Afro-Haitian
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 9,961,510 | |
| Languages | |
| French · Haitian Creole | |
| Religion | |
| Catholicism · Haitian Vodou | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Haitians · West/Central Africans · Afro-Argentines · Afro-Caribbeans · Afro-Chileans · Afro-Costa Ricans · Afro-Cubans · Afro-Dominicans (Dominican Republic) · Afro-Ecuadorians · Afro-Jamaicans · Afro-Latin Americans · Afro-Mexicans · Afro-Peruvians · Afro-Puerto Ricans · Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians · Afro-Uruguayans · Creoles · Louisiana Creoles · African-Americans |
Afro-Haitians are Haitians of African descent. They are mostly the descendants of slaves brought to the island by France to work on plantations. As of 2013, Afro-Haitians are the majority ethnic group in Haiti, accounting for 95% of the country's population. About 5% of the country is of white or mixed heritage, having partial African and European ancestry.
Haiti's slaves derived from African areas from Senegal to the Congo. Most of these slaves came from Central Africa (Kongo) and current Benin (Ewe, and Yoruba). Other slaves in Haiti came from Senegal,Guinea (imported by the Spanish since the sixteenth century and then by the French), Sierra Leone, Windward Coast, Ghana and Southeast Africa (such as people of the Bara tribesmen of Madagascar, who arrived in Haiti in the eighteenth century).
Although Haiti averages approximately 250 people per square kilometre (650 per sq mi.), its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. Haiti's population was about 9.8 million according to UN 2008 estimates, with half of the population being under 20 years old. The first formal census, taken in 1950, showed a population of 3.1 million.
According to The World Factbook, 95% of Haitians are primarily of African descent; the remaining 5% of the population are mostly of mixed-race and European background, and a small number of other ethnicities.
Culture, religion and social organization are the result in Haiti of a process of syncretism between French and African traditions, mainly Dahomey-Nigerian. An important cultural practice in Haiti is Haitian Vodou. This probably originated in Benin, although there are strong elements added from the Congo of Central Africa and the Igbo of Nigeria, and many African nations are represented in the liturgy of Sévis Lwa. A generally ignored but significant element is that of the Taino people, the indigenous people of Hispaniola. The Tainos were influential in the belief system of Haitian Vodou, especially in the Petro cult, a religious group with no counterpart on the African continent. Characterized by the worship of the loa, the sect has influences from Native American folklore zemis. The entire northern area of Haiti is influenced by the practices of the Congo. In the north, these are often called Rito Congo or Lemba. In the south, the Congo influence is called Petwo (Petro). Many loa are of Congolese origin, such as Basimbi and Lemba.
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Wikipedia