The Maya - Say Hello in the Mayan Language.  Learn the Mayan Alphabet.  Write Your Name in Mayan Glyphs.  Info on the Mayan Culture, Maya Civilization, Mayan Peoples, Geography and Languages, and the Maya Calendar.  Read Maya Stories.  There are 450,000 people in Mexico and Belize who speak the Yucatec dialect of Maya. (3 million people speak over 20 different dialects of Maya in Mexico, Guatamala and Belize.)
http://www.ipl.org.ar/youth/
hello/mayan.html


Garifuna - Over the last three centuries, in spite of many migrations, re-settlements and interactions with Indians, British, French and Spanish, they have preserved much of the culture from their two main branches of ancestry. The Garinagu are the descendants of Caribs Indians and Black African slaves. The Caribs were originally indigenous peoples from South America. They spoke the Arawak Indian language...

Churches in Belize -
Anglican
Catholic
Seventh Day Adventist
Mennonites
Baptist
Calvary
Nazarene
Presbyterian


  The Perfect Mixture:
Rice N' Beans
By Kara Johnson
I grew up in a land of fairy tales.  You were surrounded by forrest spirits.
I broke the seal on brand new books.  You hauled firewood for the family's dinner.
I played supervised on shiny new castles and swings.  You trekked alone through the bush with your machete.
I microwaved carboard for my lunch and dinner.  You picked yours sweet and fresh from a tree.
My life was pre-organized, prioritized, institutionalized, and compromiised.  Yours was encompassed by the search for daily bread.
They told me the lie that clear was better.  Illusion stoned you black and blue, calling you worthlesss.
You showed me how to dance freely to the thundering rhythm of the drum.  I helped you stand up for what you believe in but were told was wrong.
You demonstrated your generosity, simplicity, and tranquility towards life.  I shared with you an unrestricted view of the greater world outside.
They tell us we are different, two cultures and colors that collide.  But I put my hand in yours and there is no black and white...
Only the perfect mixtures of Rice n' Beans.


  Lifestyles
in Belize, Central America


Kriol Culture
The purpose of the National Kriol Council of Belize is to promote the culture and language of the Kriol people of Belize, as well as harmony among all the ethnic groups of Belize.  Our website provides information for people interested in knowing more about our unique and fascinating culture, language, and history.  The National Kriol Council of Belize was formed in 1995 and is a legally registered, not for profit company in Belize with limited liability. The Council is registered as a cultural group with the National Arts Council of Belize.

Maya Eco-Cultural System - One of the few places on earth where you are invited to step into the Maya world and participate in a full Maya experience is right here in Belize in the Cayo District....This is a place where children follow their parents into the rainforest in search of healing herbs and where the past is brought to life through the words of the elders.

Garifuna Village Project - A different cultural experience is offered by the Garifuna community of Punta Gorda, the largest town in the Toledo District. Members of this community have created a living museum in the form of recreation of a traditional Garifuna village. The project includes a restaurant, an arts and crafts shop, and an artifact museum.



  Mi momma use ta seh...

Mi nuh need no one fi do bad fi mi.  
Mi mek bad fi miself.

I do enough bad for myself that I
do not need anyone doing bad for me.
_______________________
Hard ears pickney dead a sun hot.
The child is stubborn like the hot son.
_______________________
Send bwoy fi coconut,
coconut come back befow bwoy.
Send the boy to do a job,
and he'll get someone else to do it for him.
_______________________
If yuh spit in a sky, i wah fall pa yuh face.
Whatever you put out there is going to come back to you.
_______________________
If yuh caint hear, yuh batam wa feel.
If you don't listen, you will be spanked.
_______________________

  Discovering Columbus:

