Honduras
Honduras
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Copyright 2014 by Teofilo Colon Jr (a.k.a. “Tio Teo”)
Information on the country of Honduras (“Indura” or “Ondura” in the Garifuna Language).
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After being defeated in war by the British on their ancestral land of the island/country of St. Vincent, the Garifuna people were forcibly removed and eventually sent to Roatan in 1797.
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The Garifuna people arrived in Roatan on April 12th 1797.
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After finding Roatan mostly unliveable at the time, Garinagu (plural for Garifuna) petitioned the Spanish government, asking them to be allowed to move to the mainland of Honduras.
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In the fall of 1797, masses of Garinagu went to Trujillo, a port city in Honduras that Garinagu apparently helped settle.
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NOTE: Trujillo was initially the capitol of Honduras when Spain ruled the land. Because of it’s vulnerability to pirates and other colonial powers, Trujillo was pretty much abandoned because it was considered indefensible.
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When Honduras (and the rest of Central America, with the exception of British Honduras (a.k.a. “Belize) gained it’s independence from Spain in 1821, the capitol of Honduras was moved to Comayagua.
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Tegucigalpa, Honduras was named capitol of Honduras in 1880.
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List of Garifuna Territories/Towns in Honduras
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In the photo above, you can see the names (the Garifuna names of the towns are in parenthesis) of the Honduran Garifuna towns: (from left to right, west to east)
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Masca (Masiga),
Puerto Cortes,
Travesia,
Chufia,
Bajamar,
Sarawaina,
Finagaugu,
Tres Cocos,
Rio Tinto,
Miami,
Tornabe,
San Juan (Durugubuti),
Ensenada (Beidirugu),
Triunfo de La Cruz (Turonpu),
Cuero y Salado,
Corozal (Pintou),
Sambo Creek (Sambu),
Cayos Cochinos (Guchina),
Nueva Armenia,
Balfate,
Rio Esteban (Tibiniriba),
San Antonio (Funda),
Guadalupe (Maruguruguru),
Santa Fe (Giriga).
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In the photo above, you can see the names (the Garifuna names of the towns are in parenthesis) of the Garifuna towns (from left to right, west to east).
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Masca (Masiga),
Puerto Cortes,
Travesia,
Chufia,
Bajamar,
Sarawaina,
Finagaugu,
Tres Cocos,
Rio Tinto,
Miami,
Tornabe,
San Juan (Durugubuti),
Ensenada (Beidirugu) and
Triunfo de La Cruz (Turonpu).
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In the photo above, you can see the names (the Garifuna names of the towns are in parenthesis) of the Garifuna towns (left to right, west to east):
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Cuero y Salado,
Corozal (Pintou),
Sambo Creek (Sambu),
Cayos Cochinos (Guchina),
Nueva Armenia,
Balfate,
Rio Esteban (Tibiniriba),
San Antonio (Funda),
Guadalupe (Maruguruguru),
Santa Fe (Giriga),
Cristales,
Rio Negro (Gariwalu),
Lagunurugu,
Chapawa,
Santa Rosa de Aguan (Lawan),
Limon (Limun),
Vallecito,
Punta Pierda (Dubugati),
Cusuna (Gusunougati),
Ciriboya (Mañali),
Iriona,
San Jose de la Punta (Lichuguagu),
Iriona Viejo (Liyumoun),
Cocalito (Falumarugu),
Sangrelaya,
Tocamacho (Dugamachu),
Batalia (Badayaugati),
Pueblo Nuevo (Noton),
Buena Vista,
La Fe,
Plaplaya (Bülagüriba).
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n the photo above, you can see the names (the Garifuna names of the towns are in parenthesis) of the Garifuna towns (from left to right, west to east):
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Cuero y Salado,
Corozal (Pintou),
Sambo Creek (Sambu),
Cayos Cochinos (Guchina),
Nueva Armenia,
Balfate,
Rio Esteban (Tibiniriba),
San Antonio (Funda),
Guadalupe (Maruguruguru),
Santa Fe (Giriga),
Cristales,
Rio Negro (Gariwalu),
Lagunurugu,
Chapawa,
Santa Rosa de Aguan (Lawan) and
Limon (Limun).
