French Guiana seems like a nice, safe place to take the family. Its mix of culture is so abundant that the state does not have a defining group to associate with the land. If any one group is to be identified as the main inhabitants of French Guiana it would have to be the indigenous peoples or the Maroons. The French government has done an amazing job at running the country from a distance, allowing for the state of living and economy of French Guiana to be one of the most favorable in Latin America.
When it comes to blogging about French Guiana there is very little to speak of. There is minimal uprising of the people, no revolution, and for the most part all people are well off. For these reasons I have done my best to blog on all possible topics, but there is only so much. so my last blog is this; me talking about my blogging experience.
The most interesting things on French Guiana were the Maroon societies and the Devils Island. The Maroon Societies might possibly be the only group of people on the planet who have gone from western society to a primitive state. I have not heard of any anthropologists who have studied these societies and i am very interested to see what comes of them, and perhaps one day do some field work and study them.
The Devils Island might hold the record for horrific prison. Less than 10% of the original 3,000 convicts who applied for transfer from france survived their sentencing. Although this percent gradually increased with time, death and murder among prisoners was in excess for the entire period in which it was running.
Altogether this was a very interesting work and I am satisfied with the knowledge I have gained. Although this knowledge is satisfying I imagine that a different country would have allowed me to learn and write much more. if I were to be able to chose a second time, I would undoubtably choose a different country
Monday, May 20, 2013
Food
Food native to French Guiana, like many other aspects of this place, is a mixed up concoction of different cultures. Due to the atlantic ocean so close by, many courses comprise of seafood. An abundance of fruits and vegetables are also make their way to the plate. The flavor of these dishes are very peppery hot and well spiced up. Curry recipes are very common, as they can incorporate so many spiced out and spicy options. To sum up what their food might taste like, mix South America, Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Caribbean, Indonesian and creole up in a pot with a nice tropical twist.
Some common dishes:
Boullion d'aoura- a mix of crab, prawns, smoked fish, chicken and veggies. It is flavored with aurora fruit.
Fricassee- rice and beans served with wild game meat including paca, collared peccary and tapir
Some common dishes:
Fricassee- rice and beans served with wild game meat including paca, collared peccary and tapir
Music of French Guiana
The Diversity of French Guiana has formed many types of localized musical stiles including aleke, bigi pokoe, bushee negro and kaseko.
Aleke is a drum based music that arose duing the 1950's. it incorperates musical stylings simular to sala and merenge.
Bigi pokoe is a dance music native to French Guiana and Suriname. It is traditionally played with ony drums and maracas but as it has evolved, guitar, keyboard and other percussion instruments have been incorporated into it.
Bushee negro has many diferent types of musical stylings, it is identified as being the music of the Maroon societies.
Kaseko is music from Suriname, it is a fusion of African, European, and American Styles. Kaseko began as a switch dance music from when slavery was legal in these regions.
Aleke
Bigi pokoe
Kaseko
Aleke is a drum based music that arose duing the 1950's. it incorperates musical stylings simular to sala and merenge.
Bigi pokoe is a dance music native to French Guiana and Suriname. It is traditionally played with ony drums and maracas but as it has evolved, guitar, keyboard and other percussion instruments have been incorporated into it.
Bushee negro has many diferent types of musical stylings, it is identified as being the music of the Maroon societies.
Kaseko is music from Suriname, it is a fusion of African, European, and American Styles. Kaseko began as a switch dance music from when slavery was legal in these regions.
Aleke
Bigi pokoe
Kaseko
The Maroon People
The Maroon People of South America are the descendants of freed and runaway slaves from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Definition of the word maroon, which their name is derived, is "Leave (someone) in a trapped and inaccessible place."
When these slaves escaped or were freed they did not desire to mesh with those societies that enslaved them. they lived in the jungles, creating almost a new type of Indigenous group. Since slavery was abolished these Maroon societies have flourished, creating their own culture, language, and tradition.
Although the Maroons live within the vicinity of many native tribes, they rarely intermix in sexual relations or cultural customs. Although this independence from the natives exists their cultures have, to an extant, been shared in the long haul. The Maroon and indigenous cultures retain completely separate traditions and lifestyles resulting in a duality of some of the most interesting anthropological data in the world.
In French Guiana some members of the Maroon societies work for wages mostly as builders and fishermen. This introduction back into the western world is also allowing for a call to their civil rights and their territorial rights. Both the Maroon and indigenous peoples have begun to band together and organize themselves within the past few decades, and a call to their civil rights has been acknowledged.
The French Government for whatever reason have refused to take a consensus of neither the Maroon societies of the indigenous tribes, but it is believed that they could make up between 10 and 20% of the total population of French Guiana
When these slaves escaped or were freed they did not desire to mesh with those societies that enslaved them. they lived in the jungles, creating almost a new type of Indigenous group. Since slavery was abolished these Maroon societies have flourished, creating their own culture, language, and tradition.
