Punta
Punta is a traditional music and dance form originating from the Garinagu, an Afro-Indigenous people with roots in St. Vincent, a Caribbean island. Characterized by vibrant, joyful group singing and energetic lower-body dancing, Punta is typically performed at various Garifuna gatherings. A male-female couple dances at the center of a circle, showcasing movements that often symbolize courtship, while participants in the circle clap and sing in the Garifuna language. The dance features bright traditional costumes and can take on an erotic quality, although it serves diverse purposes, including honoring the deceased at funerals and celebrating holidays like Christmas and New Year. Punta began in the 1950s and evolved into a modern variant known as Punta Rock in the late 1970s, incorporating electric instruments and new lyrical themes. Despite its evolution, Punta remains a vital expression of Garifuna culture and identity, illustrating their rich history and cultural resilience as they navigate contemporary society.
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Punta
Punta is the traditional music and dance of the Garinagu, an African-Indigenous people who originally lived on St. Vincent, a Caribbean island. Punta is a joyful style of group singing and dancing that is an integral part of nearly all Garifuna gatherings. The most common form of the dance involves a male-female couple dancing in the center of a circle of others. As the couple displays dance moves featuring mostly lower-body movement, those standing in the circle sing and clap. The accompanying music is played on a variety of instruments, with lyrics nearly always in the Garifuna language. Punta originated in the 1950s and, in the 1970s, gave rise to a related musical form, Punta rock.
Background
The Garinagu people are sometimes called Garifuna, though some differentiate between the two and use Garinagu for the people and Garifuna for their culture. They are a Caribbean Afro-Indigenous people who descended from enslaved individuals who took refuge on the island of St. Vincent in the eighteenth century when a British slave ship was wrecked off the coast. Tradition and some oral reports indicated that the captives on the ship, most of whom were from West Africa, staged a revolt that caused the shipwreck. After initially coming ashore at St. Vincent, they survived by fishing, hunting, and trading. They came into conflict with oppressive British colonials on the island, however, and were eventually forced to move to the Honduran island of Roatán.
The Garinagu arrived in Honduras in 1797. Most of them initially settled there but eventually spread out to Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Belize. They took with them their traditional customs, religion, diet, and music, which featured strong, rhythmic drumbeats accompanied by instruments made of natural materials such as turtle shells, conch shells, and maracas made from calabash, or bottle gourds. Their traditional music featured call-and-response singing, rhythmic drums, and was often accompanied by dancing that later became Punta.
In the twenty-first century, there are about six hundred thousand Garinagu, with about one hundred thousand living in Honduras. One hundred thousand also live in the United States, primarily in New York City. The rest are mostly spread across Central and North America, with a much smaller number in South America.
Overview
Historians are not certain how Punta got its name. It may have been derived and Latinized from the West African word bunda, which means buttocks. Punta dancing is done primarily with the lower body and involves a great deal of shaking and movement of the dancer’s buttocks, and this is thought by some to have given the dance its name. A second theory is that the name comes from the Spanish word punta, which means “point to point.” Proponents of this theory believe the name stems from the appearance of the dancers’ toes as they move about.
Punta was first played by enslaved Afro-Indigenous people who were taken to Honduras in the eighteenth century. However, Punta, as it is known in the twenty-first century, began in the 1950s. Punta dancing is done primarily with the lower body and involves shaking and movement of the dancer’s buttocks.
The dance customarily had many participants forming a large circle around a male-female dancing pair. While the dancers begin dancing separately, the male pursues the female in moves that imply a courtship ritual. Eventually, they switch roles, and the female pursues the male. The dancers use their lower body almost exclusively as if they are a chicken and a rooster without arms to use while dancing. In many cases, Punta takes on an erotic appearance. Those forming the circle clap and sing traditional songs about the world around them and their lives. Dancing pairs compete to outdo each other. When a dancer becomes too tired to continue or has run out of innovative ways to move their hips, buttocks, legs, and feet, they are replaced by another from the circle, and the dancing continues.
The dancers wear traditional costumes for Punta dancing, which are a patchwork of bright colors. The men’s outfits usually have longer-sleeved tops and light undergarments. They wear metal anklets as well. The women often wear sleeveless tops of the same brightly colored fabric as the men, though some wear outfits with sleeves. They also wear a matching brightly colored full skirt, which accentuates their twirling and dancing. Both male and female dancers often wear colorful, heavy traditional headdresses, though some wear colorful headwraps.
Punta dancing is a feature at nearly every Garifuna event, including parties, holidays, and even funerals. Despite the sometimes sexually charged appearance of the dancing, at funerals, it is considered a way to honor deceased persons, and not participating is considered an insult. It is also an important way the mostly Catholic Garifuna celebrate Christmas and New Year holidays. The songs used on these occasions recall the sacrifices and suffering of their ancestors.
In the late 1970s, some artists began adding instruments such as electric guitars to the traditional instruments that were handmade out of natural materials. Belizean musician Pen Cayetano and the Turtle Shell Band are generally credited as the first to do this, creating the musical genre known as Punta Rock. The new style caught on, and others began adding rock instruments to traditional Garifuna beats and rhythms. They also created new lyrics. While most Punta song lyrics were traditionally written by women, Punta Rock songs are also written by men. The new genre became popular, especially in Belize. However, some criticize it for diluting the traditional elements of the music and changing it from a purely Afro-centric style to one adopted by people of other races.
Bibliography
Alvarez, Julaiza. “Punta Music Has Never Been a Honduran ‘Thing,’ It Has Always Been a Black One.” Remezcla, 24 Mar. 2022, remezcla.com/features/music/punta-music-has-never-been-a-honduran-thing-always-been-black-garifuna. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Garifuna (Garinagu) in Belize.” Minority Rights Group, Dec. 2017, minorityrights.org/minorities/garifuna-garinagu/. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.
Harris, Cora. “What Is a Punta Dance? Where Does Punta Dance Come From?” City Dance Studios, 24 Nov. 2022, citydance.org/what-is-a-punta-dance. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Language, Dance and Music of the Garifuna.” UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, ich.unesco.org/en/RL/language-dance-and-music-of-the-garifuna-00001. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Punta Dance—St Vincent and Dominica.” Dance Ask, danceask.net/punta-dance-st-vincent-and-dominica. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Punta Music of the Garifuna.” Nicaragua.com, www.nicaragua.com/blog/punta-music-of-the-garifuna. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Serrano, Amy. “From Punta to Chumba: Garifuna Music and Dance in New Orleans.” Folklife in Louisiana, www.louisianafolklife.org/lt/articles‗essays/garifuna.html. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Teach Central America: Exploring Garifuna Culture.” Tulane University, 7 Oct. 2021, stonecenter.tulane.edu/events/teach-central-america-exploring-garifuna-culture. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.