Belize's Garifuna Settlement Day Traditions

Garifuna Settlement Day is a public holiday in Belize, celebrated annually on the 19th of November. The holiday marks the arrival of the Garifuna people, also known as the Garinagu, to the shores of Belize in 1802. The Garifuna are the descendants of the Afro-indigenous population from the Caribbean who were deported from St Vincent in 1797. The day is celebrated with parades, live music, drumming, traditional dancing, and a raising of the Garifuna flag throughout the country.

Garifuna Settlement Day is celebrated annually on November 19

The Garifuna people are an ethnic group in Belize with a mixed ancestry of African, Arawak, and Carib. The group was formed when West Africans, destined to be slaves in North America, were shipwrecked near St Vincent in the West Indies around 1635. Over the next 150 years, the settlers intermarried with the indigenous Arawak people. In the late 18th century, the Garifuna rose up against the British, who had begun to colonise the Grenadines and other lands in Belize and Honduras. After the Garifuna surrendered in 1796, they were exiled to the island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras.

The Garifuna people then migrated to the mainland of Honduras and settled along the Caribbean coast of Belize. According to legend, the first Garifuna arrived in Belize on November 19, 1802. This important day in their history is marked by Garifuna Settlement Day. The holiday was created by Belizean civil rights activist Thomas Vincent Ramos in 1941 and became a national public holiday in 1977.

The day is celebrated with parades, live music, drumming, dancing, prayers, and traditional Garifuna food. The first landing of the Garifuna is re-enacted with boats coming ashore carrying cassava sticks, plantain suckers, and sugarcane—representing the food brought by the Garifuna people. The Garifuna flag, featuring black, white, and yellow horizontal stripes, is raised throughout the country. Yellow represents the sun, white stands for peace, and black symbolises the people.

The day is marked with parades, music, drumming, dancing, and prayers

Garifuna Settlement Day is a public holiday in Belize, celebrated with parades, music, drumming, dancing, and prayers. The day marks the arrival of the Garifuna people onto the shores of Belize and is celebrated with a week of festivities, especially in the town of Dangriga, where the first Garifuna people landed.

The day begins with ceremonial boat rides on Maya Island, re-enacting the first landing of the Garifuna. Boats come ashore carrying cassava sticks, plantain suckers, and sugarcane—the same food that the Garifuna people brought with them. The celebrations continue with parades, live music, and dancing. Traditional Garifuna dishes such as serre (fish boiled in coconut milk), hudut (mashed plantain), and cassava bread are also a significant part of the day.

The Garifuna people have made substantial contributions to the musical scene in Belize, creating and shaping popular genres like punta and punta rock. Their unique drumming, using instruments made from locally sourced hardwoods and animal skins, is one of the most iconic features of their culture. The steady percussion of African rhythms and beats resonates through the streets during the celebrations.

The Garifuna flag, with its black, white, and yellow horizontal stripes, represents the sun, peace, and pride. People wear the colours with pride on November 19th, expressing their enthusiasm and appreciation for the Garifuna people and their rich culture.

The major festivities occur in Dangriga, but celebrations also take place in other towns along the coast, such as Punta Gorda and Seine Bight. In these towns, the celebrations attract thousands of local people waving flags and flora, wearing traditional attire, and chanting to the rhythm of the drums. The revelry continues through the night in homes and local clubs, with music and dancing lasting until dawn.

The Garifuna people's ancestry can be traced to West Africa and indigenous Arawak and Carib people

Garifuna Settlement Day is celebrated in Belize on November 19th each year. This important holiday marks the arrival of the Garifuna people to the shores of Belize on November 19, 1802. The Garifuna people's ancestry can be traced back to West Africa and the indigenous Arawak and Carib people.

In 1635, two Spanish ships carrying West Africans intended for sale as slaves in the West Indies were wrecked near St. Vincent in the Caribbean. The West Africans escaped and found refuge among the indigenous Carib people on the island. Over the next 150 years, the West Africans and Caribs intermarried, and the Garifuna ethnic group was formed. The Caribs, also known as Kalinago or Island Caribs, are indigenous to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They are believed to have migrated from the Orinoco River area in South America around 1200 CE. The Kalinago language is unrelated to the mainland Carib language, though they also spoke a pidgin version of it.