Although the Maroons live within the vicinity of many native tribes, they rarely intermix in sexual relations or cultural customs. Although this independence from the natives exists their cultures have, to an extant, been shared in the long haul. The Maroon and indigenous cultures retain completely separate traditions and lifestyles resulting in a duality of some of the most interesting anthropological data in the world.
In French Guiana some members of the Maroon societies work for wages mostly as builders and fishermen. This introduction back into the western world is also allowing for a call to their civil rights and their territorial rights. Both the Maroon and indigenous peoples have begun to band together and organize themselves within the past few decades, and a call to their civil rights has been acknowledged.
Tourism
Tourism in french Guiana has been steadily increasing over the past decades and is steadily becoming a major source of income for the territory. Offering Beautiful, Caribbean-like beaches, sport fishing, Amazonian-like Jungles and ethnically diverse societies French Guiana has become one of the many Hawaii's of Europe.
Europe holds many Caribbean Islands including the French Antilles and The British Virgin Islands, due to the ownership of these highly desirable vacation spots, French Guiana has occasionally been overlooked. in the late 2000's the French government and French Guyanese previsionary government launched an open invitation to anyone desiring to create a tourism strategy for French Guiana.
French Guiana has recently jumped on the ecotourism bandwagon due to its large unpopulated areas which harbor lush, green expanses of flora and fauna filled jungle. Its vicinity to the Amazon River Basin harbors ecological entities native only to this region of the world.
Europe holds many Caribbean Islands including the French Antilles and The British Virgin Islands, due to the ownership of these highly desirable vacation spots, French Guiana has occasionally been overlooked. in the late 2000's the French government and French Guyanese previsionary government launched an open invitation to anyone desiring to create a tourism strategy for French Guiana.
French Guiana has recently jumped on the ecotourism bandwagon due to its large unpopulated areas which harbor lush, green expanses of flora and fauna filled jungle. Its vicinity to the Amazon River Basin harbors ecological entities native only to this region of the world.
The Perks of Being French
As stated in previous posts, French Guiana is a territory of France and as such holds a high quality of life and features less corruption than many of its Latin American Neighbors. Also stated previously, the Euro and French backing keeps the economy booming. But what other perks do the people of French Guiana receive?
For one thing all citizens of French Guiana are naturalized French citizens and vice versa. The French Guyanese people also enjoy their hand in the social security fund of France. This provides payments for work injury, unemployment, and maternity leave, as well as family allowances, old age, disability and survivor pension. Education is free and compulsory for children ages 6-16, and they are allowed to attend public universities in France.
The media in French Guiana, from television to newspapers, is free from Direct Government Control. Although licensing and subsidies induce considerable self-control.
For one thing all citizens of French Guiana are naturalized French citizens and vice versa. The French Guyanese people also enjoy their hand in the social security fund of France. This provides payments for work injury, unemployment, and maternity leave, as well as family allowances, old age, disability and survivor pension. Education is free and compulsory for children ages 6-16, and they are allowed to attend public universities in France.
The media in French Guiana, from television to newspapers, is free from Direct Government Control. Although licensing and subsidies induce considerable self-control.
Quality of Life
Due to French Guiana's colonial status with the french empire, French Guiana offers one of the highest qualities of life in Latin America, making it a popular spot for immigration. French Guiana's primary source of wealth comes from its space center. being the main space center for most of the European Union, it pulls in large sums of european wealth each year.
Because French Guiana is a territory of France their currency is the Euro which sets a high standard for all wage earning citizens. French Guiana is also policed as if it were a territory allowing for minimal corruption in both the police force and the provisional government.
Despite these high standards for those who have jobs, the unemployment rate of french guiana is on the rise and currently stands between 20 and 30 percent of the population.
Health care and acces to hospitals is also in issue here. Medical care is very limited and hospitals exist only in urban areas. There exists only one full-service hospital with a trauma center and intensive care units, and is located in the capital Cayenne.
Because French Guiana is a territory of France their currency is the Euro which sets a high standard for all wage earning citizens. French Guiana is also policed as if it were a territory allowing for minimal corruption in both the police force and the provisional government.
Despite these high standards for those who have jobs, the unemployment rate of french guiana is on the rise and currently stands between 20 and 30 percent of the population.
Health care and acces to hospitals is also in issue here. Medical care is very limited and hospitals exist only in urban areas. There exists only one full-service hospital with a trauma center and intensive care units, and is located in the capital Cayenne.
Cayenne City and Pepper
The cayenne pepper is arguable the most commonly used pepper in the world. used in and on everything from pizza to lemonade the cayenne packs a punch and holds a flavor specific to itself. amazingly enough the pepper is indigenous to only the region of French Guiana and is named after the territories' capital, Cayenne. The city is home to almost half of the population of French Guiana bringing in nearly all of the states economy. What more is there to say about the cayenne and Cayenne? how about a joke by yours truly?.. two peppers were in a bar in French Guiana, one pepper said to another, "man its really hot in here" the other pepper looked back and said "what do you expect" we are cayenne.
Devil's Island Prison
The Devil's Island located nine miles off of the mainland coast of French Guiana is the third largest island in the French Guiana territory.
