Haiti is the only country that is considered Latin American but has a languageand culture that are predominantly French and a population that is primarily ofAfr... » 

Haiti is the only country that is considered Latin American but has a languageand culture that are predominantly French and a population that is primarily ofAfrican descent. It is also the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and acountry of extremes. Culture and Customs of Haiti fleshes out the evolutionof this diverse society through discussions of the Haitian people historyreligion social customs media literature and language and performing andvisual arts. This muchneeded resource gives students and other readers abalanced picture of a Caribbean nation known in the United States mainly forits boat people the Duvalier dictatorships and voodoo.Culture and Customs of Haiti begins with an overview of the mountainousisland that seemed forbidding to European colonizers. Historical periodsincluding French colonization U.S. occupation in the early 20th centuryIndependence and the Duvaliers reigns until today are reviewed and providethe framework for the volume. A chapter on the people and society details thepride of the black state that managed the only successful slave revolution inhistory. The extremes of society from the elite to the peasantry and slumdwellers are depicted along with Haitians in diaspora. Religion in Haiti withthe strong amalgamation of Roman Catholicism and vaudou a West African importis then explained. A Social Customs chapter notes the joy that is found in suchan economically depressed culture. The media and literature and languagechapters necessarily unfold in the context of Haitis political history. Asection on writing in Creole is especially intriguing. Finally chapters on theperforming arts and visual arts evoke the energy and color of the people insuch forms as vaudou jazz and dance contemporary rara rock and the folkloricinfluence on Haitian painting. A chronology and glossary supplement the text. «