan Matthews

Susan Matthews

Susan Matthews

Shepherd ,and his herd of black iron chameleons.

Lobi People, Burkina Faso

Oduduwa Hall of Obafemi Awolowo University, ile -ife, Nigeria.

Unidentified Edo artist, carved tusk, Benin kingdom, late-nineteenth century, ivory, 93 cm x 7 cm at baseRoyal Ontario Museum

flow state permits beautiful things to happen.

Art for Sale at Local Art Fair, Joshua Forrest, 1984. Madison Libraries