Identity and Social Formation 2014
Cultural Erasure, Retention and Renewal
Cultural Erasure
This refers to the diminishing or discontinuance of cultural practices in a given society (Reid,
2007)
In the Caribbean there are many cultural erasures. They can be seen in all aspects of society.

Architecture
We no longer build wooden structures, like chattel houses. This has been replaced by
concrete blocks, and steel

Food
Fast food restaurants such as KFC, Burger King and McDonalds have diminished the viability of
most local restaurants and other eating places that served local dishes. Fast food has become
so pervasive and powerful that more and more people rely less on home cooked meals,
especially on weekends and public holidays. Also the belief that malted milks and chocolate
beverages bases which are heavily advertised can give children energy and nourishment for
top performance in sport and academic achievement instead of reliance on herbal
supplements.

Sports
The decrease in interest of young people in the traditional sport of cricket for the
preference of football and basketball as a popular sport.

Social interaction
The traditional practices of storytelling, where stories of Anansi and Brer Rabbit were the
norm has been replaced by packaged programmes of radio, television, cinema and cable.
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Prepared by Mrs. S. Goodridge
Identity and Social Formation 2014
Cultural practices like the stick licking as traditional forms of combat, has
almost but died out only perhaps seen at cultural events.
Local knowledge of herbs and the use of folk medicine is at a stage of
extinction.
Preparation of seasonings (with the mortal and pestle), condiments have been
replaced by mass production of seasoning products.
Dress
The dress code to church has changed significantly as jeans and slippers and other casual
wear clothing appears to be the norm for young persons instead of the formal wear.
Secular activities are being held on Sundays such as cricket and football matches, reggae and
jazz festivals etc. and the opening of stores or supermarkets on Sunday. Previously Sunday
was considered sacred.
Community
The practice of whole community bringing up a child has given way to parents or guardians
alone take responsibility for nurturing of children. The African proverb it takes a village to
raise a child is dying.
The use of god parents is a fast disappearing practice and their concern for godchildren is
gone
Liming with friends on a Sunday evening has given way to watching cable or local television
stations.
Family structure
The extended family structure is being replaced by single and nuclear family types.
Cultural Retention
Cultural retention is the continuation of cultural practices of the past into the present (
(Reid, 2007). This resulted from a deliberate desire to keep traditions alive so that some
groups will be able to preserve their sense of identity. E.g. the Maroon community of Jamaica
at Moore Town, is distinctive because of its long history in rebuffing European Values and
norms to retain their West African practices (College, 2012)
How is Cultural Retention demonstrated?
1. Retention of common tongue such as ‘patois’-which the African developed to
communicate with master as they were enslaved on the plantations in the Caribbean.
Patois is a mixture of European (French, English and Spanish dialets) and West African
languages
2. Celebration of national holidays such as Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas
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Identity and Social Formation 2014
3. Food- Cooking of pudding and souse on Saturdays, and Cou-cou and red herring.
4. Learning of folksongs by children
5. The West Indians retain the hair styles of the African where the hair is plait in “corn
rows/cane rows”
6. African Art forms as part of Caribbean cultural expressions. For example the use of
drums in various productions such as NIFCA, DANCING AFRICA, ISRAEL LOVELL
FOUNDATION, AND PINELAND CREATIVE ARTS)
7. Various festivals/celebrations that are celebrated have a strong link to West African
practices e.g. Agro-Fest, John Canoe etc.
Cultural Renewal
This refers to the effort to salvage parts of our past by fashioning new practices based on the
old practices that have been discontinued or abandoned.
Cultural Renewal stems from the feeling that there is much value in the practices that have
been neglected, and therefore a return to those practices will help to rekindle some interest
in the dying culture. In the Caribbean, there has been a renewed emphasis on African folk
culture and many countries now observe to celebrate their African heritage.
Examples
1. Emancipation Day is a national holiday in most countries to remember
2. Renewed interest in African Dress
3. Renewed interest in African religions like the Spiritual Baptist, Orisha in T&T and
Pocomania in Jamaica
4. In the 1970”s the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) was started
in Barbados and CARIFESTA in the wider region, in order to encourage research and
performance of local culture in drama, poetry, dance and folk songs.
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