GEO Haiti 2010

GEO HAITI • 2010
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In 1995, a joint UNDP-UNESCO programme was
initiated, aimed at protecting Haitian historical
and cultural sites. Moreover, the La Ferrière Citadel
(Figure 27) and ruins of the Sans-Souci Palace
(Figure 28) are on the UNESCO World Heritage
list and receive technical and financial assistance
through a restoration project 27 .
• Haitian art
Haiti holds a place of prominence within the
Caribbean basin as far as art is concerned. Its art
is very diverse thanks to the extraordinary levels
of creativity of the Haitians, and the reputation
of Haitian art is well established and attracts the
curiosity and interest of many.
Artistic expression is extremely present in the
daily life of Haitians, but pictorial art is the most
prevalent, followed by music. This uniqueness is
largely due to the mixture of the heritage of their
African ancestors. In the early nineteenth century,
Haitian painting experienced its first expansion
with the arrival of several European artists,
such as the Englishman Richard Evans, and the
French Barincourt, and others like Dewitt Peters,
Truffaut, Robert Tiga and Maud, to name a few.
They founded Art Schools in both the north and
southern part of the country in view of promoting
the artistic expression of everyday life in Haiti.
Haitian art shows the beautiful landscapes of the
country and depicts also some traditions, such as
voodoo, which are recreated on canvas, colored
and transformed by the ingenious Haitian artists.
Haitian handicrafts display unlimited creativity
and a variety of ways to make objects from wood
(sculpture, furniture), wrought iron, papier maché
or stone. There are also products such as basketry,
jewelry, beadwork, and several other crafted
objects very appreciated by tourists, who come
from nearby islands or from even further, such as
Europe or North and South America.
The music of Haiti follows two trends: the Compas,
created in the sixties by Jean Baptiste de Nemours,
and the Musique-Racine, the fusion of voodoo
rhythms and American jazz, which has known a
revival in the 1980s. These local rhythms, sung in
Creole, are slower than the Caribbean salsa and
meringue rhythms. In regard to literature, it has
enormously evolved after the revolution and one
could say it is largely a “committed” literature, and
influenced by external literary trends. The authors
Rene Depestre, François Duvalier, Alexandre
Dumas and Pascale Blanchard-Glass, among
others, are well-known.
• Cuisine
Haitian cuisine is a blend of flavors and culinary
traditions from the Taino and Arawak cultures,
of those who inhabited the island of Hispaniola
before colonization, followed by the European
gastronomy, mainly Spanish and French, and
finally, by African traditions, especially those
from the western coast of Africa. Many dishes are
based on rice and seafood (fish and crustaceans)
and wild meat. Vegetables (Congo peas, kidney
beans, pumpkin, and cocoyam) and tubers (sweet
potatoes, yams) are very prevalent, and accompany
many dishes often flavored with fruits and spices.
Among the wide variety of available local fruits, we
find the coconut, banana, plantain, guava, citrus
fruits (lemons, oranges, grapefruit, shaddock,
passion fruit, breadfruit, avocado, pineapple,
star apple (caimite), and soursop fruit (Annona
muricata), pomegranate, mango, watermelon,
carambole fruit and papaya.
Among the specialties of Haitian cuisine we find a
red-bean rice dish, cod fish cakes, creole fish broth,
Haitian roast chicken, rabbit with prunes and rum,
stewed pig-tails, creole coconut chicken, mango
mousse, coconut ice cream and sweet potato
bread, to name a few. Haitian food is quite spicy
but is still less than in the rest of the Caribbean.
• Religion
Haiti’s religious practices revolve mainly around the
Catholic and some Protestant religions. However,
27
http://www.unesco.org/csi/pub/papers/papf210.htm