The Bahamas Presentation for International Day

THE BASICS
Location Climate Population Capital & Largest City Languages Religion Currency In the Atlantic Ocean, between the United States (closest to Florida) and Cuba Always comfortable with temperatures between 60 80 degrees year round 350,000 people; 70% of population live in Nassau Nassau, well-known for its holiday resorts Atlantis and Paradise Island English is the primary language however, many people speak Bahamian Creole Wide variety of religious groups including, but not limited to, Baptists (35%), Anglicans (15%) and Roman Catholic (14%) Bahamian Dollar (1:1 with the US Dollar). Cost of living higher with import duty tax & freight on automobiles, clothes and food.

Motto
National Sport National Bird

Forward, Upward, Onward, Together

Spool sailing, declared in 1993. Bahamas teams include rugby, soccer and basketball West Indian Flamingo

MAP

HISTORY
Taino people (Lucayans) moved into the uninhabited southern Bahamas from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 11th century AD. There were an estimated 30,000+ Lucayans when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 on an island named San Salvador Island (or Watling's Island) in southeastern Bahamas. The Bahamas became a Crown Colony in 1718 when the British clamped down on piracy. Following the American War of Independence, thousands of enslaved Africans were moved to the Bahamas to set up a plantation economy. The British abolished slave trade in 1807 and many liberated Africans settled in the Bahamas in the 19th century. Modern political development began after WWII. The first political parties were formed in the 1950s and the British made the islands internally self-governing in 1964.

In 1973, the Bahamas became fully independent, but retained membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first black governor-general (the representative of Queen Elizabeth II) shortly after independence.
Today, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas is Hubert Ingraham and the Monarch remains Queen Elizabeth II.

CULTURE
Bahamian culture is a hybrid of African and European cultures. Though increasingly influenced by commercialisation (due to tourism) and American music and television, but dipiete this Bahamian culture retains much of its uniqueness. Bahamian culture is related to other creole cultures throughout the Caribbean Basin, but also to the Gullah culture in coastal South Carolina and Georgia in the United States. Many Gullah people were taken to the Bahamas after the American Revolutionary War. In the less developed outer islands, handicrafts include basketry made from palm fronds. This material, commonly called "straw", is plaited into hats and bags that are popular tourist items. Another use is for so-called "Voodoo dolls," even though such dolls are the result of the American imagination and not based on historic fact. Although not practised by native Bahamians, a form of folk magic obeah derived from West African origins, is practiced in some Family Islands (out-islands) of the Bahamas due to Haitian migration. The practice of obeah is however illegal in the Bahamas and punishable by law.[37] Junkanoo is a traditional African street parade of music, dance, and art held in Nassau (and a few other settlements) every Boxing Day, New Year's Day. Junkanoo is also used to celebrate other holidays and events such as Emancipation Day. Regattas are important social events in many family island settlements. They usually feature one or more days of sailing by old-fashioned , as well as an onshore festival. Some settlements have festivals associated with the traditional crop or food of that area, such as the "Pineapple Fest" in Gregory Town, Eleuthera or the "Crab Fest" on Andros. Other significant traditions include storytelling.

SIGHTS

Atlantis Paradise Island

Abaco Lighthouse

St Peters Church, Long Island

Downtown Nassau (Cruise-port)

SIGHTS

Eleuthera Public Beach

Cat Island-The Hermitage (Mt. Alvernia)

Nassau-The Queen's Staircase

Paradise Island- Versailles Gardens

CUISINE
Conch Fritters a savory doughnut containing conch(a single shelled marine mollusk), onions, sweet peppers and tomatoes that is battered and deep fried, often served with a peppered tomato mayonnaise sauce
a delicious Ceviche of conch marinated in lime juice with fresh tomatoes, onions, and celery.

Conch Salad

Guava Duff- a boiled jelly roll made of a fluffy dough

filled with fresh guava and topped with a rum butter sauce Other popular dishes are, cracked conch (bruised, battered and deep fried conch) boiled fish and grits , peas soup and dumplings and souse (well-cooked pickled pigs feet, sheep's tongue or chicken) with Johnny cakes

MUSIC
JUNKANOO a rhythmic drum driven amalgamation of sound. This festive music combines the sounds of the conch shell, goat skin drums, cow bells and a variety of brass instruments including trumpets, saxophones and the tuba. RAKE-N-SCRAPE -this genre uses the unlikely instruments of spoons, butter knives and carpenter saws to accompany drums and aerophones similar to the rick-saw music of the Turks and Caicos islands, (formerly a part of the Bahamas). Traditionally used to accompany the Bahamian Quadrille and the heel-toe polka all relics of the initial mixture of Africa and Europe.

Junkanoo
Junkanoo- a celebration themed festival once used to mark the end of slavery is filled with costumes that are elaborate and costly. The largest festivals are held in Nassau in the wee hours of the morning on Boxing Day(Dec 26) and New years day. Costumes are distinctively made of cardboard and decorated primarily with crepe paper, feathers, glitter and beads, but can encompass a wide range of form, shape, size, design, and taste.

FAMOUS BAHAMIANS

Sir Sidney Poitier

Tonique Williams-Darling

Johnny Kemp

Words and Adages

Jook: To stab or poke, from the West African word of the same meaning. Commonly used to express outrage at hypocrisy : Well jook me up, an' stab me in my back Eh?: Similar to huh, it usually emphasizes the end of a questionvery similar to the way its used in Canada, i.e., So youre a tourist, eh? Asue or Asue draw: a form of lottery traced to a Yoruba custom "Hard head bird don't make good soup": "When a person is stubborn, he/she will learn the hard way". "New Broom Sweep Clean, But Ole Broom know where ya dirt is": "Never forget your old friends when you make new ones".

PLACES OF INTEREST FAMOUS BAHAMIANS

BAHAMIAN CULTURE FOOD

St. Peters Church (Long Island)

Atlantis (Paradise Island)

Versailles Gardens