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Martinique:

Nature & Culture

Literature Across Cultures

Martinique: Nature and Culture

The sea and the air have brought many waves of people to Martinique. First the Arawaks, then the Caribs, then the Western Europeans, who brought Africans and later Indians and Indonesians, and, most recently, there came Arabs and Chinese. All these very different cultures are united by one thing: the island of Martinique. Every person who set foot on Martinique has had to adapt to its natural circumstances: the sea, the climate, the landscape, the flora and fauna. Nature provides limitations but also offers possibilities. It forms the basis and backdrop for a region’s culture. This map shows how nature and culture are deeply and inherently entangled on Martinique.

"Martinique"

Name

  • The island's name might be a corruption of the Native name Madiana/Madinina meaning “island of the flowers”
  • The Caribs called it Jouanacaëra, or “island of iguanas”
  • There were a lot of Iguana Delicatissima, or Lesser Antillean (Green) Iguanas. They can become 40 cm with an 80 cm tail. By now, they are critically endangered, because loss of habitat, traffic incidents, unnatural enemies such as dogs, cats and mongoose, and competition of the Iguana Iguana (Green Iguana) which was introduced by colonisers. Historically, they were hunted for food, especially when other sources fell away like after a hurricane, tsunami or volcanic eruption.

Flags

The official flag of Martinique is, as a department of France, the Tricolore.

However, the island is and has been represented by several specific flags.

All flags are closely linked to Martinican Nature.

The national hymn "Lorizon" is in French and Creole. Start at 2.22.

Flags

Ipséité

Ipséité (Selfhood)

Depicts:

  • the shell of the Alger Gigas (Lambi) – a common shell in the Caribbean and a staple of the Martinican cuisine
  • 34 Amerindian stars for the 34 municipalities
  • 8 segments for the 8 languages that are spoken (French, Creole, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Arabic)
  • In blue for the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea
  • and green for the steep hills (“les mornes abruptes”) and landscape

Drapeau aux Serpents

Drapeau aux serpents

Designated as flag for Martinique and St Lucia in 1766 for ships. No legal status, but worn by the gendarmerie until 2018.

Depicts a white cross on a blue background with four fer-de-lances (pit vipers): snakes endemic to Martinique, poisonous and aggressive

Very controversial: seen as symbol for triangular trade (ie slave trade) and slavery.

Collectivité Territoriale

Collectivité Territoriale

For the local government.

Depicts:

  • a hummingbird in flight, in the shape of the island (hummingbirds are native to the Americas and the mascot of Martinique)
  • Orange = the Martinican soil (“la terre Martinique”)
  • Blue = Caribbean Sea & Atlantic Ocean

Mont Pelée

  • Active stratovolcano of 1.397m (highest peak of the island)
  • May 8, 1902 eruption:
  • Complete and total destruction of Saint-Pierre. With 30.000 victims and only a handful of survivors, it is one of the deadliest volcano eruptions ever.
  • The government decided not to evacuate because there was a parliament election that had taken a long time to prepare.
  • Probably caused the extinction of Megalomys desmarestii, the Martinican giant rice rat (which had the size of a cat and was a main reason for the introduction of dogs, cats, and mongoose)
  • The events are described in the novel Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau, by one of the main characters, Esternome.
  • Aimé Césaire: “l’incendie contenu du morne, comme un sanglot que l’on a bâillonné au bord de son éclatement sanguinaire, en quête d’une ignition qui se dérobe et se méconnaît” (74)

Saint-Pierre

  • First French colony on the island. Used to be called “Le Petit Paris” and “Le Paris des Isles” because of its splendour (for people who became rich with the slave-driven sugar exports).
  • Ideal place for a town: great harbour, deep but has a shallow plateau, protected from all winds except the western ones by the surrounding hills, light soil of pumice stones (because of the volcano) and plant detritus that is easy to work with and has a good yield
  • But with that prime position come great risks:
  • 1780: Great Hurricane (Huracán San Calixto), storm surge destroyed all houses and killed 9.000 people
  • 1902: Eruption of Mont Pelée
  • 1999: Hurricane Lenny ravaged the town
  • And last December, the alert level was raised from green to yellow because of an increase in seismic activity

Fort-de-France

Fort-de-France

  • Situated in a bay in the middle of the island. A port town suited for careening and thus dependent on the tides of the Caribbean Sea.
  • This is where slaves were disembarked.
  • In the middle of the 19th century, the population grew because of the rural exodus caused by abolition and technological developments.
  • After the destruction of Saint Pierre, it became the most important town of the island, although it was already the administrative capital.
  • Part of the reason why it was not popular under white people is because it was for a long time surrounded by swamps, which until they were drained led to a lot of yellow fever.
  • The name refers to the presence of a fortress, which has been there in some form since 1638. Currently called Fort Saint Louis, its location on the peninsula is strategically important. It is still a naval base.

