Caribbean Folklore- book research

Research, Analysis and Evaluation

To broaden the cultural landscape in video games and to explore my own family heritage, my project is based around character creation aligned to Caribbean folklore, myths and legends. As my project proposal stated, I have decided to use text as a major part of my initial research that will trigger my character inspiration. The essay 'African Sacredness and Caribbean Cultural Forms' by Lucie Pradel links directly to my project in terms of exploring and understanding the roots of Caribbean myths and legends. I found that African religious practises such as Voudou and Yoruba religion had a large impact on Caribbean society, particularly as it was brought over to the islands during slavery. The essay implied that the absence of art to represent figures from these religions resulted in verbal interpretations of various different gods and spirits (Orishas), which I found highly unusual and fascinating. Even Roman and Greek myths and legends seem to be accompanied by forms of art and theatre, so realising how differently Caribbean folklore has been interpreted shed some light on the fact that it is less conspicuous to those on the outside. The book was particularly useful in that it provided different names of Caribbean spirits and legends, and Yoruba gods, such as Shango, the god of thunder and lightning and who has a large presence in the Obeah religion within the islands. From this reading I compiled a list of creature names and spirits that I could work from. This research was supported by further reading that I carried out, including a section from a Grenadan tour guide book that listed the names of legends known to people on the island, and details on the worship of Yoruba gods in the West Indies. I also read upon the creolisation of folklore and the impact of the west during colonisation in 'Investigating Possession Pasts: Memory and Afro-Caribbean Religion and Folklore'. This book sample gave an interesting account on the melding of African religions to create the Afro-Caribbean religions and folktales that exist today and that have existed for centuries since slavery started. Books about fiction authors also created a larger picture of the impact of westernisation, such as Trinidadian author Andre Alexis' complete rejection and almost denial of his Caribbean heritage and culture in his works of fiction, and an interview with Nalo Hopkins, a Jamaican writer who discusses her inspiration and the obscurity of Caribbean folklore to the rest of the world. This obscurity is what I want to tackle when designing with the game industry in mind- using a strong knowledge and interpretation of Caribbean culture and folklore, perhaps people can learn about these characters and myths as much as they can learn about Greek, Norse, and Mayan mythology in games.