Parcours pédagogique ELAN
Dominique
Pour en savoir plus sur le projet ELAN: http://www.elan-interreg.org/
ELAN
Le projet ELAN, « Echanges linguistiques et apprentissage novateur par la mobilité » vise à encourager la maîtrise des langues de la Caraïbe et à renforcer la mobilité scolaire, étudiante, enseignante, universitaire et professionnelle, au sein du bassin caribéen.
Pour en savoir plus sur le projet ELAN et découvrir toutes les ressources mis à disposition : http://www.elan-interreg.org/
Le projet ELAN est co-financé par le programme Interreg Caraïbes au titre du Fonds Européen de Développement Régional et du Fond Européen de Développement
DISCOVERING DOMINICA���
Welcome to the virtual tour of the Commonwealth of Dominica
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Geography
Morne Trois Pitons and Trois Pitons Water
Dominica has 365 rivers, one of which is called Trois Pitons river which is the source of Dominicas Trois Pitons bottled water.
Demography of Dominica
The demographic features of Dominica includes:
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Dominica is divided into ten (10) parishes (=communes). The parish of Saint-George is the most popular one.
Dominica’s parishes
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The capital city� Roseau�
Roseau bayfront: Then vs Now
The History of Dominica� The Indigenous People �
Dominica, also known as Waitukubuli which means (Tall As Her Body She Stands) was given that name by the Caribs who first settled there. Dominica was discovered by Christopher Columbus in the year 1493. Dominica is the only island with a relatively large and distinctive group of Carib Indians who lives on the East of the island in a community called the Carib Territory or the Kalinago Territory, and are among Dominica’s poorest residents who profit from Tourism, Agriculture and fishing. It is made up of eight villages – Sineku, Mahaut River, Gaulettte River, Salybia, Crayfish River, Bataka, Atkinson and part of Concord.
The Kalinago or Indigenous people have their own chief and also a representative in the house of assembly. Their culture has remained very much unchanged compared to other areas of the island. They reputedly use 300 different herbs for medicine. Dances, traditions, legends, and beliefs have been kept alive by the elders who pass on these traditions through story-telling. The language is only spoken by a few people today and traditional dances are performed by Karifuna, their dance group. The Kalinago Territory is worth a visit.
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The Indigenous People of Dominica
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The History of Dominica �The Fighting Maroons of Dominica �
Nearly all Caribbean islands much like the Caribs, Dominica faced a series of slave revolts from colonization in the 1640s to when the United Kingdom abolished slavery in its colonies in 1833. Many of the revolts were led by “Maroons”, free blacks, mostly of mixed heritage and French cultural ties.
They were distinct from the African slaves working on the Plantations, and were viewed with suspicion by British authorities after the island became part of the UK. In 1785 the first major slave revolt broke out, when a group led by Balla attacked the Rosalie Estate. The British authorities then launched a massive attack against the 14 large Maroon settlements who were in the mountainous interior of Dominica.
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The Negre Mawon
Balla was eventually betrayed and shot. His legacy led to the song, “Balla mort, bois gatay” (Balla is dead, the woods are spoiled). In 1791, inspired by the French Revolution, a freedman from Martinique, Jean-Louis Polinaire, published a series of pamphlets urging the right of slaves to work for themselves two days a week, which had been written into law, but was largely ignored. The revolt led by Pharcelle an escaped slave who had hidden 500 guns in the hills blew, but the British forces quickly defeated the rebels.
Polinaire was hanged and Pharcelle once again escaped. In 1794 he was captured by the British and released because of his support among the slaves and matrons, only to guide French forces in their 1795 attack on Dominica. His revolt at Colihaut a community in the west coast of Dominica was quickly crushed. In 1800 he was again arrested and finally exiled. In 1802, 500 former black slaves recruited into the 8th West Indies, having not been paid and afraid of being returned to slavery, revolted and seized Fort Shirley in the community of Portsmouth on the north of the island. Portsmouth is Dominica's second town.
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The Second Maroon War
In 1813, the Second Maroon War broke out. Led by Chief Quashee, a “Free Dominica” had again arisen in the mountains, made up of runaway slaves and Maroons. Another band led by Jacko had survived in the hills for 40 years. Seeing a threat, Colonel George Ainslie, ordered the renegades to surrender, then sent in slaves recruited into the Black Ranger Battalion, with orders to “take no prisoners, but to put to death men, women and children, without exception”. After a year of fighting, the rebels were crushed and the Maroon population of Dominica eliminated. Jacko was killed, and other leaders were hanged and their heads placed on poles in visible parts of the island.
