Garifuna
Country · Honduras · Belize · Guatemala · Nicaragua
Descendants of Africans and Kalinago exiled from Saint Vincent in 1797 — their language, dance and music are on the UNESCO list.
Garifuna at a glance
- Country
- Honduras · Belize · Guatemala · Nicaragua
- Main centres
- La Ceiba · Trujillo · Dangriga · Livingston · Roatán
- Region
- Central America · Caribbean coast
- How many
- Several hundred thousand across four countries and the United States
- Languages
- Garifuna · Spanish · English
- Dialling code
- +504
The African connection
After the British defeated Chatoyer, more than four thousand Black Caribs were deported to Roatán off Honduras. They spread along the Central American coast and kept an Arawakan language with African rhythm — punta, paranda, and the dügü ceremony.
Key dates for Garifuna
The dates this community marks — independence, emancipation, and the festivals that fill a hall wherever its people have settled.
Diaspora meets diaspora
AfricAsia began with Africans in Asia. The same story runs through every entry in this section — people of African descent building a life a long way from where their ancestors started.
If you are from Garifuna and you are anywhere in Asia — studying, working, playing, passing through — there are people here who will know what you are asking before you finish the question.
Every Asian country →The Garifuna channel
Every entry in the diaspora section has its own free channel in the Hub, alongside the 108 country channels and the topic rooms.
Open the channel →