Post-colonial Burial and Grieving Rituals of the Caribbean (eBook)

This book brings together anthropological and historical studies that analyze burial rituals within the Caribbean through the theoretical lens of syncretism and the hybridization of post-colonial and contemporary time periods. Based on oral historiography, historical document analysis and ethnographic interviews, the chapters in this volume outlay the creolization of ancestral burial rituals in the wider Caribbean and present case studies of eight Caribbean countries: Barbados, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago.

This contributed volume is edited by scholars from different disciplines such as social work, psychology, and political science, providing an interwoven lens of individual human, political and environmental contexts. Contributing authors are from diverse disciplines such as anthropology, communications, sociology, political science, social work, and psychology and each discipline approaches the subject matter through their perspective lenses. Each chapter analyzes the hybridity of the burial rituals in the construction of culture and identity within conditions of colonial antagonism and inequity and is rich with oral histories from lay community historians, firsthand accounts, and historical texts. 

Post-colonial Burial and Grieving Rituals of the Caribbean will be of interest to scholars of cultural and religious anthropology, history and sociology, as it highlights the importance of grief and shows how it is encapsulated into burial traditions that are transmitted intergenerationally and express important aspects of Caribbean cultures.  

Camille Huggins is a dedicated lecturer in the Department of Behavioural Science at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus, Trinidad and Tobago, since 2015. With a profound research focus on death and grief rituals in the Caribbean and traumatic experiences of minoritized women. She is also the author of three notable books, including 'Gender and Domestic Violence in the Caribbean' (2021) and 'Domestic Violence in the Anglophone Caribbean' (2022), highlighting her expertise and commitment to addressing critical issues in the Caribbean region.

Ann Marie Bissessar is a retired tenured Professor at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus, Trinidad and Tobago. During her tenure she has researched anthropology and archaeology studies, in particular the study of the indigenous people societies and cultures in the Global South.  She has been conferred the Prestigious Vice Chancellor Award of Excellence- 2019 (at the five Campuses of the University of the West Indies- St Augustine, Cave Hill, Mona, Antigua) in the combined field of Outstanding Research and Service to the University. She served as the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (2014-2019), Head of the Department of Behavioural Sciences (2010-2013) and served on the National Integrity Commission. She is the author/editor of 20 books and over 100 articles and chapters in peer reviewed journals and books. She also serves on several international Boards and as editor for several journals.

Glenda M. Hinkson, a native of Barbados, is currently an Assistant Professor and Chair of Social Work at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago. Her research interests are loss, death, and grief, as well as families and couples throughout the life span. She has participated in numerous workshops, lectures and conferences regarding grief and death and dying.