Religion, Culture and Tradition in the Caribbean - Tapa dura

The Bible is the most widely read and influential book in the Caribbean; the Bible seems to be every where and in every thing. The Bible has been used to name, claim, oppress, and exploit natives and the diaspora populations in the Caribbean, and it continues to define Caribbean reality and morality in the 21st century. In this anthology, Caribbean scholars and scholars of Caribbean studies analyze the most fundamental assumptions and practices derived from different readings of the Bible at different epochs in Caribbean history. From the doleful slave narratives and missionary misreading of biblical text in the 1700s to the modern militant chant of Rastafari; from the Jamaica Maroon uprising to the Grenada Revolution; from the Indo-Guyanese women reality to Rastafarian 'Sistren' spirituality; from the quiet waters of Anglo-Barbadian cultural experience to the high seas of Latino American relations, the anthology tells a griping tale of the struggle of ethnic peoples to find meaning, 'existence,' and reality in a world they did not create. In a region characterized by Colonialism and now functioning as a post colonial environment with Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Rastafarians, etc., the possibilities with all their complexities are infinite. The book examines the Caribbean experience from the Caribbean community in Miami to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

HEMCHAND GOSSAI is Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Culver-Stockton College.

NATHANIEL SAMUEL MURRELL is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.