In this article, I analyse patterns of classifications and naming of African "nations" in colonial Cuba. Based on parish records, I suggest possible interpretations of African patterns of classification, identities and social arrangements during the formation of Cuban plantations over the course of the eighteenth century. I discuss some of the methodological implications that can be explored regarding marriages of enslaved people in Cuba based on ecclesiastical sources, chiefly in the case of Guanabacoa. I have furthered the social/demographic analysis of "nations" in Cuba, underscoring how Africans could have been the agents of networks and alliances through organizational strategies and the formation of identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
The essay uses ethnographic studies to provide insights into the history and historiography of the African-Atlantic winter celebration known alternately as Jankunu, John Canoe, Jonkonnu, Junkanoo, or John Kuner, celebrated in English-speaking areas of the Caribbean and Central America. Some of the subjects include the festival's religious and/or secular nature, 19th century accounts of the festivals originally held by slaves, and similar West African festivals.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
203 p, A collection of eleven articles published between 1970 and 1982. About folkloristic theory, sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, symbolic interactionism, and symbolic anthropology of the creativity of the region. (JSTOR)
