Indo-Caribbean Americans

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Indo-Caribbean Americans
Flag of India.svg Flag of CARICOM.svg Flag of the United States.svg
Total population
232,817 (2007) [1]
300,000 - 400,000 (2020 estimate) [2]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Religion
Majority: Significant Minority: Other Minority:
Related ethnic groups

Indo-Caribbean Americans or Indian-Caribbean Americans, are Americans who trace their ancestry ultimately to India, though whose recent ancestors lived in the Caribbean, where they migrated beginning in 1838 as indentured laborers. There are large populations of Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians and Indo-Guyanese along with a smaller population of Indo-Surinamese, Indo-Jamaicans and other Indo-Caribbeans in the United States, especially in the New York metropolitan area and Florida. The Washington metropolitan area, Texas, and Minnesota also have small numbers of Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinidadians. Indo-Caribbean Americans are a subgroup of Caribbean Americans as well as Indian Americans, which are a subgroup of South Asian Americans, which itself is a subgroup of Asian Americans.

Contents

Migration history

Since the 1960s, a large Indo-Caribbean community has developed in South Richmond Hill, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens in the state of New York. The Indo-Caribbean population has also grown rapidly in the Floridian cities of Tampa, Orlando, Kissimmee, Poinciana, Fort Myers, Naples, Ocala, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Wellington, Boynton Beach, Loxahatchee, The Acreage, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Homestead, Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Miami Gardens, Port Saint Lucie, Coral Springs, Margate, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale (more than 1% of residents in the city were born in Trinidad and Tobago), Sunrise, Plantation, Parkland, Lauderhill, Pompano Beach, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Oakland Park, Tamarac, Cooper City, Miramar, Davie, Weston, Southwest Ranches, and Pembroke Pines. Indo-Surinamese tend to migrate to the Netherlands, but have started to settle in Florida and the New York metropolitan area in small numbers. Indo-Jamaicans also live in moderate numbers throughout the New York metropolitan area and Florida. There are also smaller numbers of Indo-Barbadians, Indo-Belizeans, Indo-French Guianese, Indo-Grenadians, Indo-Guadeloupeans, Indo-Martiniquais, Indo-Kittitian and Nevisian, Indo-Saint Lucian, Indo-Vincentian and Grenadinese in the New York metropolitan area and in Florida.

Culture and religion

Majority of Indo-Caribbean Americans are followers of Hinduism, with a minority belonging to Islam, Christianity and other religions. Major holidays such as Diwali, Phagwah, Eid, Hosay, Indian Arrival Day, Easter, and Christmas are celebrated with a distinct flavor unique to the Caribbean.

The Richmond Hill Phagwah Parade is the largest Holi celebration in the United States. Thousands attend the parade annually each Spring in Queens, with thousands of attendees crowding Liberty Avenue and Smoky Oval Park.

South Florida has become a destination for roti shops, Indian clothing boutiques, threading, mandirs/kovils, masjids, Indian churches, and annual Indo-Caribbean Hindu, Muslim, and Christian religious events. It is also a popular spot for Indo-Caribbean artists. The Florida Melody Makers are the most well known Indo-Caribbean American band for years and continue to perform around the Southeastern United States. WHSR 980 AM and WWNN used to host Indian musical and religious programming weekly every Saturday and featured community leaders like Pundit Ramsurat K. Maharaj, Bhagwan R. Singh, Natty Ramoutar, Peter Ganesh, Al Mustapha, and Sam Subramani.

Most cultural shows continue to tie a cultural bond between the Indo-Caribbean and Indian-American communities, as well as inter-religious bonding between Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhist especially those hosted at educational institutions with an Indian student association like Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, Nova Southeastern University, Broward College, Palm Beach State College, and the University of Miami.

The Shiva Mandir in Oakland Park (first Hindu Mandir in South Florida, built in the 1980s by the Florida Hindu Organization led by Pt. Ramsurat K. Maharaj and hosts one of the largest annual Diwali shows in Florida), the Shree Saraswati Devi Mandir in Oakland Park, Krishna Mandir in Hollywood, Arya Samaj Mandir in Riverland, Shiva Lingam Mandir (Shiv Shakti Hanuman Mandir) in Margate, Palm Beach Hindu Mandir in Loxahatchee, Sanatan Sansthan Mandir in Loxahatchee, Shri Lakshmi Mandir in West Palm Beach, Florida Sevashram Sangha in Lake Worth, Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Palmetto Estates, the Amar Jyoti Mandir in Palmetto Bay, and the Devi Bhavan Mandir in South Miami Heights are largely attended by Indo-Caribbeans. Plantation High School, a school where most Caribbeans and Asians are of Indian descent, hosted an annual Diwali show from 1993 to 2008. Starting as a one-day event in 2008 and expanding to a three-day event since 2009, the Divali Nagar USA entertains the local community with musical and religious performances, food, and vendors.

Music is a large part of the Indo-Caribbean American community, which includes the tunes of Bollywood, Carnatic music, taan, bhajans, kirtan, quwwalis, Sufi, chutney music, baithak gana, chutney parang, chutney soca, tassa, soca, parang, steel pan, and calypso. Bharatnatyam and kathak are respected classical traditional dances, and dance items from Hindi films, Bhojpuri films, Tamil films, and Telugu films have grown in favor as well. With the increasing emphasis on partying, Bollywood, chutney, chutney-soca, and soca music are preferred by the young crowd. (see Indo-Caribbean music)

Politically, Indo-Caribbean Americans tend to favor the Democratic Party, with a AALDEF exit poll indicating that a majority (86%) of Indo-Caribbean American voters backed the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ticket in the 2020 presidential election. [3]

Notable people

Indo-Guyanese Americans

Indo-Jamaican Americans

Indo-Surinamese Americans

Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans

See also

Related Research Articles

The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. The art form was most popularised at that time by Harry Belafonte. Along with folk songs and African- and Indian-based classical forms, cross-cultural interactions have produced other indigenous forms of music including soca, rapso, parang, chutney, and other derivative and fusion styles. There are also local communities which practice and experiment with international classical and pop music, often fusing them with local steelpan instruments.