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In the photo above, you can see the names (the Garifuna names of the towns are in parenthesis) of the Garifuna towns (from left to right, west to east):
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Nueva Armenia,
Balfate,
Rio Esteban (Tibiniriba),
San Antonio (Funda),
Guadalupe (Maruguruguru),
Santa Fe (Giriga),
Cristales,
Rio Negro (Gariwalu),
Lagunurugu,
Chapawa,
Santa Rosa de Aguan (Lawan),
Limon (Limun),
Punta Pierda (Dubugati),
Cusuna (Gusunougati),
Ciriboya (Mañali),
Iriona,
San Jose de la Punta (Lichuguagu),
Iriona Viejo (Liyumoun),
Cocalito (Falumarugu),
Sangrelaya,
Tocamacho (Dugamachu),
Batalia (Badayaugati),
Pueblo Nuevo (Noton),
Buena Vista,
La Fe,
Plaplaya (Bülagüriba).
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In the photo above, you can see the names (the Garifuna names of the towns are in parenthesis) of the Garifuna towns (from left to right, west to east),
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Vallecito (Faya),
San Jose de la punta (Ligduguagu),
Iriona Viejo (Liyumoun),
Cocalito (Falumarugu),
Sangrelaya.
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In the photo above, you can see the names (the Garifuna names of the towns are in parenthesis) of the Garifuna towns (from left to right, west to east)
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Punta Piedra (Dubugati),
Cusuna (Gusunougati),
Ciriboya (Mañali),
Iriona,
Tocamacho (Dugamachu),
Batalia (Badayaugati),
Pueblo Nuevo (Noton),
Buena Vista,
La Fe,
Plaplaya (Bülagüriba).
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As more information about other Garifuna towns in Honduras becomes available, I will include it here. This is as comprehensive as it goes as far as I know.
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ABOUT The Garifuna People
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The Garifuna people are people of African descent (in other words, Black people) whose ancestry can be traced to Africans culturally and socially mixing with Carib Indians and Arawak Indians on the Eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent.
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From this cultural fusion of race and ethnicities on St. Vincent Island, a distinct culture and language arose.
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The Garifuna (then known as The Black Caribs) are noted for not only being the main source of resistance against European expansion into the Lesser Antilles over the course of over 150 years, but also being one of the few (only?) peoples of African descent (again, in other words, Black people) in the Americas to have maintained aspects of their ancestral culture and full use of their ancestral language for everyday use over the course of hundreds of years.
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After being defeated in war with the British on St. Vincent in 1796; 1004 men, 1779 women and 1,555 children for a total of 4,338 people (mostly Black Caribs, as the Garifuna people were then known) were captured and taken to Baliceaux, a small island, a rock, basically, off the coast of St. Vincent.
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This took place from July 1796 through February/March 1797. About 2,000 Garifunas died of a mysterious and very infectious fever while living on Baliceaux awaiting their fate.
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In early March 1797, the remaining Garifunas were loaded onto the HMS Experiment and other ships.
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Once they were rounded up, the convoy were taken to a Bequia, which is another island off the coast of St. Vincent.
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They proceeded to go to Grenada to get water, then Jamaica for refueling, then finally Roatan, Honduras, arriving on April 12th 1797.
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Finding much of Roatan unliveable, the Garifuna people petitioned officials representing Spain and it’s government (which controlled much of Central America at the time) to be allowed to move to the Honduran mainland.
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Upon being allowed to move to the Honduran mainland, namely the port town of Trujillo, Honduras in May 1797; the Garifunas settled many towns and villages along the Caribbean coast of Honduras.
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They also migrated to the neighboring countries of Guatemala, Belize (then known as British Honduras) and Nicaragua over the years.
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Finally, Garifuna People have also migrated to the United States of America where generations have settled in cities like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, Seattle, Boston, Miami and Boston.
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Despite their mainly Spanish surnames, their culture and history are distinct from other Afro-American and Latino ethnic groups and it’s important to keep that in mind.