Garifuna Language and History

The modern Garínagu (plural of Garífuna) are descendants of Africans who emerged as a new ethnic group, fully assimilated to the Kalípona language and culture of St. Vincent Island in the Caribbean before the 19th century. The Kalíponas were native peoples of the Lesser Antilles, and are sometimes called ‘Island Carib’ in the literature. A Garífuna may or may not have Kalípona ancestry. Some modern Garínagu in Central America may not descend directly from the original Garífuna group from St. Vincent, bur rather from other Afro-descendant groups (Blacks from Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico or descendants of early Africans in Guatemala and Honduras) who were already established in the coastal region of Guatemala and Honduras before the arrival of the Garínagu at the end of the 1700s and the early 1800s. However, by means of ancestral intermingling with the Garínagu, they would have emerged as full-fledged Garínagu themselves.

The Garífuna Nation is that combined area of Garífuna settlements on the Caribbean coast of Central America that includes Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and to some extent, Nicaragua. Today, Garínagu are found all over the world, including all parts of Central America and concentrations in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

This web site discusses the global linguistic and ethno-history of the Garínagu, but it is ultimately dedicated to the Garífuna settlement of Labuga, Wadimalu (Livingston, Guatemala). Though hundreds of thousands of Garífuna families have lived in Labuga for over two centuries, more dominant ethnic groups – in an effort to take advantage of Garífuna world fame and capitalize on increasing tourism in Labuga – threaten the Garífuna way of life. This website is dedicated to the Garífunas of Labuga and as such, all pictures and blogs on this site depict Garifunas from Labuga.