According to Historian Dr Lennox Honychurch, a monument was erected near the area the slaves knew as their Babylon; the Roseau Old Market. The Old Market signified a place for public punishment and execution for the slaves.
It recalls every maron chiefs such as Bala, Jacko, Pharcel and Qwashi amongst others.
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The Negre Mawon Monument
The Negre Mawon Monument is a symbol of freedom and Emancipation. It is a tribute to all the enslaved Africans who suffered and were executed in the history of Dominica. It honours the Maroons who risked their lives to fight for the emancipation of all. It pays homage to those who were sold and executed at the old Roseau market and who were held at the Barracoon building in Roseau before being sold and sent to the plantations. The Barracoon building now house the Roseau City Council.
This monument salutes the memory of our African ancestors and the immense contribution of their skills to our early infrastructure in Dominica through the shedding of their blood, sweat and tears. It celebrates the powerful and lasting influence which our African ancestors had on Dominica’s present day culture, especially in our forms of music, language, costumes and cuisine.
This memorial is a reminder to all Dominicans that we should continue to sustain our African heritage and its many cultural expressions.
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THE NEG MAWON MONUMENT � IN THE CAPITAL CITY ROSEAU
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Historian Dr. Lennox Honychurch �
Lennox Edward Honychurch was born at Portsmouth, Dominica, on 27 December 1952 and was educated at the Lodge School, Barbados, and St. Mary’s Academy, Dominica. He studied for his masters and doctorate degrees in anthropology at the University of Oxford, UK, as a British Chevening Scholar. His dissertations focused on the period of contact and culture exchange between the indigenous Carib/Kalinago people and European and African arrivals in the Eastern Caribbean. He has published numerous books and academic papers on archaeology and history of Dominica and the Caribbean. He is an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of the West Indies (UWI), and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 2012. He is a member of the governing council of the UWI Open Campus.
Honychurch is director of Island Heritage Initiatives, a consultancy and contracting company for restoration projects of heritage sites that has been responsible for the restoration of Fort Shirley at the Cabrits National Park. He was secretary of the Commission of enquiry to investigate “The Dreads” in 1976 and was appointed to the Dominica Commission for Reparation for Slavery. He is a recipient of the Dominica Sisserou Medal of Honour for his contribution to historical and archaeological research.
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On February 23 2015, he launched yet another brilliant book entitled “Negre Mawon, The fighting maroons of Dominica”. Which talks about a stirring account of how a displaced and enslaved people fought to create a free and self sufficient society. �
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Dominica's Politics
In 1763 France formally ceded possession of Dominica to the United Kingdom who then set up a government and made the island a colony in 1805. But on November 3, 1978 the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted full Independence by the UK with the late Patrick Roland John as its first Prime Minster. In mid 1979, political discontent led to the formation of an interim government led by Oliver Seraphine.
A year later in 1980 Dame Eugenia Charles was elected and ruled until 1995; she was the Caribbean’s first female leader. More conservative in her approach than either of her predecessors, she moved Dominica toward closer ties with Barbados. Her government faced several coup attempts in 1981, but those were perhaps less significant than the plight the country faced in attempting to recuperate from hurricane David.
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Dominica has enjoyed independence since 1978, but initially freedom was turbulent. In August 1979 hurricane David devastated the island causing economic ruin. The storm not only largely destroyed the banana crop, the island’s topsoil and virtually wiped out the country’s agricultural base.
Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, born on 15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005 was a Dominican politician who was Prime Minister of Dominica from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. She was Dominica's first, and to date only, female prime minister. She was the second female prime minister in the Caribbean after Lucina da Costa of the Netherlands Antilles. She was the first woman in the Americas to be elected in her own right as head of government. She served for the longest period of any Dominican prime minister, and was the world's third longest-serving female Prime Minister, behind Indira Gandhi of India and Sirmavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka. She established a record for the longest continuous service of any woman Prime Minister. Charles attended the University of Toronto in Canada in 1947, then moved to the United Kingdom to attend the London Scool of Economics. She passed the bar and returned to Dominica, where she became the island's first female lawyer. She established a practice specialising in property law.
Charles never married nor had children. In 1991 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She helped to found the Dominica Freedom (DFP), and was its leader from the early 1970s until 1995. She was elected to the House of Assembly in 1970 and became Opposition Leader in 1975. She continued serving after Dominica gained full independence from British rules in 1978. She additionally served as Dominica’s Foreign Minister from 1980 to 1990, Minister of Finance from 1980 to 1995, and as chairperson of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
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Dominica’s Politics
Dame Mary Eugenia Charles affectionately know as the “Iron Lady” is famous for forming her own party called the Dominica Freedom Party and opposing legislation and limiting freedom of the press.
