Dougla people

Dougla people (plural Douglas) are Caribbean people who are of mixed African and Indian descent. The word Dougla (also Dugla or Dogla) is used throughout the Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean.

Dougla people
Regions with significant populations
Caribbean, notably in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica and Suriname
Languages
English, French, Dutch, English creoles, Sranan Tongo, Antillean French Creole, Caribbean Hindustani
Religion
Predominantly:
Minority:
Related ethnic groups
Afro-Caribbeans, Indo-Caribbeans

Definition

The word Dougla originated from doogala (दुगला, دوگلا), which is a Caribbean Hindustani word that literally means "two"ish and may also mean "many", "much" or "a mix".[1] In the West Indies, the word is used only for Afro-Indo mixed race.[2] The word has its etymological roots in Hindi, where "do" means two and "gala" means "throat". The word might have been used as a way to refer to people who could speak Indian and African languages.

In Guyana, Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese make up half of the population and Douglas number 15% of the country's demographics.

In the French West Indies (Guadeloupe, Martinique), mixed Afro-Indian people used to be called Batazendien or Chapé-Coolie.

History

There are sporadic records of Indo-Euro interracial relationships, both consensual and nonconsensual, before any ethnic mixing of the African and Indian variety.

Other Indo-based types of mixed heritage (Indo-Chinese (Chindians), Indo-Latino/Hispanic (Tegli), Indo-English (Anglo-Indians), Indo-Portuguese (Luso-Indians), Indo-Irish (Irish Indians), Indo-Scottish (Scottish-Indians), Indo-Dutch, Indo-Arabs and Indo-Amerindian) tended to identify as one of the older, unmixed ethnic strains on the island: Afro, Indo, Amerindian or Euro or passing as one of them.[3]

In Trinidad culture

One calypsonian, the Mighty Dougla (Clatis Ali), described the predicament of Douglas in the 1960s:

"If they sending Indians to India
And Africans back to Africa
Well somebody please just tell me
Where they sending poor me?
I am neither one nor the other
Six of one, half a dozen of the other
So if they sending all these people back home for true
They got to split me in two"

Notable Douglas

See also

References
  1. Wilk, Richard; Barbosa, Livia (2013-05-09). Rice and Beans: A Unique Dish in a Hundred Places. Berg. ISBN 9781847889058.
  2. Winer, Lise (2009). Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-7735-3406-3.
  3. "Dougla dilemma". www.trinidadandtobagonews.com.
  4. Batson-Savage, Tanya (2013-07-01). "Esther Anderson: "They said I'd snubbed Hollywood"". Caribbean Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  5. "I wouldn't say I am lucky… Interview with Johnson Beharry, VC – The Best You Magazine". 17 May 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  6. Calloway, Sway (2001-05-29). "Foxy Brown – Outspoken (Part 4)". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2006-05-02. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
  7. Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) The Rough Guide to Reggae, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-329-4, p. 286
  8. "The Honorable Mervyn M. Dymally's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  9. "Information director's criticisms of Indian descent conference don't represent gov't position". Stabroek News. 2018-01-13. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  10. https://ufmrg.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/diversity_-difference-and-caribbean-feminism-feb_2007.pdf
  11. Comparative studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Vols 17–8, Duke University Press, 1997, p. 124.
  12. Today Show: "Lester and Jenna trace their Jamaican roots" Aired on September 9, 2012 Archived September 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  13. Holt, Lester (2007-05-11). "To Jamaica with Mom". allDAY. NBC News. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
  14. "Reggae Singer Diana King official Biography". Dance Hall Reggae World. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  15. Rajee Narinesingh
  16. "Gala 2016". Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Inc.
  17. "Guyanese-born New York Assemblywoman, Roxanne Persaud, was elected to the New York State Senate". November 4, 2015.
  18. "New York's immigrant lawmakers make their mark". Times Union. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  19. Jennifer Bisram (Sep–Oct 2009). "Thara Aims High: What can't she do?". MoraFire. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  21. https://ufmrg.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/diversity_-difference-and-caribbean-feminism-feb_2007.pdf
  22. Morley, Carol (October 8, 2011). "Joyce Carol Vincent: how could this young woman lie dead and undiscovered for almost three years?" – via www.theguardian.com.
  23. Sobat, Peter. "XXXTENTACION CALLS OUT DRAKE IN HIS FIRST INTERVIEW AFTER JAIL". blurredculture. Archived from the original on March 9, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.

Further reading
  • Barratt, Sue A, and Aleah N. Ranjitsingh. Dougla in the Twenty-First Century: Adding to the Mix. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2021. ISBN 9781496833709. See also CUNY Asian and Asian American Research Institute author interview on 19 November 2021.
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