Post by colonial pikin on Mar 17, 2016 8:10:19 GMT
We are one country and he is my countrymen but there are cultural differences between the two islands.Tobago is over 90% black and a much closer knit society.Trinidad has a stronger influence from other races....it's more of a mixed society.Also our accents are different.I merely told you he is Tobagonian because Tobagonians don't like to be labelled as Trinidadians.We use the term Trinbagonian to encompass the two islands but being island specific I am not Tobagonian.Every man just like to be properly labelled in the Caribbean just how other islanders don't like others to call them Jamaicans.
Yes I am black...what else will I be huh?....unless one is being specific where it will be recognized a significant amount of the blacks in Trinidad aren't pure but actually mixed.Colonial pikin basically means I am a child of colonialism etc....I think that aptly describes us.The Caribbean region is a product of slavery and colonialism and much of the structures,identification etc that remain is as a result of colonialism.Is Naija not a product of colonialism?
Do Tobagonians and Trinidadians relate well and get along with one another, unlike the Tom and Jerry relationship between the Yorubas and Igbos of Nigeria?
You are black. That means you are originally an African. Right? Have you been able to trace your ancestry? Which African country do you think or know your Ancestors hailed from?
You used the word "pikin" in your moniker...meaning you must be very familiar with the Nigerian culture...or is the word used in your country too? Do you guys speak pidgin English too?
We do get along well with each other and intermarry...I don't see Tobagonians as being less than Trinidadians they are just from the smaller island but are Trinbagonian just as I am. Tobagonians and Trinidadians relationship is nothing like Yoruba-Igbo own.It's more a case of Tobagonians being for Tobago whilst feeling she doesn't get much of the spotlight and dues like her larger sister.Our present Prime Minister is a Tobagonian. Tobago wants self rule in that she wants to be more autonomous which I think ought to be given to her by the central government in Trinidad...my only condition with that is that she must be able to generate her own funds to manage her affairs entirely as presently she does not.It would be unfair to Trinidadians to be dashing out 3-4 billion dollars yearly to an island of a little over 60,000 persons that we will have little say once autonomy is given when none of Trinidad's regional corporations get that amount of money despite having a much larger population.
I would liken the dynamics to that of those found between Yoruba sub-groups.In that many of those groups see themselves as Yorubas whilst some hold on more tightly to their sub-ethnicity.Yes some Trinidadians have complained that some Tobagonians don't like them but I don't think it is serious. In the Caribbean as a whole you find stereotypes and dislikes between various countries and groups but at the same time you find a larger amount of folks who don't have time for those pettiness.So I don't take it personally as for each Bajan,Jamaican,Tobagonian etc I meet who have hangups I can find more who are just normal and see themselves as just Caribbean ppl.
I haven't traced my ancestry and to be honest I really don't care to .Don't really see how that will be of much use to to me....yes I have seen African Americans crying and stuff saying I am predominantly Igbo,Fulani etc and then want to reach out to mama Africa but errr that's not me.I see the situation as akin to a child who grows up in the USA/UK but find out generations after they have a Trinidadian great grandmother or whatever.Yes he or she can come visit Trinidad and get to know the folks but does that person ever truly become Trini in terms of Trinidadian culture? I can't hate on those who desire to know what African ethnic group that makes up their DNA but to me that knowledge doesn't really do much for me.
Yes pikin is a term we use in the Caribbean so nope I am not using it because of Naija culture.Each island have their way of speaking but we call them creoles...e.g Trinidadian creole,Bajan creole,Jamaican creole etc as they are mixture of various languages.At A levels when we had to cover the various creole languages as an assignment it was said that they follow African languages syntax so I guess you will find similarities.