The bayfront in the capital city Roseau where the cruise ship disembarked was named after her. The Dame Mary Eugenia Charles Boulevard.
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Dominica’s Politics
The politics of Dominica takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Dominica is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
A president and prime minister make up the executive branch. Nominated by the prime minister in consultation with the leader of the opposition party, the president is elected for a five-year term by the parliament. The president appoints as prime minister the person who command the majority of elected representatives in the parliament and also appoints, on the prime minister's recommendation, members of the parliament as cabinet ministers. The prime minister and cabinet are responsible to the parliament and can be removed on a no-confidence vote.
The Head of state or the President of the Commonwealth of Dominica is His Excellency Charles Savarin and has been in office since October 2nd 2013.
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Dominica has a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties, with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of any other party. Dominica was once a three-party system, but in the past few years the Dominica Labour Party and the greatly diminished Dominica Freedom Party have built a coalition. At present the two active parties are the Dominica Labour Party led by Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Roosevelt Skerit, who has been in office since January 8th 2004 and the other is The United Workers Party led by Honourable Lennox Linton.
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Dominica’s Economy
The economy of Dominica is reliant upon agriculture, particularly bananas, with the financial services industry becoming increasingly the island’s largest source of income. Banana production employs, directly or indirectly, upwards of one-third of the work force. This sector is highly vulnerable to weather conditions and to external events affecting commodity prices. Dominica's main industries consist of tourism, agriculture, cement blocks, copra, and furniture.
Despite a few challenges agricultural diversification is a priority. Dominica has made some progress, with the export of small quantities of citrus fruits and vegetables and the introduction of coffee, patchouli, aloe vera, and exotic fruits such as mangoes, guavas, and papaya. Dominica has also had some success in increasing its manufactured exports, with local soap as the primary product. Dominica also recently entered the offshore financial services market. The main currency use in Dominica is Estern Caribbean Dollars (EC).
Because Dominica is mostly volcanic and has few beaches, development of tourism has been slow compared with that of neighbouring islands. However, a large percentage of Dominicas income comes from the Tourism industry, which mostly attracts eco-tourists interested in landscapes and wildlife.
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Currency : Eastern Caribbean Dollar
1€ = $ 2.98
Nevertheless, Dominica’s high, rugged mountains, rainforests, freshwater lakes, hot springs, waterfalls, and diving spots make it an attractive destination. Cruise ship stopovers have increased following the development of modern docking and waterfront facilities in the capital city Roseau. Eco-tourism also is a growing industry on the island. ��Dominica has always been dependent on agriculture, but for the past years it has focused its attention on tourism. A large percentage of Dominica's income comes from the tourism industry. Which mostly attracts eco-tourist interested in landscapes and wildlife.��Dominica is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) issues a common currency to the eight members of the ECCU. The ECCB also manages monetary policy, and regulates and supervises commercial banking activities in its member countries.��Dominica is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). Its 1996 exports to the U.S. Were $7.7 million, and its U.S. Imports were $34 million. Dominica is also a member of the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and of the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). �
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Dominica's Culture
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Dominica’s culture is mainly influenced by the Caribs, the French, the British, and the Africans who were brought over by the French for slavery. The result is a colourful and festive Creole society which is evident in the island’s language, food, art, lifestyle, beliefs and music. A majority of the residents are Roman Catholics.
Almost every type of musical genre is available on the island, but the most common ones are Bélé, bouyon, soca, cadence-lypso, jing ping, kadans, quadrille, zouk and calypso. Dominica is also known for local musical instruments such as –Tambal, Shak-Shak, Gwaj, Tambou Bele ect. Every village has it's own events year round, but among the most notable festivals are Cadance Lypso, Jazz ‘N Creole Festival, Carnival – Mas Domnik (celebrated a week before Ash Wednesday), and the three nights of World Creole Music Festival in October.
Carnival – MAS DOMNIK, The Real Mas
This unique carnival celebration is a burst of togetherness, joy, unity and free spiritedness to create our carnival brand, The Real Mas. But the party starts way before, with calypso tents, pageantry, competitions of all kinds, carnival fetes and the regular street “practice” in many villages across the country, and climaxes with the two days of street jump up and the display of costumes, Sensays and parades.
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Calypsonians
In 2011 Tasha “Tasha P” Peltier made calypso history by becoming the first female monarch in over fifty years with a song titled “Woman Time”.
