#Indo-Caribbean

[bossymarmalade]

After just using the well-known Caribbean phrase "massa day done" as a tag in reference to the sun finally setting on the British Empire, I thought I'd revisit Dr. Eric Williams' famous 1961 speech decrying the appointment of a rich white man to political office as a "feather in the cap" of the party, the speech where the term was solidified in our culture as shorthand for self-determination and independence. And I couldn't stop laughing because it was exactly the way that a certain class of educated West Indian STILL talks to this very day when irritated:

This pack of benighted idiots, this band of obscurantist politicians, this unholy alliance of egregious individualists, who have nothing constructive to say, who babble week after week the same criticisms that we have lived through for five long years, who, nincompoops that they are, think that they can pick up any old book the day before a debate in the Legislative Council and can pull a fast one in the Council by leaving out the sentence or the paragraph or the pages which contradict their ignorant declamations for people like these power is all that matters.

I love this aspect of Caribbean language-ways and how we adhere to that particular era of English that came over on the boats. It's like how the specific form of Bhojpuri spoken by East Indian indentured labourers didn't develop in an Indian context but alongside/blended with other language groups in Trinidad & Tobago, and why our words for things don't scan with Hindi-speakers from the sourceland.

When I moved back to Canada from Trinidad and spoke with other Indian people, sourceland Indians, they never knew "what I was" or what I was saying when I used Trini Hindi. It was a source of embarrassment then, constantly having to explain that we from the diaspora are still Indian and also distinctly individual, but now I love it. My sister nearly physically fought some dude in a kebab shop in England over her identifying as Trini-Canadian rather than South Asian because he said she "wasn't proud of who she was".

We have to tick "South Asian" on forms because there's no space for us and any reference to Caribbean is Afro-Caribbean, but that's not really what I identify as. I'm the granddaughter of those sugar cane plantation workers who were told (in 1926!) "the less education your children have, the better". I'm the daughter of a man who grew up in the plantation barracks where the sugar employers thought it "unnecessary to provide adequate sanitary facilities for their employees, because the workers would not use them".

Massa day done. It's a powerful phrase when you're constantly decolonizing your own identity in the face of a world that isn't aware of what you are.

Massa Day Done, Sahib Day Done, Yes Suh Boss Day Done. - dr. eric williams

[thebellekeys]

one of the absolute worst unironic takes i've seen on the instawebs is "only people from x background can write main characters from x background" like holy shit how can you possibly politicize literature to this extent?

it's genuinely shocking to me that some people's personal motto when it comes to art and media creation is "only write what you are". with this mindset, writing inherently becomes about social and political identity when it should be about "let's do justice to this character and their background the best we can".

[mymusicbias]

[sorrelwine]

Ughhh I wish I could just fucking rip out my genetic code and look at what my ancestors been up to

[bmpmp3]

naming ocs is such a struggle in general but its especially a struggle when you want to name ur ocs realistic stuff thats of non white and/or non english speaking origin because like if ur a foolish monolingual english speaker like myself u gotta constantly outrun the churned out baby naming website listicles of non-english names listed with meanings they either garbled through a game of telephone at best or just straight made up at worst while trying to find any research source u can read thats half decent. fighting for my life out here

AND LIKE its not like i can ask any friends and acquaintances about this stuff like HOW do i ask some work buddy like hey. what culturally thoughtful name should i give my funny little cartoon guy. thank you and goodnight I CANT i cant do it orz

of course i dont mind a weird made-up name on occasion, but like. and this might be more important to me in particular as i am some kinda vaguely ambiguous mixed race person with very noticeably "ethnic" name for the north american country i live in who also has like 389423053742 vaguely ambiguous mixed race ocs but. you know. i love my oc Sci. and I love that his name is Sci short for Science Fiction. and I love that he's a second generation iranian canadian named Sci pronounced Sai short for Science Fiction. but a real human name would be nice sometimes too LOL