Napoleon III established Devils Island as a penal colony in 1852, and it ran until 1953.
The Island was initially used to harbor prisoners stricken with leprosy but was later converted to hold mainly political prisoners. Devils Island Prison was notorious for its harsh conditions and extreem violence. Disease and prisoner on prisoner violence was so bad that only a fraction of the inmates sent to Devils Island survived their sentence and returned to France. Escape attempts were common, prisoners who were caught attempting escape were sentenced to harsh solitary confinement in complete darkness.
Several literary accounts of the hardships of Devils Island and escapes from the Island have been written, one which was adapted into the 1973 film Papillon.
Napoleon III established Devils Island as a penal colony in 1852, and it ran until 1953.
The Island was initially used to harbor prisoners stricken with leprosy but was later converted to hold mainly political prisoners. Devils Island Prison was notorious for its harsh conditions and extreem violence. Disease and prisoner on prisoner violence was so bad that only a fraction of the inmates sent to Devils Island survived their sentence and returned to France. Escape attempts were common, prisoners who were caught attempting escape were sentenced to harsh solitary confinement in complete darkness.
Several literary accounts of the hardships of Devils Island and escapes from the Island have been written, one which was adapted into the 1973 film Papillon.
Guiana Space Center
The Guiana Space Center is the main launch post of France and Europe. Guiana is a prime location for a space station due to its nearing the equator and it contains territories that are uninhabited.
The fact that it is located on the equator is necessary for escaping the earth gravitational pull. This is due to the extra velocity placed on eastward bound rockets.
Uninhabited territories are necessary as to falling derbies from launch failures cannot come in contact with populated areas.
The Guiana Space Station has been in operation since 1968 and has taken part in multiple manned and unmanned space flights.
The fact that it is located on the equator is necessary for escaping the earth gravitational pull. This is due to the extra velocity placed on eastward bound rockets.
Uninhabited territories are necessary as to falling derbies from launch failures cannot come in contact with populated areas.
The Guiana Space Station has been in operation since 1968 and has taken part in multiple manned and unmanned space flights.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Diversity in French Guiana
French Guiana is one of the most diverse states in Latin America and is continually taking in more and more immigrants. there are historical, social and physical reasons for this.
French Guiana is home to many native tribes from before the influx of Europeans. when europe did come, france was the initial colonizer. France brought in thousands of frnch citizens to colonize the land and built a prison for their worst offenders on the mainland's outlying islands. Thousands of slaves were brought to French Guiana to work on plantations as well, many of which who would escape to form the Maroon societies. In the 18th century Portugal took French Guiana and help it for several decades resulting in a strong Portuguese influence.
Since this time French Guiana has been seen as a romantic spot for french citizens, sort of like our hawaii. During vietnam france brought in thousands of Hmong people from China and Laos. as a result French Guiana has been a safe haven for Hmong people, with thousands immigrating every year. besides the Hmong, people from the Caribbean, and surrounding Latin American states rush into French Guiana. Europeans also flood into French Guiana as a romantic place to live and retire.
Hmong in French Guiana
French Guiana is home to many native tribes from before the influx of Europeans. when europe did come, france was the initial colonizer. France brought in thousands of frnch citizens to colonize the land and built a prison for their worst offenders on the mainland's outlying islands. Thousands of slaves were brought to French Guiana to work on plantations as well, many of which who would escape to form the Maroon societies. In the 18th century Portugal took French Guiana and help it for several decades resulting in a strong Portuguese influence.
Since this time French Guiana has been seen as a romantic spot for french citizens, sort of like our hawaii. During vietnam france brought in thousands of Hmong people from China and Laos. as a result French Guiana has been a safe haven for Hmong people, with thousands immigrating every year. besides the Hmong, people from the Caribbean, and surrounding Latin American states rush into French Guiana. Europeans also flood into French Guiana as a romantic place to live and retire.
The Role of Women in French Guiana
Women in French Guiana are subject to simular labor division as in most parts of the world, men word while women tend the children. while there are no laws separating men and women in any sense, socially women are typically kept as home makers and mothers. The small amount of political organization and government that French Guiana wields sees few to no women.
Historically, the sub cultures of French Guiana, specifically that of the Maroons (descendants of freed black slaves), have held a completely different social opinion on women. these societies practiced Strict laws resembling those of extremist religious societies were placed upon women. up until the 1960's, rebellion and disobedience from the wife of a Maroon was not allowed under any circumstance, especially in public. A women was not allowed to fraternize with any man, besides a relative or a friend of the husband. Women were not allowed to travel without being accompanied by her husband unless given specific consent from her husband.
Historically, the sub cultures of French Guiana, specifically that of the Maroons (descendants of freed black slaves), have held a completely different social opinion on women. these societies practiced Strict laws resembling those of extremist religious societies were placed upon women. up until the 1960's, rebellion and disobedience from the wife of a Maroon was not allowed under any circumstance, especially in public. A women was not allowed to fraternize with any man, besides a relative or a friend of the husband. Women were not allowed to travel without being accompanied by her husband unless given specific consent from her husband.
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