Beaches: multicoloured

Beaches

  • Several beaches have black sand from the volcanic stone, see the Anse Couleuvre, Anse Noire. They feature prominently in Martinican literature:
  • Aimé Césaire: “Une détresse cette plage elle aussi, avec son tas d'ordures pourrissant, ses croupes furtives qui se soulagent, et le sable est noir, funèbre, on n'a jamais vu un sable si noir, et l'écume glisse dessus en glapissant, et la mer la frappe à grands coups de boxe, ou plutôt la mer est un gros chien qui lèche et mord la plage aux jarrets, et à force de la mordre elle finira par la dévorer, bien sûr, la plage et la rue Paille avec.” (84-5)
  • Édouard Glissant: Noir est le sable, la couleur / Est évidente dans ce lieu (Promenoir de la mort seule 6-7)
  • At Anse du Carbet, the sand is gray but appears golden when the sun hits it.
  • But other beaches, like the Grande Anse des Salines, are white.

The Sea

Sea

The Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are the borders of Martinique, but are also part of the culture and history. They are how slaves were brought to the island, but also how they could escape. Many Marrons de Mer tried to escape to Dominica and Saint Lucia after the British had abolished slavery in 1833 and until France abolished it in 1848. For this, they either stole a canoe or built their own raft, under the cover of the woods or the mangrove, and then rowed to their freedom – or death.

Fishing

Fishery

  • Fish is very important for Martinican cuisine. Fishery is mostly for local consumption, not for export. About half of the consumed protein comes from fish.
  • Cod: very common in the Atlantic Ocean, but not as southern as the Caribbean. Yet it features in a lot of traditional dishes, because it was imported by slave-owners from Newfoundland to feed their slaves. It was cheap, and, more importantly, could be stored for a long time when salted, especially in hot climates like on Martinique. Dishes such as accras de morue (cod fritters), macadam (cod with rice), féroce d’avocat (avocado balls with cod in cassave flour) and ti-nain lanmori (green bananas with cod).
  • Crabs can be found in the sea and in the rivers. Traditionally, they are eaten around Easter to mark the end of Lent. People buy or catch them a few weeks in advance and feed them spices and vegetables to improve their flavour for the matoutou. Another crab dish is calalou, with rice and siguine.
  • Lambis, the shell depicted on the flag, are caught in the Caribbean Sea and are cooked with shellfish and eaten on skewers.
  • Other seafood, such as lobsters, clams, crayfish, octopus and dorade, are also prominent in the Martinican diet.

Diamond Rock

Diamond Rock

  • A basalt island at the south of Martinique, that ships have to pass to enter the port of Fort-de-France. The shape resembles a diamond.
  • Diamond Rock is now uninhabited, but strategically important: it was legally considered a Royal Navy Vessel by the British when they had captured Martinique, a “stone frigate” called HMS Diamond Rock. In 1805, it was the place of a naval battle between French-Spanish and British forces, the Battle of Diamond Rock. The British Navy still salutes the Diamond Rock when they pass it.

Anse Cafard: CAP 110

Anse Cafard

In the night of April 7, 1830, a ship with captured men from Papua New Guinee to be sold illegally as slaves shipwrecked in the rocky area round Diamond Rock, killing everyone on board. In memory of this, and all of slavery, a memorial has been built on the Anse Cafard. It was designed by Laurent Valère, and called Cap 110 Mémoire et Fraternité.

Writer Édouard Glissant visited this memorial in the documentary La créolisation du monde: http://edouardglissant.fr/fiche3b.html.

Tour des Yoles Rondes

Tour des Yoles Rondes

  • One of the major yearly events.
  • About 20 “yoles", traditional sailing boats used by fishermen, compete in a tour around the island.
  • The fabrication process of this boat is part of UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage, the only Martinican practice on the list.
  • The materials used for the boat, wood, bamboo, ropes etc, could be found on the island.

Soil

  • Orange clay, colour used in flag of the Collectivité
  • Allows for a lively pottery industry
  • Already done by the Arawaks
  • Everyday objects like kitchen utensils, but also roof tiles and bricks and molds for the sugar industry.
  • Centre of pottery is in Trois Ilets
  • Every Carnival, hommes d’argile ("clay men") cover themselves in clay

Agriculture

Soil, climate, weather, and space determine the kind of agriculture that can exist. The agriculture determines the kitchen. Martinique, as a small, rocky island, has intensive agriculture. The biggest export crops are sugarcane and bananas, yet there is no monoculture. Many farmers have several crops, and in addition to that cattle, like some goats and poultry, for own consumption. However, the dependence on agriculture and fishing is significant, so climate change pose a considerable risk (rising sea levels, droughts, increased temperatures).

Mango

Introduced in colonial times.

Paul Gauguin stayed in Saint Pierre in June-November 1887, suffering greatly under the heat, dysentery and marsh fever. He met a group of Indian immigrants (who were brought to the island after abolition, to work on the plantation) and they greatly influenced his work. Gauguin painted several paintings, among which La Cueillette des Fruits: the picking of the mangoes.

That must have been painted in August, because then, according to Aimé Césaire, that’s when “les manguiers pavoisent de toutes leurs lunules” (78).

