Black Women in Politics by Julia S. Jordan-Zachery Nikol G. Alexander-Floyd

Author:Julia S. Jordan-Zachery,Nikol G. Alexander-Floyd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2018-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Socialization in the Production of Ereba

As mentioned above, in the mid-1970s, Honduras’s National Agrarian Institute targeted Garifuna land for resettlement because of a supposed lack of “social function.” In contrast to the suggestion that the Garifuna agricultural work lacks social function, ereba production has a deep historical and social significance for the community. The economic value of the product is only part of the benefit. During interviews with Garifuna villagers, it became clear that producing ereba provided an important connection to ancestral heritage, early socialization for young girls, and a supportive network for Garifuna women.

The villagers expressed tremendous pride in doing work that connected them to their ancestors. People regularly shared stories about learning to work the land with their mothers and grandmothers. Women often talked about how they had been learning to work the land from the days of their childhood. As an example, Julieta shared the following information about her family’s cassava cultivation: “Right now, my father has died. My mother is already old. She can’t do much. But from the time I’ve been a girl, they taught me to do this work. So, I am taking care of the land for all of us. I am taking care of it all.” Women typically had stories of learning to work in the fields, and bake ereba, at a young age. They enjoyed sharing memories of these traditions passed down.

Maria Jose said, “As [ereba] is from our ancestors, from it we live. So, for my part I wouldn’t want our culture to disappear. From [ereba], we are living. Because even though we don’t have money, from it we survive. So, it is important in our lives.” Samantha also spoke of the Garifuna ancestors, saying, “We are accustomed, acclimated to the life of our ancestors. We are acclimated to our land, our work, our culture.” Through the work in the fields, women kept alive the connection to their ancestors. Although these feelings were strongest among the middle-aged women in their forties and fifties, younger women also talked about the importance of agricultural work as their inheritance.

Gabriela, who was sent to the city to live with relatives when she was a little girl, shared her childhood thoughts about returning home: “I am going to return to my village. I am going to work [the land] with my mother because I like to eat cassava. I like to eat yam. I like to eat everything the land produces.” Gabriela’s statement highlights a rare enthusiasm among younger women for the agricultural labor that defines life in the villages. Whereas many young adults prefer the employment opportunities of the city to the sustenance farming of the villages, Gabriela loved the agricultural work from the time she was a young girl. While all the villagers I interviewed would agree that agricultural work is an important link to ancestral heritage for the entire community, specific activities were designated according to gender roles and identities.

Thorne (2004) describes Garifuna culture as having “a particular set of subsistence activities and a related gendered division of labor” (23).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.