The politics of Quadrille performance in 19th century Martinique Print E-mail
Much has been said of the tradition of quadrille dancing that exists in the Caribbean. This dance music repertoire was first introduced there in the late 18th century by European colonists who wanted to re-create some of the aristocratic lifestyle they would have enjoyed in their country of origin. But soon after its introduction in the Americas, the dance appealed strongly to all classes in the colonies and spread throughout the New World, not without undergoing some change in the process. In contradiction with earlier studies that presented the West Indian quadrilles as mere avatars of the European forms, recent ethnomusicology literature suggests that quadrille presented specific characteristics that allowed European and african traditions to merge and subsequently led to the emergence of the Creole repertoires that exist today.
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Grenadians Superstitions & Scary Stories Print E-mail
By Norma Sinclair – November 1992
------------Gather round for some tales from the dark side
Grenada is a mixture of people whose forefathers came from many distant parts of the world. The British and French came in the wake of Columbus’ discovery of the new world; slaves were shipped from West Africa; indentured labour was sought from Malta, Madeira, and from as far away as India. Each of these peoples brought with them beliefs in the supernatural, and these have been handed down through the generations, probably altered a bit along the way, but nevertheless a colourful collection of superstitions and strange occurrences
From Europe, for example, comes the ligaroo (French: loup garoux; British: werewolf). This “being” has a normal human form but at night, particularly around the time of the full moon, he sheds his skin, turns into a ball of fire, and goes in search of victims to suck their blood. The ligaroo can take any form he chooses, of course, but he seems to prefer that of a bat, gently fanning his sleeping victims while he attacks their jugular veins. If ever you awaken with two tiny marks on your neck there weren’t there before, you can be sure that a ligaroo attacked you in the night!
You can tell a ligaroo by looking in his eyes, which are usually very red and slightly bulging. The surest way to ferret one out, however, is to find the skin he has shed and sprinkle salt on it. When he puts it back on, he will have an uncontrollable itch all over his body, and that is proof positive.
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