The African Presence in Santo Domingo

Series Editor's Foreword

vii Series Editor’s Foreword KimberlyEisonSimmons A s book series editor, I am pleased to have this book in the Ruth SimmsHamiltonAfricanDiasporaResearchProjectBookSeries. CarlosAndújarisknownthroughouttheDominicanRepublicas a scholar of Afro-Dominican history, culture, and identity. I first became awareofhiswork,andotherDominicanscholarsworkingonsimilarissues, whenIwasagraduatestudentatMichiganStateUniversity(1994–2000).I wasinthedoctoralprograminAnthropology,andIwasalsoaResearcherin -ResidencewiththeAfricanDiasporaResearchProject(ADRP)underthe direction of the late Ruth Simms Hamilton, who was a mentor, professor, and friend. This book series is named in her honor—paying tribute to her and her pioneering work in African Diaspora Studies. As students, Dr. Hamilton encouraged us to embrace and interact with the African Diaspora in our academic lives. Many of us read literature in different languages and included the voices of scholars outside of the United States in our work. In fact, many students in the ADRP viii Ser ies Editor ’s Foreword represented African diasporic communities outside the United States; from Brazil, to Puerto Rico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Kenya, they brought their experiences with them. In addition to ADRP seminars, Dr.Hamiltonorganizedconferencesandpublishedamonographbasedon the proceedings (1990) as well as Conexões, the ADRP newsletter. These efforts were far-reaching—the attempt was to make sure that people of African descent were connected, engaged, and subjects of their history, not just objects of study. Given Dr. Hamilton’s inclusive approach, I am certain that she would have encouraged book series submissions from scholars throughout the Diaspora. For this reason in particular, I am pleased to include Carlos Andújar’s La presencia negra en Santo Domingo (The African Presence in Santo Domingo) as the first translated book in the series. Originally published in 1997, La presencia negra is a seminal work of Afro-Dominican history and experience. We were fortunate to have Rosa Maria Andújar, Carlos’s sister, translate the Spanish text to English. Having the book available in English gives scholars outside of the Dominican Republic an opportunity to learn about the social and cultural issues presented and discussed from the “inside,” and in this case, by a Dominican scholar. In other words, it broadens the discussion. In the book, Andújar argues that Dominican elites made concerted effortstoconcealtheAfricanpastovertime.ThroughadiscussionofWest African influences, he discusses the African contributions to Dominican society and culture—from food to linguistics and music: ForemostinimportanceisthecontributionofblackslavestoDominican magic-religion, as well as to the music, diet, language, economy, social organization, customs, ornaments, and body language, ix Series Editor’s Foreword bequeathednotonlybyAfricans,butalsobyslavesofotherCaribbean islands who later immigrated to the country as farm workers. HecontinuesthediscussionbyexploringotherculturalpracticesandtraditionswithconnectionstoAfrica ,andclaimsthemaspartoftheDominican collective: Each of our gestures, our food, colors, dances, music—as well as some religious expressions, turns of phrase, names of places, burial rites, crafts, and other objects—bear witness to that past. Evidence of that is the presence/persistence of blackness in those things in which people routinely partake: food, gestures, form and color of dress, dance and music, religious beliefs, turns of phrase, place names, funeral rites, artisanship, and objects that represent culture in a material way. Going against the grain, rather than exploring issues of Hispanidad (an appreciation for everything Spanish) or contributions of the Taínos to Dominican society, Andújar opts to map connections to Africa and shows that there is an African presence in Santo Domingo, from the past to the present, and this is made evident by considering contemporary cultural practices and production in the Dominican Republic. ...