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Origins of Africans in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
Origins of Africans in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
People should never forget their origins, those who do lose the essence as a people or nation; destroying the very core of what defined them as a nation, country or ethnic group.
As a tool for our people to know our roots, where we come from and who where our ancestors is the reason for this piece of work; taken from many valuable documents and reliable sources
From various sources it is known of the arrival of enslaved Africans of various ethnic origins into what is today the Dominican Republic(Santo Domingo). One of these sources is the man in charge of logistics for the plantation of Hernando Gorjon, of which was realized on December 1547.
In this document appears the names and surnames of various slaves that belonged to this plantation. Other documents such as the ones relating to the downfall of Osorio in 1505 and 1506 contain the name of rebellious slaves (maroons) which where captured or killed by authorities.
It was very common that people brought from the African continent got baptized with the name of their masters but the surname would be respective to their ethnic group or port of origin. However it must be mentioned that many times these surnames wouldn’t always be an exact match of the ethnic group of the person, but rather the port of origin.
A good example of this is the so called “Minas” which where not of one ethnicity. In reality they received this surname because of the Fort Mina established by the portugeses in the gold coast (Ghana).
The Geographic location and possible origins of some of the enslaved Africans.
Angola With this surname many came into Santo Domingo, coming from the six provinces that divide the Nadongo territory. Angola is the name given by the portugese to this part of the Kongo empire.
Arará These must have been very numerous in the Spanish colony (Santo Domingo). They belonged to the Ewe and Fon ethnic groups of Dahomey, and where generally taken from Whydah. The name Arará comes from the capital of the Andrá empire, Allada. The Arara's who came to Santo domingo where very known for their Religious brotherhoods, which where made up exclusively by them, such as the two fratenritise of SAn Cosme and San Damian. Also the Arara's made a large bulk of the slaves who went to the french part of the island (Haiti)
Bambara Where an ethnic group whom at the beginning of the 17th Century where comprised of the kingdoms around the Niger, Segu and Kaarta rivers. It seems that the origin of the Bambara comes about after the downfall of the Mandinga empire. According to the chronicles of the time they where agricultural and animist peoples.
Bran Slaves from this nation must’ve come in considerable numbers into this island. They where embarked at the factory of San Jorge de Mina (Ghana). Their real name is Brong; They came around the time of the Lusophone (Portugese) possession of the gold coast.
Calabar Belonged to the region of the Calabar or Carabales, between the Delta of the Niger and the King River. All the slaves from this densely populated area came into Santo Domingo and the rest of the Americas with the name “Carabaalies.” They where stereotyped of being gentle and mellow.
Congos Congo, which includes all the inhabitants of the coasts of the Zaire river, “discovered” in 1482 by the portugese Diego Cao. The leader of this region had the title of the “Manicongo”, and with the name Congo a large number of Slaves came into Santo Domingo. They where from the Congo Kingdom, of the Bantu ethnicity; which in reality comprised various diverse ethnic groups, some of which had their respective ethnic groups as surnames in Santo Domingo.
The Congo culture injected itself strongly into Santo Domingo, which is why much of their culture compromises today’s Dominican Culture.
Fala This is with no doubt the Fula ethnic group. An ethnic group originally located in the Sandy steeps of Futa Toro, in central Senegal. The group is a mix of Mandinga and Serere. The Fulas where also known as Peules and with this name they crossed over into what is today Haiti. They had “Caucasoid” features, and this is why other Africans would refer to them as “White”. They where practicionesr of Islam, and many of them where literate in Arabic.
Lucumi This name is a variant of Locumi, name given to the Yorubas who passed into the Americas. There where other names as well; in Haiti and Brazil they where known as Nagos. While in Cuba and Santo Domingo they where called Lucumis. The Lucuimis aka Yoruba’s where the bulk of the slaves brought to Cuba and Brazil and because of this their cultural remnants implanted themselves so strongly in these two countries
Mandinga The Mandingas formed part of the Mande group and established themselves as a Kingdom which arose from the Senegal and Niger valleys, to later on be absorbed into the Solinke ethnic group. They where abundant in America and in some places such as Mexico and Venezuela, their name is associated with Devil or Witchdoctor in the island. The Brazilian Anthropologist Arthur Ramos said that they where cruel and warlike.
