Haitian Culture Essay

According to The Central Intelligence Agency (2013), the native Taino - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The other two thirds of the island is also known as the Dominican Republic. The island itself can be compared to the size of the state Maryland.
According to The Central Intelligence Agency (2013), 95% of the population’s Haiti’s race is black and the other 5% is mulatto or white. The wealthiest people tend to be lighter-skinned or white. The languages two main languages Haitian’s speak is French and Creole.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. Some the chronic problems that the Haitian’s face is food insecurity and hunger. According to Schwartz (2004) 77% of
Haiti’s population is in living in poverty. Some studies have linked why these Haitians are in such poverty. Some point to poor access of credit, lack of infrastructure, low education levels, and limited social capital. Others studies point to inequality of access to inputs, such as tools, water, good land and knowledge. It is a nation of small farmers, commonly referred to as peasants, who work small private landholdings and depend primarily on their own labor and that of family members. There are no contemporary plantations and few concentrations of land. Real income for the average family has not increased in over twenty years and has declined precipitously in rural areas. In most rural areas, the average family of six earns less than $500 per year. The infrastructure is in a very poor condition. International efforts to change this situation have been under way since 1915, but the country may be more underdeveloped today than it was one hundred years ago. International food aid, predominantly from the United States, supplies over ten percent of the country 's needs. Since the 1960s, the country has become heavily dependent on food imports—primarily rice, flour, and beans—from particularly from the United States as well.
Having lack of food and having to depend on the United States is just one of their multiple problems Haitian’s face. According to Schwartz (2004) again, Malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis, intestinal parasites, and sexually transmitted diseases take a toll on the population. Estimates of HIV among those ages twenty-two to forty-four years are as high as 11 percent, and estimates among prostitutes in the capital are as high as 80 percent. There is less than one doctor per eight-thousand people. Medical facilities are poorly funded and understaffed, and most health care workers are incompetent. Life expectancy in 1999 was under fifty-one years.
As stated by Schwartz (2004), “Rice and beans are considered the national dish and are the most commonly eaten meal in urban areas.
Traditional rural staples are sweet potatoes, manioc, yams, corn, rice, pigeon peas, cowpeas, bread, and coffee. More recently, a wheat-soy blend from the United States has been incorporated into the diet. Haitians generally eat two meals a day: a small breakfast of coffee and bread, juice, or an egg and a large afternoon meal dominated by a carbohydrate source such as manioc, sweet potatoes, or rice. The afternoon meal always includes beans or a bean sauce, and there is usually a small amount of poultry, fish, goat, or, less commonly, beef or mutton, typically prepared as a sauce with a tomato paste base. Fruits are prized as between-meal snacks. Non-elite people do not necessarily have community or family meals, and individuals eat wherever they are comfortable. A snack customarily is eaten at night before one goes to
sleep.”
Marriage in Haiti is what can be considered uncustomary in some countries, but could be seen as normal in America. However, with or without legal marriage, a union typically is considered complete and gets the respect of the community when a man has built a house for the woman and after the first child has been born. When marriage does occur, it is usually later in a couple 's relationship, long after a household has been established and the children have begun to reach adulthood. In the household, the husband is thought of as the owner and must plant gardens and tend livestock. However, the house typically is associated with the woman, and a sexually faithful woman cannot be expelled from a household and is thought of as the manager of the property and the decision maker regarding use of funds from the sale of garden produce and household animals.
Usually by the age of seven or eight most rural children start serious work. Children are important in going out and getting household water and firewood, helping to cook, and cleaning around the house. Children look after livestock, help their parents in the garden, and run errands. Parents are often harsh disciplinarians and children that are working-age may be whipped. Kids are expected to be respectful to adults and obedient to family members, even to siblings only a few years older than themselves. They are not allowed to talk back and are expected to say thank you and please.

Works Cited: 1. The World Factbook 2013-14. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013 . https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html 2. Rural Poverty Portal. (2008, October). Retrieved July 23, 2013, from http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/en/country/home/tags/haiti 3. SCHWARTZ, T. T. (2004). Culture of Haiti - history, people, clothing, traditions, women, beliefs, food, customs, family. Retrieved July 23, 2013, from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Haiti.html