Author: Yves Hyppolite
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Negritude in Motion: Katherine Dunham’s Legacy in Haitian Dance (part II)
(Read Part I here) In addition, Dunham’s students, such as Lavinia Williams, later exerted a tremendous influence on Haitian dance by teaching formal technique in Haiti. Williams, invited by Estimé’s successor, Paul Magloire, was trained in classical technique and used her training to categorize and professionalize Haitian folkloric dance. Williams added floor stretches, body conditioning, ballet…
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Negritude in Motion: Katherine Dunham’s Legacy in Haitian Dance (part I)
African American dancer, anthropologist, and choreographer Katherine Dunham enjoyed a lengthy relationship with Haiti. Beginning with her travels as a student at the University of Chicago in the 1930s, Dunham retained her connections to the island for the rest of her life. Moreover, Haiti, the subject of her memoir, Island Possessed, illustrates how important the Black Republic…
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Inca past and symbolism in 18th century Saint-Domingue (part II)
(See part I, here) In order to better understand how this process worked in the Haitian context, a closer examination of how free people of color and black Creoles related to indigeneity is necessary. According to Haitian historian Beauvais Lespinasse, free people of color sometimes sought patents to be recognized as having Indian rather than…
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Inca past and symbolism in 18th century Saint-Domingue (part I)
One of the most peculiar developments near the end of the Haitian Revolution was the adoption of the name Inca and children of the Sun by Jean-Jacques Dessalines. According to historian Thomas Madiou, Dessalines began using the name by the autumn of 1802, referring to those who submitted to him in opposition to the forces…
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The Cacicazgo of Xaragua: The Zenith of Indigenous Caribbean Polities
The history of Xaragua, perhaps meaning Country of the Lakes, remains elusive. Despite its recognition by authorities such as Las Casas as the zenith of the Taino chiefdoms on Hispaniola, and perhaps in the entire Caribbean, we know little about it besides what the Spanish chronicles have described. Indeed, with the exception of Behechio and…
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Meet the Admin: Yves Hyppolite!
IntroductionIn 2013, I (Virginie) launched the Haitian History Blog on Tumblr with the intention of creating a platform for lively, yet scholarly-based discussions about Haiti. The goal was never to transform it into a rigid academic endeavor, nor to cover every facet of Haiti’s complex history. Over time, however, the blog evolved from its initial…