The Bahamian cultural identity: An endangered species

Wed, Apr 8th 2015, 10:01 AM

In the 1980s, I was in my adolescent years and recall being exposed to the now late Kayla Lockhart Edwards and Pandora Gomez who were theatrical and cultural icons. I can remember being utterly fascinated by the Drum Beat Club, home of the cultural giant Peanuts Taylor. I can remember listening to Ronnie and the Ramblers, the Dicey Doe Boys and the Cooling Waters constantly blasting on the radio. I can remember driving past the remnants of the late great Edmund Moxey's cultural dream, Jumbey Village, and hearing Percy "Vola" Francis sing the song of the same name.

Vivid too are the memories of shooting marbles and spinning tops with the trolley peg up on the fort hill and watching my late great-grandmother, Linda Ferguson-Beneby, from Snug Corner, Acklins, make flour cake, benney cake and flap jack in the small iron cast pan, and wash clothes using a scrub board, the glass one not the wooden one. This admittedly is a picture of a Bahamian cultural experience that was reflective of a different time and decade and may be alien to those of a recent generation.

While nostalgia can sometimes be paralyzing if not checked, what I sincerely hope has not escaped our consciousness in my description is that there existed in our Bahama land an endearing, formidable and inspiring cultural landscape that reassured, fed and emboldened the Bahamian consciousness, a feeling of unapologetic distinction, uniqueness and self-identification.

Our Bahamian culture was and is something to revere, to celebrate and to put front and center at every opportunity. Simply put, to prioritize the celebration of our culture at home and expose it and export it to the world is to celebrate us. The Bahamian is a global citizen who will make his and her contributions to the world and the world will take note.

The national display, celebration and meaningful exportation of Bahamian culture says that there are these things that are uniquely Bahamian -- our people, our dialect, our music, our festivals, our food and our arts. There is a place called The Bahamas and it is there, and only from there can you experience it and only through its people will you be exposed to the authenticity of what it is to be Bahamian.

Carnival

In a few weeks, The Bahamas will introduce the world to "Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival". There has been and continues to be much debate surrounding not only the validity of the event, but also its impact on Bahamian culture and our Bahamian identity. Listening to public sentiments you would experience a wide spectrum of strong and deeply thoughtful views. There are those who take a very practical approach and view carnival as a necessity to provide the Bahamian economy with a much needed injection. Then there are those who believe that carnival is an affront to Bahamians everywhere in its structure, contents and its marketing and promotional campaign.

Many Bahamians have expressed their displeasure and disgust that Junkanoo, save for its prominence in the event labeling, has taken a back seat to the carnival elements. They are disheartened by what they perceive is at best a patronizing nod to the Bahamian cultural identity. This raging debate about this event brings to the fore a much larger and introspective debate about who we are as Bahamians, what we value that is Bahamian and how we address the declining appreciation of our Bahamian cultural identity and the too often reluctant, lukewarm and timid acknowledgement of the exceptionalism of our people, our gifts and our talents that on different occasions have been marked "for import only".

Culture is the soul of a people and our nation, and if we do not harvest it, cultivate it, entrench it and export it we would see the depletion and inevitable loss of both our Bahamian identity and the patriotic commitment of future generations of Bahamians.

I submit to you with much regret that our insatiable need to import has transcended the facilitation of commerce. It has invaded our consciousness and arguably has in many ways suppressed our appetite for the things uniquely Bahamian and the elevation of the talents of the Bahamian people. Now let me also relay that not for one minute am I advocating isolation or rejecting the merits and advantages of globalization and diversity.

My contention is simply that although there will be competing interests at times this is not a choice of nationalism over globalization. They can coexist. Instead of having external influences and cultures complement, be an addendum to, littered amongst and reside on the outskirts of our Bahamian culture, we have allowed too frequently the influences of other cultures to dictate the terms, to drop anchor, to take up permanent residence, to be the driving force, the chief architect of what we do and why we do what we do.

Renaissance
Let us bring back the good old days. Let us usher in a new Bahamian cultural renaissance, one that says we are proud of who we are, what we are about. We show what we value as a people by what we invest in and the degree to which we invest in it. Our culture can only thrive, be resilient and stay deeply rooted if we invest the commitment, the time, the resources and the belief. Let us start a Bahamian cultural revolution that takes back, reestablishes and reaffirms all things Bahamian.

Ensuring the longevity of the Bahamian cultural identity and Bahamian cultural experience is not merely a feel good exercise or temporary euphoric high. It is more of an absolute necessity, more of a strategic need to the further growth, advancement and development of the Bahamian people than a robust economy, a thriving tourism industry or a world class financial services sector.

At a very fundamental level, that economy, that industry and that sector will be built by and its fortunes realized through efforts of a proud, cultured, committed, fully invested people whose singular motivation is love of country. It is this love of country that is fueled and continuously sourced by our cultural uniqueness, our distinctive national identity, our pride and connection to ourselves, to who we are and to our Bahamian 'tings'.

If we do not latch on to our Bahamian cultural identity and elevate our Bahamian cultural experience in all its elements and ensure its prevalence, we would surely suffer an avoidable, unclear and uninspired future where in decades to come future generations of Bahamians will be grappling with an emptiness that begs the questions, 'Who am I? What is it to be Bahamian?

At that point we would have to reference this moment, take an account and responsibility and say this was when we lost our culture and The Bahamas lost its soul. Now is the time. Let the new Bahamian cultural renaissance begin.

o Shanendon E. Cartwright is a marketing, hospitality and corporate development professional and holds a bachelors of arts degree in literature and history from Franklin Pierce University. He is the founder of Vision 21, a youth, community development program. Email-Shanendoncartwright@gmail.com.

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