Ennis B. Edmonds and Michelle A. Gonzalez
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814722343
- eISBN:
- 9780814722848
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814722343.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter focuses on three religious traditions—Hinduism, Islam, and Rastafari—that reflect post-emancipation colonial Caribbean religion and the negotiation of identity as the island nations ...
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This chapter focuses on three religious traditions—Hinduism, Islam, and Rastafari—that reflect post-emancipation colonial Caribbean religion and the negotiation of identity as the island nations finally achieved independence from European powers. The importation of indentured workers from Asia at the end of the nineteenth century deepened the religious diversity of the Caribbean with the introduction of Islamic and Hindu religious traditions. While Islam first arrived in the Caribbean via the transatlantic slave trade, the arrival of Muslim Asians gave it a visibility unseen in prior centuries. People of African descent also began to seek a revitalization of their African heritage by founding such groups as the Rastafarian movement. Through Rastafari, Afro-Jamaicans sought to articulate a sense of African religion and identity while still being influenced by and struggling against the legacy of European colonialism.Less
This chapter focuses on three religious traditions—Hinduism, Islam, and Rastafari—that reflect post-emancipation colonial Caribbean religion and the negotiation of identity as the island nations finally achieved independence from European powers. The importation of indentured workers from Asia at the end of the nineteenth century deepened the religious diversity of the Caribbean with the introduction of Islamic and Hindu religious traditions. While Islam first arrived in the Caribbean via the transatlantic slave trade, the arrival of Muslim Asians gave it a visibility unseen in prior centuries. People of African descent also began to seek a revitalization of their African heritage by founding such groups as the Rastafarian movement. Through Rastafari, Afro-Jamaicans sought to articulate a sense of African religion and identity while still being influenced by and struggling against the legacy of European colonialism.