Mina The diverse set of groups that extended from the Bandana and Volta rivers where a numerous part of the slaves brought to America. This region was partly called the “Gold Coast” and compromised of various kingdoms. The largest center of slavery there was the fort of “San Jorge de Mina”, this is why a large number of its inhabitants came into the Americas with the surname Mina. The minas all came into Santo Domingo from the French colony (Haiti) and where given freedom upon reaching Spanish Territory (Santo Domingo)
Tierranova With this name came an ethnic group probably taken from Port Novo, close to the Whydah. Larrazabal remembers that Sandoval mentiosn that the Lucumis or Terranovos as blacks who would first make a pitstop in Sao Tome before coming to the west.
Zape Ethnic group from Sierra Leone, whose territory in the times of slavery was the region of north Guinea. The Zapes must’ve came in large numbers into Santo Domingo during the 16th century, despite the fact that this region wasn’t a big source of slaves into the Americas.
If we take the ethnic groups mentioned we can divide the majority of the groups who arrived into Santo Domingo into three big African cultural areas.
A) The Congo, Bantu area of agricultural ecnomy, towns of square houses, whose walls are of Clay-mud and whose Roofs where of straw. A very complex sociopolitical structure and based on Matriarchal family.
B) The Guinean area of Sudanese languages, very culturally developed, of complex religion, (Vodus, Orichas) and magical/mindreading pratices.
C) Western Sudanese area, of marginal character, large kingdoms and empires compromised of predominantly pastoral and agricultural towns. Very much influenced by complex Muslim influences
I did not write this, but I will be editing and adding my own contributions, However though I did translate this into English. This is a link and the credit goes to the original blogger who wrote this in Spanish.
http://urenuerelv47.blogspot.com/2009/01/etnias-africanas-en-la-esc...
People should never forget their origins, those who do lose the essence as a people or nation; destroying the very core of what defined them as a nation, country or ethnic group.
As a tool for our people to know our roots, where we come from and who where our ancestors is the reason for this piece of work; taken from many valuable documents and reliable sources
From various sources it is known of the arrival of enslaved Africans of various ethnic origins into what is today the Dominican Republic(Santo Domingo). One of these sources is the man in charge of logistics for the plantation of Hernando Gorjon, of which was realized on December 1547.
In this document appears the names and surnames of various slaves that belonged to this plantation. Other documents such as the ones relating to the downfall of Osorio in 1505 and 1506 contain the name of rebellious slaves (maroons) which where captured or killed by authorities.
It was very common that people brought from the African continent got baptized with the name of their masters but the surname would be respective to their ethnic group or port of origin. However it must be mentioned that many times these surnames wouldn’t always be an exact match of the ethnic group of the person, but rather the port of origin.
A good example of this is the so called “Minas” which where not of one ethnicity. In reality they received this surname because of the Fort Mina established by the portugeses in the gold coast (Ghana).
The Geographic location and possible origins of some of the enslaved Africans.
Angola With this surname many came into Santo Domingo, coming from the six provinces that divide the Nadongo territory. Angola is the name given by the portugese to this part of the Kongo empire.
Arará These must have been very numerous in the Spanish colony (Santo Domingo). They belonged to the Ewe and Fon ethnic groups of Dahomey, and where generally taken from Whydah. The name Arará comes from the capital of the Andrá empire, Allada. The Arara's who came to Santo domingo where very known for their Religious brotherhoods, which where made up exclusively by them, such as the two fratenritise of SAn Cosme and San Damian. Also the Arara's made a large bulk of the slaves who went to the french part of the island (Haiti)
Bambara Where an ethnic group whom at the beginning of the 17th Century where comprised of the kingdoms around the Niger, Segu and Kaarta rivers. It seems that the origin of the Bambara comes about after the downfall of the Mandinga empire. According to the chronicles of the time they where agricultural and animist peoples.
