Culture of Aruba

The culture of Aruba, one of the many islands that make up the Caribbean, is an amalgamate of the various cultures that have occupied and lived on the island, including indigenous peoples of South America, descendants of African slaves, and Spanish and Dutch colonialists.

Aruba was inhabited long before it was claimed by the Spanish in 1499, as evidenced by petrographs on walls and the ceilings of caves and excavated ancient artifacts of the Arawaks. They indicate that the Caiquetios, peoples of the Arawak tribe that migrated north from the Orinoco Basin in South America, were in fact the very first inhabitants of the island.

Although the Spanish were in control of Aruba for many years, the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands soon gave the Dutch the upper hand. Finally in 1636 the Spanish handed over the island to the Dutch. Years later, the English took over Aruba for a brief period, but it quickly returned to Dutch rule in 1816 and remained that way until 1985, when Aruba became a separate entity within the kingdom of the Netherlands.

The people and culture of Aruba have many different backgrounds, ranging from the Indians, to the Spanish, and more recently, the Dutch. Today, Aruba is home to people from at least 40 different nationalities.

Nowadays, the nearly 100,000 inhabitants of Aruba reflect its greatly changing history. Through local foods, architecture, celebrations, and languages can immediately be seen the different influences the past settlers had on the island. Yet the Dutch continue to be the most influential people in Aruban society, since the Dutch language is the official tongue of the Aruban people and Aruba continues to have close ties to the Netherlands.

Aruba has its own distinct culture, which often includes celebrations. Color and music play an important role in the majority of cultural events, most notably in the yearly Carnival and Dia Di San Juan (St. John's Day) celebrations.

For Dia Di San Juan, Arubans dress in red and yellow traditional shirts and black traditional trousers to represent fire. This celebration originates from a combination of Arawak harvest festivals and the works of Spanish missionaries to combine them with the celebration of San Juan. Aruba is the only country in the world that celebrates this day with dancing and singing. During the celebration a singer will chant a familiar "dera gai" (bury rooster) tune while players accompany the song with drum, violin, and a local instrument called a wiri. While they sing, they will choose someone to come and try to hit a fake rooster with their eyes closed. When that person hits that rooster, it will bring a wonderful smell that comes from the fruit (calabash).

...
Wikipedia