[jennesaisquoii]

Another trip around the sun ✈️☀️

[danicadenniss]

Na’ Luzia Rio Garcia-Naruto

Aliases: Luz, Lu, Clover, Cloverleaf, Clovis, Cloves

Home: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (birthplace, formerly) Titan City, United Republic of Nations

Elements: Lava, Earth, Metal

Abilities: Earth Bending, Lava Bending, Metal Bending, Crafting Skills, Drawing Skills, Black Smithing Skills

Affection: Rebellion Alliance, Ninja Turtles

Occupation: Student At Titan City School

Species: Human

Gender: Nonbinary (they/them pronouns)

Ethnicity: Dougla (African Dominican American, Indian Trinidadian)

Height: 4’10-5’1

Weight: 135

Hair Color: Dark Auburn/Light Reddish Blonde (dyed ombré)

Eyes Color: Hazel Brown

Skin Color: Dark Golden Brown (Reddish Tan Freckles)

Family Members: Na’Koda Naruto (father), Stella Mia Garcia (mother), Blaze of Domino+ (paternal uncle), Calvin Clark (maternal uncle), Nara Naruto+ (paternal aunt), Karen Ann Garcia-Clark, Trudy Elena Garcia (maternal aunts), Chief Navajo Naruto+ (paternal grandfather), Ramon Juan Garcia (maternal grandfather), Novae Naruto (paternal grandmother), Gloria Garcia (maternal grandmother), Na’Ravi Rohan Naruto/Ryan Darryl McGrime, Na’ Divya Sita Naruto/Lillian Sonia LaBride, Na’ Kai Thorn Naruto/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/New Limbonar (oldest paternal cousins), Leonardo Santiago Clark, Marcus Carlos Clark, Megan Paola Clark, Antonio Pablo Clark (youngest cousins), Unnamed Great Paternal Grandmother+, Unnamed Great Great Grandmother+, Seth Rick Manson, Prince Bu Ji-Hoon (cousins in law)

Love Interest: Jennifer May O’Neil (girlfriend)

Voiced By: Olivia Olsen

Appearance:

Na’ Luzia Rio Garcia-Naruto is a dark golden brown skinned, slim and slender Dougla pre teenager nonbinary girl (later teenager into a young nonbinary woman, she is an African Dominican American from her mother’s side and Indian Trinidadian from her father’s side.) with short think wavy/straight dark auburn and light reddish blonde ombré dyed hair with right side bangs, narrow auburn brown eyebrows, hazel brown eyes, reddish tan freckles on her cheeks and thin dark reddish brown lips. They wear pairs of navy blue metallic studded earrings, and a small sliver chain pendant with an black onyx charm around their neck, a cropped graphic burgundy off the shoulder t shirt with a white jaguar print on it front, a reddish orange ribbed tank top underneath, red and black tie dye streetwise ripped washed denim shorts with and red crocs with nonbinary flag and lesbian heart shaped printed charms on them with low cut black socks. They also wear nonbinary lesbian pride wristband with her pronouns, “They/Them” on their left wrist.

[qquipart]

About Me

Hello 👋 I'm Krish, storyboard revisionist for action/drama tv (hire me✌️).

Absolutely consumed by baldurs gate and caitvi right now.

🏳️‍🌈🇬🇾🇨🇦🇺🇸

Where to find me~

I have a sideblog! @mooseboogaloo

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[piononostalgia]

Wendy Nanan

« New Baby Krishna »

Papier-mâché and oil paint, 2020

[mymusicbias]

[nycmixing]

Heeralal Rampartap // Chutney Possy // Remix

[dogandcatcomics]

#repost @suchitramattaiart Suchitra Mattai (Denver, Colorado, USA, b. Guyana, 1973-). A Magical Garden, 2023, gouache on found print, 10 x 8 in. Note the canine representation in the background print.

[luvmesumus]