I have seen this item on the H-Caribbean List and another friend also forwarded it to me for my comments. I am extremely puzzled at the idea of a Barbadian with Arawak ancestry: when the island was settled circa 1637, there were none of the original inhabitants there so I do not understand how such a genealogy going back to 1596 would even be possible. There is of course still an Arawak presence in Dominica and in (British) Guiana, but I know of no Arawak links to Barbados. Can anyone on the List shed any light on this? As for the Jamaican "sung genealogies" I can't say that I have ever heard of such a thing in any of the islands in which I lived (including 3 years in Jamaica). And what link is there between Jamaica and the slave markets in he Carolinas? I seriously doubt that slaves in Jamaica came there via the mainland and not directly from Africa (or at least via Barbados!) Historians please: Any serious scholarly evidence for these claims? Ernest -----Original Message----- From: caribbean-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:caribbean-bounces@rootsweb.com] Subject: [Carib] Fw: Oral History & Caribbean Geneologies? Hi, everyone, I received the message below from the H-Caribbean list. Even if we can't help, it certainly is worth sharing. Augusta Elmwood in rainy-Sunday New Orleans ----- Original Message ----- From: "Audra A. Diptee" <adiptee@MAIL.H-NET.MSU.EDU> To: <H-CARIBBEAN@H-NET.MSU.EDU> Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 9:15 AM Subject: Oral History & Caribbean Geneologies? > From: David V. Trotman <dtrotman@yorku.ca> > A colleague at York University reported the following from his class on > genealogy: "Meanwhile, Winnie, Jamaican, reeled off eleven generations. Back into the slave times. Well now, that beguiled us all, in our classroom. We asked how she did that. > She said that Jamaican families sing their genealogies. The tune and > rhythm is shared, but the content is your own. These songs string you > back, in Winnie's case, through the maroons up-country, and then, these > days, allow the modern family to link the sung record to written records > of the slave markets of the Carolinas". > In response to this a graduate student, from Barbados, claiming Arawak > ancestry declared: > "I think this is entirely possible...I can trace my geneology back to 1596 > so I don't see why this student can't. We don't sing ours though. We do it > as a response to the question "who are you?" with the response for me > being, I am Leilani, child of Elizabeth, child of Janice, child of Martha, > child of The Lucky One, child of Amorotahe Haubariria, child of Amorotahe, > grandchild of Wiwakaleme, child of the great Harpy eagle. I am a Harpy > Eagle Lokono". > Do other members of the list know of the existence of these practices in > the Caribbean? If so, how widespread is this? Is there any published research on this aspect of the oral tradition in the Caribbean? > David V. Trotman