The Arawak, or Lokono, are indigenous to northern South America and the Caribbean. They settled in coastal areas of present-day Guyana, Suriname, Grenada, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and parts of Trinidad and Tobago. The Arawak and Caribs were two distinct indigenous groups in the Caribbean, distinguished by early Spanish explorers and administrators who labelled the Arawak as friendly and the Caribs as hostile. The Arawak were the first Native Americans encountered by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

The intermixing of West African and indigenous Kalinago and Arawak peoples resulted in the formation of the Garifuna ethnic group. The Garifuna people settled in Honduras and along the Caribbean coast of Belize, as well as in Guatemala and Nicaragua. Today, Garifuna culture reflects its African and Amerindian heritage, evident in its music, language, food, religion, and dance. Garifuna Settlement Day is celebrated with parades, live music, drumming, dancing, prayers, and traditional dishes. The holiday commemorates the arrival of the Garifuna people to Belize and is celebrated throughout the country, especially in Dangriga, where the first Garifuna people landed.

The Garifuna flag has yellow, white, and black stripes representing the sun, peace, and the people

Garifuna Settlement Day is a significant event in Belize, celebrated annually on 19 November. The day commemorates the arrival of the Garifuna people on the shores of Belize in 1802. It is a time for celebration, with parades, music, dancing, and traditional Garifuna dishes.

The Garifuna flag is a symbol of great importance to the Garifuna people and is often seen during the Settlement Day celebrations. The flag features three horizontal stripes of black, white, and yellow. While the order of the stripes is sometimes debated, the National Garifuna Council in Belize states that the correct order is black, white, and yellow, with black at the top. The white stripe always appears in the middle.

The colours of the Garifuna flag represent various aspects of the Garifuna people's history, culture, and identity. The black stripe symbolises the skin colour and African ancestry of the Garifuna, acknowledging the struggles and hardships they endured. It also represents the suffering and injustices they faced throughout their history. The white stripe represents peace and the European antagonists with whom the Garifuna had conflict. Finally, the yellow stripe symbolises the staple food of the Garifuna—grated cassava and cassava bread—and their Amerindian (Carib and Arawak) ancestry. It also represents hope, plenty, and prosperity, as well as the rising sun, bringing new promise for a better life.

The Garifuna flag is a powerful symbol of the Garifuna people's resilience, cultural fusion, and their ongoing pursuit of peace and prosperity. It serves as a reminder of their history and the contributions they have made to Belizean society, which was formally recognised when Garifuna Settlement Day became a national holiday in 1975.

The day was created by Belizean civil rights activist Thomas Vincent Ramos in 1941

Garifuna Settlement Day is a public holiday in Belize, celebrated annually on 19 November. The day was created by Belizean civil rights activist Thomas Vincent Ramos in 1941. Ramos is now considered a national hero.

Ramos was born in Puerto Cortés, Honduras, on 17 September 1887. He moved to Dangriga, Belize, in 1923, and it was here that he began his work as an activist. He was concerned about the neglect of health facilities for the Garinagu in Stann Creek Town, so he founded the Carib Development and Sick Aid Society to help the sick and those who needed financial assistance to bury their dead. He also lobbied for native Garifuna nurses to be included in the local hospital, and succeeded.

In 1940, Ramos, along with Pantaleon Hernandez and Domingo Ventura, approached the governor of the colony and requested the establishment of a public and bank holiday to observe the Garifuna arrival in Belize. The request was granted, and the first Carib Disembarkation Day was celebrated in the Stann Creek District on 19 November 1941. The day was later renamed Garifuna Settlement Day. The holiday was recognised in the Toledo District in 1943 and became a national holiday in 1977.

The first Garifuna Settlement Day celebrations in 1941 included a morning mass, an afternoon Thanksgiving service, and a parade through the streets of Dangriga. The day concluded with musical and cultural performances, a format that has been largely retained to this day.

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