    So I begin class by stealing a student's purse.  I announce that the purse is mine, obviously, because look who has it.  Most students are fair-minded.  They saw me take the purse off the desk so they protest:  "That's not yours, it's Nikki's.  You took it.  We saw you."  I brush these objections aside and reiterate that it is, too, mine and to prove it, I'll show all the things I have inside.
    I unzip the bag and remove a brush or a comb, maybe a pair of dark glasses.  A tube of lipstick works best: "This is my lipstick," I say.  "There, that proves it is my purse."  They don't buy it and, in fact, are mild;y outraged that I would pry into someone's possessions with such utter disregard for her privacy.  (I've alerted the student to the demonstration before the class, but no one else knows that.)
    It's time to move on:  "OK, if it's Nikki's purse, how do you know?  Why ar you all so positive it's not my purse?"  Different answers:  We saw you take it; that's her lipstick. we know you don't wear lipstick; there is stuff in there with her name on it.  To get the point across, I even offer to help in their efforts to prove Nikkis' possession:  "If we had a test on the contents of the purse, who would do better, Nikki or I?"  "Whose labor earned the money that bought the things in the purse, mine or Nikki's?"  Obvious questions, obvious answers.
    I make one last try to keep Nikki's purse:  "What if I said that I discovered the purse, then would it be mine?"  A little laughter is my reward, but I don't get any takers; they still think the purse is rightfully Nikki's.
    "So," I ask, "Why do we say that Columbus discovered America?"
    What is Discovery?
    Now they begin to see what I've been leading up to.  I ask a series of questions that implicitly link Maria's purse and the Indians' land:  Were there peole on the land before Columbus arrived?  Who had been on the land longer, Columbus or the Indians?  Who knew the land better?  Who put their labor into making the land produce?  The students see where I'm going - it would be hard not to.  "And yet," I continue, "What is the first thing that Columbus did when he arrived in the New World?"  Right: he took possession of it.  After all, he had discovered the place.
    We talk about phrases other than "discover" that textvooks could use to describe what Columbus did.  Students start with phrases they used to describe what I did to Nikki's purse.  He stole it; he took it; he ripped it off.  And others:  He invaded it; he conquered it.
    I want students to see that the word "discovery" is loaded.  The word itself carries a perspective, a bias.  "Discovery" is the phrase of the supposed discoverers.  It's the invders masking their theft.  And when the word gets repeated in textbooks, those textbooks become, in the phrase of one historian, "the propaganda of the winners."
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/
Excerpted from the book written by Bill Bigelow which was reprinted in Rethinking Schools, published by The New Press.




Belize is a country of various culture, language and ethnic groups. Approximately 200,000 people in Belize consist of Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo, Spanish, Maya, English, Mennonite, Lebanese, Chinese...
http://www.travelbelize.org/
cult.html

Belize City Charm
Belize City is.... an unusual combination of rustic, old-fashioned Caribbean charm and bustling modernity. The Belize river meanders through the middle of the city...
http://belize-city.com/


Cultures - Belize is a truly multicultural society, with many different traditions living in harmony. The people you meet in Belize are proud of their cultures and will be happy to tell you about their history and teach you some phrases in their native languages...

http://www.magnumbelize.
com/cultures.html




  The Capitol:
Belmopan
After Hurricane Hattie hit Belize City with full force in 1961, the government of Belize finally decided that it was necessary to move their capital city away from coastal dangers. The idea was to build a new capital city safe from tidal waves and other natural disasters, where government offices could continue to function through natural disasters.
The site was chosen at the junction of the Western & Hummingbird Highways, and a contest was held among the citizens of Belize to choose the name of this new capital. "Belmopan" comes from two words: "Belize" the name of the the country and  "Mopan" the name of one of the rivers that empties into the Belize River. Mopan is also the name of a Mayan tribe.
The city not completed, but was ready for inhabitants by 1970, when the government decided to move its headquaters from Belize City to Belmopan. Through the years it's grown in businesses and even hosts the main campus of the University of Belize. It currently has a population of approximately 7,000.
The move is definitely considered well worth the effort as through the years, the forces of natural disasters such as Hurricanes Mitch (1998) and Keith (2000) have threatened the safety of coastal populations, including Belize City.

(Cited from George Price: Father of the Nation of Belize)