Coconut

The milk of coconuts is used in Colombo (a kind of curry made of a Tamil, African and Amerindian spice blend, with coconut milk, ginger, tamarind, and goat, lamb, pork, or chicken) and Blanc Manger au Coco (a panna cotta-like pudding with vanilla)

Banana

Introduced in colonial times, for plantations. The strong fibers are used to make ropes to fasten canoes and hold cattle. Also very common in the kitchen: with cod in ti-nain lanmori, with mutton in ti-nain tripe.

Breadfruit

Important ingredient for traditional dishes such as tòtòt (confit of breadfruit flowers) and migan (stew with breadfruit and pigtails)

Sugarcane

Most of the plantations on Martinique produced sugarcane by the use of slave labour.

Rum (made from sugarcane) and sugarcane syrup are mixed for the national drink Ti Punch

Molasses or black treacle is a byproduct of sugar production. Every Carnival, a group of Martinicans coat themselves in molasses and charcoal to recall the practice of slavery and educate new generations. This is called neg gwo siwo, “big syrup guy”.

Sugarcane

Cassave or Manioc

Cassave

A very important part of the Martinican kitchen, used for many local dishes such as kassav’ (cassave cakes with coconut) and féroce d’avocat (avocado balls with cod in cassave flour). The most internationally renown band of Martinique is called Kassav’ after the cassave cakes.

Lifestock

Goat, sheep, chicken and pigs are features of Martinican cuisine as well. Ti-nain tripe (green bananas with goat meat), boudin créole en noir (sausage with chillies, pork and pig blood), migan (stew with breadfruit and pigtails), and the most famous Martinican dish, colombo: a curry made of a Tamil, African and Amerindian spice blend, with coconut milk, ginger, tamarind, and goat, lamb, pork, or chicken.

The cocks are sometimes trained to fight in the cockfight pits, an old tradition on the island.

Forests

The middle of Martinique consists of medium-sized hills (called “mornes”) covered with trees. As they were not easily accessible and settlements were not quickly discovered, this was where escaped slaves, or maroons, fled to.

Another inhabitant of the forests is the fer-de-lance viper, also known as the Martinican pit viper. It is endemic to Martinique and very aggressive and poisonous. This 1,5-2 m long snake is depicted on the drapeau aux serpents. Just before the Mont Pelée fully erupted, many snakes fled to Saint Pierre to escape the burning ashes that already came out of the caldera. Their poisonous bite killed about 50 people and 200 animals.

The fer-de-lance vipers are also sometimes added to the traditional cock fight pits.

Conclusion

The nature of Martinique plays a role in all cultural expressions. From historical events to modern music, from the kitchen to deadly threats of volcanoes, hurricanes and snakes, from literature to sports: it is impossible to disentangle Nature and Culture. Every new wave of inhabitants brought their own culture, and the combination of these cultures and the Martinican natural circumstances created the creolised department of today.

Sources

Anse Cafard Memorial & Glissant: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j4gjr and http://edouardglissant.fr/fiche3b.html

Cod https://azmartinique.com/fr/tout-savoir/le-saviez-vous/pourquoi-mangeons-nous-autant-de-morue

Drapeau aux serpents https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/pavillon-aux-quatre-serpents-vit-ses-derniers-jours-638958.html

Fishing in Martinique http://www.fao.org/3/t8365e/t8365e04.htmf

Flag and hymn https://pressroom.oecs.org/martinique-now-has-a-territorial-hymn-and-flag-for-sports-cultural-and-international-events and https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/drapeaux-hymnes-soumis-au-vote-martiniquais-ont-ete-devoiles-698508.html

Iguanas https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10800/122936983

Mont Pelée threat level https://www.ipgp.fr/fr/lovsm-ipgp-preconise-passage-vigilance-volcanique-jaune-de-montagne-pelee

Neg gwo siwo https://www.rci.fm/martinique/infos/Societe/Carnaval-lassociation-Neg-Gwo-Siwo-toujours-presente-dans-le-vide

Pottery http://pnr-martinique.com/visiter/poterie/

Césaire, Aimé. Notebook of a Return to My Native Land/Cahier d’un retour au pays natal. Trans. Mireille Rosello with Annie Pritchard. Glasgow: Bloodaxe Books, 2020.

Chamoiseau, Patrick. Texaco. Gallimard, 1992. Trans. Rose-Myriam Réjouis and Val Vinokurov, Vintage International, 1998.

François, Martine, et al., (ed..) “Introduction – Why consider organic farming?” Agriculture Biologique en Martinique. Marseille: IRD Éditions, 2005.

Joseph-Gabriel, Maurice. Martinique, terre d'éden, Éditions Roudil, 1979.

Mauvois, Georges B. Les Marrons de la mer, évasions d’esclaves de la Martinique vers les îles de la Caraïbe (1833-1848), Paris, Karthala/Ciresc, 2018.

Rushforth, Brett. "The Gauolet Uprising of 1710: Maroons, Rebels, and the Informal Exchange Economy of a Caribbean Sugar Island." The William and Mary Quarterly 76, no. 1 (2019): 75-110.

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