Dennison “King Dice” Joseph also made his mark in calypso by being the first calypsonian to win the calypso monarch nine (9) times in Dominica with his energetic and vibrant performances.
Tasha P King Dice
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Carnival Celebrations
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The World Creole Music Festival
The World Creole Music Festival (WCMF) is celebrated during Dominica's Independence season. It features musical genres stemming from the creole speaking countries. Over a span of three nights, festival goers are treated to an array of sounds from artists all over the world notably, the Caribbean, French Antilles, Africa, Europe and north America.
On these 3 nights of pulsating rhythm artists and bands such as kassav, Buju Bantan, Ophelia Marie, Gordon Henderson, Machal Mantano, Asa Bantan, WCK and Triple K amongst others perform on one big stage at the Windsor Park Stadium in Roseau.
The World Creole Music Festival is sponsored by the Government of Dominica and the Discover Dominica Authority. Leading up to the WCMF is the one week of (Flow Creole in the Park) event where local as well as regional artists perform a variety of music like, bouyoun, Compas, calypso, zouk, soucous, reggae, cadenc-lypso, Soca just to name a few.
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World Creole Music Festival
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Dominica’s Jazz N’ Creole �Festival
The Jazz ‘n Creole Festival is a festive fusion of jazz Music with Creole Music, Food, and Culture. It was first presented by the Discover Dominica Authority in 2010, the festival has been well received each year as patrons appreciate the inviting and casual ambience of one of Dominica’s major tourism attractions. This festive event is held annually in May/June and takes place at one of Dominica’s premier venues – Fort Shirley, Cabrits National Park.
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Creole day - Journé Créole
Creole day (Journé Créole) is celebrated on the last Friday in October of every year. On that day the women wear madras outfits and the men wear saches. Different cultural groups and schools display their different talents and match the streets of the capital city Roseau and beat drums. Various foods, music and dances are also on display for the many visitors who visit the island during that time.
The traditional clothing worn in Dominica says a lot about the islands history and culture. Colourful fabrics and garments printed in batik or plaid are the norm. Creole style clothing called jupe is worn for special occasions, particularly on the feast days of saints and on every Sunday leading up to independence. The outfit consists of a bright top over a white cotton chemist and a floor-length skirt. The hem, sleeves and neck are lace-trimmed, while a white handkerchief is wrapped around the head to resemble a bonnet.
The chest is adorned with a foulard, a cotton triangle in a white or a bright colour. This manner of dressing is similar to what provincial women in France once wore. Petticoats were fashionable in the past, as West African clothing. Nowadays, women wear a combination of jupe, chemises, dantell, collard, and mouchoir. Gold jewellery and pearls are also common .
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Dominica's Traditional National Wear
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Different Dishes made in Dominica
Fig & Codfish Crab Calalou Peleau
Salt fish Accra Mountain Chicken which was once Calalou
Dominica’s National Dish Dominica’s National Dish
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Recipe for Pelau Dish
Recipe
Directions
Dominica’s Natural Resources, Sites & Adventures
The Nature island of Dominica is very beautiful and green and has lots of natural resources: Timber, water (hydropower) and Copper and Agricultural products like coconuts, cocoa, herbal oils and extracts. It is a very eco-friendly island, which recycles almost everything. Dominica has a tropical climate, with ample rainfall and a hurricane season which runs from June –November. The peak travel period ‘December to May is generally drier and slightly cooler. The country has one of the most rugged landscapes in the Caribbean, covered by largely unexploited, multi-layered rain forest. It is also among the Earth’s most rain-drenched lands, and the water runoff forms cascading rivers and natural pools. No wonder we are blessed with three hundred and sixty five (365) Rivers, one for each day of the year. The island, home to rare species of wildlife, is considered by many as beautiful, unspoiled tropical preserve. According to a popular West Indian belief, Dominica is the only New World Territory that Christopher Columbus would still recognize.
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Some Local products of Dominica being sold in the neighbouring country of Martinique
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There are many fun and interesting things to do in Dominica. Night life isn’t one of them, but if you love nature, going to the beach, hiking in the heights of the forest, kayaking, whale watching and getting a therapeutic bath in hot sulphur water/springs then Dominica is the place to be.
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More information on Dominica
To see more of Dominica's Festivities and Natural Sites, please click on the links below
https://www.uncommoncaribbean.com/dominica/red-rocks-dominica/
A few of the Associations and Organisations representing businesses and Dominica's best interests.
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Now, it’s time for a little quizz!
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QUESTIONS
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