Chutney music is a fusion genre of Indian folk music, specifically Bhojpuri folk music, with Caribbean calypso and soca music, and later with Bollywood music. This genre of music that developed in Trinidad and Tobago is popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa. Chutney music emerged mid-20th century and reached a peak of popularity during the 1980s. Several sub-genres have developed.

The music of Guyana encompasses a range of musical styles and genres that draw from various influences including: Indian, Latino-Hispanic, European, African, Chinese, and Amerindian music. Popular Guyanese performers include: Terry Gajraj, Eddy Grant, Dave Martins & the Tradewinds, Aubrey Cummings, Colle´ Kharis and Nicky Porter. Eddie Hooper The Guyana Music Festival has proven to be influential on the Guyana music scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian</span> Ethnic group

Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians are people of Indian origin who are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago, whose ancestors came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845 during the period of colonization.

Dougla people are Caribbean people who are of mixed African and Indian descent. The word Dougla is used throughout the Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satnarayan Maharaj</span> Trinidad and Tobago politician

Satnarayan Maharaj, also known as Sat Maharaj, was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian Hindu religious leader, educationalist, and civil rights activist in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the Secretary-General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, a major Hindu organisation in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago</span> Town in Trinidad and Tobago

San Juan is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. Located in San Juan–Laventille region in Saint George County, it lies within the East-West Corridor Metropolitan Area, between Laventille and Saint Joseph.

The culture of Trinidad and Tobago reflects the influence of Indian-South Asian, African, Indigenous, European, Chinese, North American, Latino, and Arab cultures. The histories of Trinidad and Tobago are different. There are differences in the cultural influences which have shaped each island. Trinidad and Tobago is an English-speaking country with strong links to the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Trinidad and Tobago</span>

Hinduism in Trinidad and Tobago is the second largest religion. Hindu culture arrived to Trinidad and Tobago in 1845, with the arrival of the first Indian indentured laborers, whom an overwhelming majority of were Hindu. According to the 2011 census there were 240,100 declared Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago.

Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, and continuing during the British Raj.

Sundar Popo HBM, born Sundarlal Popo Bahora was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian musician. He is credited as being the father of Chutney music, beginning with his 1969 hit Nana and Nani.

In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname, chutney soca music is a crossover style of music incorporating soca and calypso elements and English, Hindustani, and Hinglish lyrics, chutney music, with Western instruments such as the guitar, piano, drum set, and Indian instruments such as the dholak, harmonium, tabla, and dhantal.

Maraj, Maharaj, Maharajh, Maragh, or Maharagh is a Hindu Indian surname derived from the Sanskrit word Maharaja meaning "great leader", "great ruler", or "great king". Originally used as an honorific suffix to a Hindu priest's name, it became the surname of many Hindu priests who immigrated to different European colonies during the Indian indenture system and their descendants because when stating their names to the respective local colonial authorities they would state their whole name and many would include the honorific suffix of Maharaj, which the authorities erroneously documented as their surname. Notable individuals bearing the surname include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caribbean Hindustani</span> Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Caribbean

Caribbean Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbeans and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is a koiné language mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most spoken dialects by the Indians who came as immigrants to the Caribbean from India as indentured laborers. It is closely related to Fiji Hindi and the Bhojpuri-Hindustani spoken in Mauritius and South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devant Maharaj</span>

Devant Maharaj is a Trinidad and Tobago politician, and social activist. He is a leading member of the United National Congress. On 27 June 2011, he became a member of the Senate of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Minister of Transport following his appointment as Chairman of the Public Services Transport Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago.

British Indo-Caribbean people are British citizens, whose recent ancestors came from the Caribbean, and who further trace their ancestry back to India and the wider subcontinent. The UK has a large population of Indo-Caribbean people.

Guyanese Americans are American people with Guyanese ancestry or immigrants who were born in Guyana. Guyana is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As of 2019, there are 231,649 Guyanese Americans currently living in the United States. The majority of Guyanese live in New York City – some 140,000 – making them the fifth-largest foreign-born population in the city.

Terry Vivekanand Gajraj is a Guyanese chutney and chutney-soca artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Guyana</span> 31% of the population of Guyana

Hinduism is the religion of about 31% of the population of Guyana in 2020. This makes Guyana the country with the highest percentage of Hindu residents in the Western Hemisphere.

Samdeo "Sam" Boodram was a Trinidadian Chutney, Bhajan, Indian classical and folk singer, Kabir Panthi mahant, and cocoa farmer. He recorded over 6,000 songs over the span of his career.

References

  1. "Indo-Caribbean Times December 2007 - Kidnapping - Venezuela". Scribd. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  2. "From the Whitby to the White House: How Indo-Caribbean Americans are Changing the Political Map". YouTube .
  3. "AALDEF Exit Poll: Asian Americans Favor Biden Over Trump 68% to 29%; Played Role in Close Races in Georgia and Other Battleground States". AALDEF. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  4. Chan, Sewell (June 18, 2009). "Hindu Priest From Guyana Is Mourned in Queens".
  5. "Reginald Lal Singh". IMDb.
  6. "Trini appointed vice president at Nike".
  7. Pryson, Mike (July 22, 2018). "Champion Racing Team owner Dave Maraj dies in boating accident". Autoweek.