Today, Afro-Dominicans (40% Black) of the Country's population, while the remaining and majority of Dominicans are multiracial (45%). They can be found anywhere in the Island as they are the majority, but the purest blacks are mostly in the coastal lowlands of the country. In the Central Cibao region, you can find people of either European, Mixed and African descent.
The Atlantic slave trade began in the very early 1500s. Santo Domingo (present-day Dominican Republic) was the first place to transport African slaves in the Americas. The dying of Indigenous people in the island, caused the Spanish to quickly grant permission from Spain to use slaves to work the plantations. In 1510, the first sizable ship consisted of 250 Black Latinos (Spanish-speaking men ), 8 years later, African born slaves arrived in massive numbers. The slave and black population was so big that they would out-number whites from 9 out of 10. The first major slave revolt took place in Dominican Republic's hills in 1522. These Maroons were originally from the senegambian region of Africa; of which most were Muslims of the Wolof nation. Many centuries later the Maroon populations became so large that the only way whites could travel would be in large armed groups. Most of the Maroon populations established themselves in mostly in rivers, hills/mountains, coastal and in caves. The Congolese people were known to be very aggressive and naturally strong, they and many of the Mandingas, Wolofs, and Fulanis was the main ethnicity to have been born in Maroon villages.
From the neighboring country, Haitians have also had an influence in the growing population in Dominican Republic. It's estimated that is around 800,000 Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. Haitians make a large minority in the country anywhere from 4-6%. Among the Afro-Haitian population, they originated among the Ewe and Fon tribes of present-day Benin and Togo West Africa.
Since the then Spanish Haiti (now Dominican Republic) was occupied by Haiti, slavery was abolished from the island to this day. Enslaved Africans that lived in the then Santo Domingo colony tended to come from the Bantu/Congolese (majority-wise especially the Bakongo), Akan, Yoruba, Igbo, Ewe, Fon, Mandinga, Wolof-Fulanis and Others. The Congolese-Bakongo tribes has had the most dominant culteral impact in the Dominican today.
As Dominican slaves came from predominately West-Central Africa, many of their customs survived based-on memory and myths, along with religion, names, words, music, language etc. Known survived religions are the Regla de palo, Arara, Dominican Vudu, Santería etc. Many villages among the Dominican Republic have kept their African languages among their descendants. Recongnized African languages spoken by Dominicans are the Lucumi language which is practically the Yoruba language with very few Spanish words, the Kikongo language is still spoken, especially in places like Villa Mella, Dajabon, Altagracia, and Monte Plata. Merengue is the typical music of the Dominican Republic. Typical Dominican foods such as Mangu (mashed plantains) is of African origin.
Pig in a poke
Pig in a poke is an English idiom which means a kind of deceptive trick. It is a blind bargain.
The phrase is about something which is offered for sale in a manner which hides its true value. The idiom means a purchase which turns out not to be what the seller claimed it was.
The term was first used in the Middle Ages. At this time, it was common to sell meat or small animals in cloth bags or sacks called a "poke".
Sometimes people simply bought the "poke" without looking inside; and sometimes people who thought they were buying pork or a small pig were surprised to find they had been sold something else.
The idiom "pig in a poke" is about what happens when someone does not look to see what is being bought or sold.
The idiom "pig in a poke" is used to describe something which is purchased without the buyer being aware of its true nature or value.
The phrase can also be applied to accepting an idea or plan without a full understanding of it. In other words, it is about starting a course of action without knowing the relevant facts.
Many other European languages have a version of this phrase, but many are translated as a warning not to buy a cat in a bag. -
The Labors of Herakles
The Labors of Herakles is a series of tasks performed by the Greek hero Herakles () as a penance for a terrible crime he committed. These tasks required great strength and courage. For the most part, they involved killing fierce animals and horrible monsters. The Labors were said to have been devised by Hera, the goddess of marriage. She hated Herakles because he was a bastard son of her husband Zeus. She hoped these tasks would kill him. Herakles however performed them with great success, and, in the process, became very famous. The Labors of Herakles probably had their origin in the religious and magical practices of prehistoric man. They are the subject of ancient and modern art.
Mortals die, but gods live forever. Herakles was part mortal, part god. His father was the god Zeus and his mother was the mortal Alkmene. Zeus' wife Hera was the goddess of marriage. She hated Herakles because he was one of her husband's bastards. She tried many times to kill him, even when he was a baby. He lived in spite of Hera's persecution and hatred, and did many great deeds as a young man.
Herakles married Megara, the daughter of a king. They became the parents of several children. Hera caused Herakles to go mad and to kill his family. The priestess of Delphi ordered Herakles to serve his cousin King Eurystheus of Tiryns as a penance for this crime. Eurystheus would present a series of tasks to Herakles. These tasks were said to have been designed by Hera herself in the hope that they would kill Herakles.
There is no definite order for the Labors. Most of the time, however, the order is: Nemean Lion, Lernean Hydra, Cerynitian Hind, Erymanthian Boar, Augean Stables, Stymphalian Birds, Cretan Bull, Mares of Diomedes, Girdle of Hippolyta, Cattle of Geryon, Apples of the Hesperides, and Kerberos. The order here is that of the sculptures called metopes on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. These sculptures (made about 460–450 BC) were placed high on the outside of the temple in a frieze. Their order was described by the ancient Greek geographer, Pausanias. Some of these metopes are used in this article to illustrate the Labors. The first group of six metopes are from the west end of the temple. The second group of six are from the east end. Some of the illustrations here are taken from Greek vase paintings. The Labors of Herakles became the subject of much ancient and modern art, and even movies like "Hercules" (1958) starring Steve Reeves and the Walt Disney animated movie "Hercules" (1997).
A large and dangerous lion was terrorizing the people and animals near the city of Nemea. Weapons of iron, bronze, or stone could not pierce the lion's thick hide (skin). Eurystheus ordered Herakles to kill and skin this lion.
Herakles went to the region of Nemea and stayed with a poor man named Molorchos at Kleonai. Molorchos' son had been killed by this lion. Molorchos wanted to sacrifice his only ram to Herakles, but Herakles asked him to wait thirty days. If he did not return within thirty days, the ram was to be sacrificed to him as a hero. If he returned within thirty days, the ram was to be sacrificed to Zeus the Deliverer.
Herakles found the lion outside its lair on Mount Tretos. His arrows and sword were useless against the beast. He hit the lion with his club and the animal went into his lair. Herakles blocked one of the two openings to the cavern with nets, then entered the cavern. He wrestled the lion and choked it to death. The lion bit off one of his fingers. He returned to Molorchos' hovel with the lion's carcass on his back. The two men sacrificed to Zeus.