Bran Slaves from this nation must’ve come in considerable numbers into this island. They where embarked at the factory of San Jorge de Mina (Ghana). Their real name is Brong; They came around the time of the Lusophone (Portugese) possession of the gold coast.
Calabar Belonged to the region of the Calabar or Carabales, between the Delta of the Niger and the King River. All the slaves from this densely populated area came into Santo Domingo and the rest of the Americas with the name “Carabaalies.” They where stereotyped of being gentle and mellow.
Congos Congo, which includes all the inhabitants of the coasts of the Zaire river, “discovered” in 1482 by the portugese Diego Cao. The leader of this region had the title of the “Manicongo”, and with the name Congo a large number of Slaves came into Santo Domingo. They where from the Congo Kingdom, of the Bantu ethnicity; which in reality comprised various diverse ethnic groups, some of which had their respective ethnic groups as surnames in Santo Domingo.
The Congo culture injected itself strongly into Santo Domingo, which is why much of their culture compromises today’s Dominican Culture.
Fala This is with no doubt the Fula ethnic group. An ethnic group originally located in the Sandy steeps of Futa Toro, in central Senegal. The group is a mix of Mandinga and Serere. The Fulas where also known as Peules and with this name they crossed over into what is today Haiti. They had “Caucasoid” features, and this is why other Africans would refer to them as “White”. They where practicionesr of Islam, and many of them where literate in Arabic.
Lucumi This name is a variant of Locumi, name given to the Yorubas who passed into the Americas. There where other names as well; in Haiti and Brazil they where known as Nagos. While in Cuba and Santo Domingo they where called Lucumis. The Lucuimis aka Yoruba’s where the bulk of the slaves brought to Cuba and Brazil and because of this their cultural remnants implanted themselves so strongly in these two countries
Mandinga The Mandingas formed part of the Mande group and established themselves as a Kingdom which arose from the Senegal and Niger valleys, to later on be absorbed into the Solinke ethnic group. They where abundant in America and in some places such as Mexico and Venezuela, their name is associated with Devil or Witchdoctor in the island. The Brazilian Anthropologist Arthur Ramos said that they where cruel and warlike.
Mina The diverse set of groups that extended from the Bandana and Volta rivers where a numerous part of the slaves brought to America. This region was partly called the “Gold Coast” and compromised of various kingdoms. The largest center of slavery there was the fort of “San Jorge de Mina”, this is why a large number of its inhabitants came into the Americas with the surname Mina. The minas all came into Santo Domingo from the French colony (Haiti) and where given freedom upon reaching Spanish Territory (Santo Domingo)
Tierranova With this name came an ethnic group probably taken from Port Novo, close to the Whydah. Larrazabal remembers that Sandoval mentiosn that the Lucumis or Terranovos as blacks who would first make a pitstop in Sao Tome before coming to the west.
Zape Ethnic group from Sierra Leone, whose territory in the times of slavery was the region of north Guinea. The Zapes must’ve came in large numbers into Santo Domingo during the 16th century, despite the fact that this region wasn’t a big source of slaves into the Americas.
If we take the ethnic groups mentioned we can divide the majority of the groups who arrived into Santo Domingo into three big African cultural areas.
A) The Congo, Bantu area of agricultural ecnomy, towns of square houses, whose walls are of Clay-mud and whose Roofs where of straw. A very complex sociopolitical structure and based on Matriarchal family.
B) The Guinean area of Sudanese languages, very culturally developed, of complex religion, (Vodus, Orichas) and magical/mindreading pratices.
C) Western Sudanese area, of marginal character, large kingdoms and empires compromised of predominantly pastoral and agricultural towns. Very much influenced by complex Muslim influences
I did not write this, but I will be editing and adding my own contributions, However though I did translate this into English. This is a link and the credit goes to the original blogger who wrote this in Spanish.
http://urenuerelv47.blogspot.com/2009/01/etnias-africanas-en-la-esc...
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