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Garifuna

people
Also known as: Black Carib, Garinagu

Quick Summary

The Garifuna are a people of mixed African and Indigenous Caribbean descent who primarily reside along the Caribbean coast of northern Central America, including Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Their presence in Central America is relatively recent, stemming from the deportation of a group from Saint Vincent and Dominica by British forces starting in 1797.12

The Garifuna language is an Arawakan language, though it contains many Cariban elements. This linguistic makeup is a result of historical interactions where African slaves mingled with the Indigenous Carib people. The language is spoken by approximately 190,000 people and also by Garifuna emigrants in the United States. The name "Garifuna" itself is derived from a Proto-Cariban word meaning "native, indigenous person".12

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. Garífuna language
  2. Garifuna

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