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Dougla people

Caribbean people of mixed African and Indian descent

Summary

Caribbean people of mixed African and Indian descent

FieldValue
groupDougla people
regionsCaribbean
(notably in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Grenada,Guadeloupe, and Martinique)
languagesCaribbean English (predominantly Trinidadian Creole, Guyanese Creole, Sranan Tongo, Jamaican Patois, Saint Lucian Creole), French, Dutch, Papiamento, Caribbean Hindustani
religions
related_groupsAfro-Caribbeans, Indo-Caribbeans

(notably in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Grenada,Guadeloupe, and Martinique)

Diaspora in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands

Dougla ( from Caribbean Hindustani dugalaa 'mixed') is a term used to describe people who are of mixed African and Indian descent.

Definition

The word Dougla originated from dogala (दोगला), which is a Caribbean Hindustani word that literally means "two-necks" and may mean "many", "much" or "a mix" (literally bastard, of two fathers). Its etymological roots are cognate with the Hindi "do" meaning "two" and "gala", which means "throat". Within the West Indies context, the word is used only for one type of mixed race people: Afro-Indians.

The 2012 Guyana census identified 29.25% of the population as Afro-Guyanese, 39.83% as Indo-Guyanese, and 19.88% as "mixed," recognized as mostly representing the offspring of the former two groups.

In the French West Indies (Guadeloupe, Martinique), Afro-Indian people used to be referred to as Batazendyen or Chapé-Kouli.

History

There are sporadic records of Indo-Euro interracial relationships, both consensual and nonconsensual, before any ethnic mixing of the African and Indian variety.

Other Indo-based types of mixed heritage (Indo-Chinese (Chindians), Indo-Latino/Hispanic (Tegli), Indo-English (Anglo-Indians), Indo-Portuguese (Luso-Indians), Indo-Irish (Irish Indians), Indo-Scottish (Scottish-Indians), Indo-Dutch, Indo-Arabs and Indo-Amerindian) tended to identify as one of the older, unmixed ethnic strains on the island: Afro, Indo, Amerindian or Euro or passing as one of them.

Notable Douglas

Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, & Jamaica

  • Cletus Ali, Trinidadian musician, better known as Mighty Dougla
  • Andre Rampersad, Trinidadian footballer
  • Kenny J, calypsonian
  • Eddy Grant, Guyanese singer
  • Gema Ramkeesoon, social worker and women's-rights activist (Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Rohit Jagdeo, Guyanese politician
  • Diego Biseswar, Surinamese footballer
  • Super Cat, Jamaican deejay
  • Marlene Malahoo Forte, politician (Jamaica)
  • Amy Ashwood Garvey, activist (Jamaica)
  • Lisa Hanna, Miss World 1993, MP for Saint Ann South Eastern
  • Kenneth Salick, chutney soca singer
  • Krishmar Santokie, cricketer
  • Edward Seaga, banker, businessman, politician and former Prime Minister of Jamaica
  • Abrahim Simmonds, youth advocate (Jamaica)
  • Toni-Ann Singh, Miss World 2019 (Jamaica)

India

  • Masaba Gupta, actress and fashion designer (Antiguan and Indian)

Netherlands

  • Darryl Lachman, footballer (Netherlands; Curaçaoan and Surinamese background)
  • Furdjel Narsingh, footballer (Netherlands; Surinamese background)
  • Luciano Narsingh, footballer (Netherlands; Surinamese background)
  • Prince Rajcomar, footballer (Netherlands; Curaçaoan and Surinamese background)

United Kingdom

  • Sir Trevor McDonald, Trinidadian British news anchor and journalist
  • Esther Anderson, actress (United Kingdom; born in Jamaica)
  • Johnson Beharry, Grenadian British soldier in the British Army
  • Melissa Bell, Jamaican-British singer and mother of Alexandra Burke
  • Katharine Birbalsingh, teacher and education reformer
  • Alexandra Burke, British-Jamaican singer and daughter of Melissa Bell
  • Jeffery Kissoon, actor
  • Nick Sagar, British actor and model
  • Sean Sagar, British actor and model
  • Joyce Vincent, British woman whose death went unnoticed for over two years (Grenadian of black and Indian ancestry)

United States and Canada

  • Tatyana Ali, Indo-Trinidadian/Afro-Panamanian American actress

  • Nicki Minaj, Trinidadian music artist

  • David Chariandy, Canadian author with Trinidadian parents

  • Frances-Anne Solomon, British-Canadian filmmaker with Trinidadian parents

  • Mervyn Dymally, Trinidadian-American politician

  • Rajee Narinesingh, LGBT activist (United States; Trinidadian and Tobagonian background)

  • Melanie Fiona, Canadian artist with Guyanese parents

  • Nicole Beharie, actress

  • Foxy Brown, rapper (United States; Trinidadian and Tobagonian background)

  • Tanya Chutkan, jurist and lawyer

  • Special Ed, rapper (United States; Jamaican background)

  • Kamala Harris, Vice-President of the United States (Jamaican and Indian)

  • Maya Harris, lawyer and writer (Jamaican and Indian)

  • Lester Holt, U.S. news anchor and journalist

  • Diana King, singer (United States; born in Jamaica)

  • Vashtie Kola, music-video director

  • Sonnet L'Abbé, Guyanese Canadian poet

  • Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, playwright

  • Nicole Narain, model and actress

  • Roxanne Persaud, politician (United States; born in Guyana)

  • Thara Prashad, American singer and model

  • Mary Rambaran-Olm, literary scholar specializing in early medieval England from the fifth to eleventh centuries

  • Justine Skye, entertainer (Jamaica)

  • XXXTentacion, rapper

References

References

  1. (2013-05-09). "Rice and Beans: A Unique Dish in a Hundred Places". Berg.
  2. Winer, Lise. (2009). "Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago". McGill-Queen's University Press.
  3. Bureau of Statistics, Guyana. (July 2016). "2012 Census Compendium 2: Computation Composition".
  4. (17 August 2016). "The Trinidad Dougla: Identity, Ethnicity and Lexical Choice". Cambridge Scholars.
  5. "Dougla dilemma".
  6. Regis, Ferne-Louanne. (2016). "The Trinidad Dougla: identity, ethnicity and lexical choice". [[Cambridge Scholars Publishing]].
  7. https://ufmrg.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/diversity_-difference-and-caribbean-feminism-feb_2007.pdf {{Bare URL PDF. (March 2022)
  8. Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae'', Rough Guides, {{ISBN. 1-84353-329-4, p. 286
  9. (2018-01-13). "Information director's criticisms of Indian descent conference don't represent gov't position".
  10. https://ufmrg.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/diversity_-difference-and-caribbean-feminism-feb_2007.pdf {{Bare URL PDF. (March 2022)
  11. ''[[Comparative studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East]]'', Vols 17–8, [[Duke University Press]], 1997, p. 124.
  12. "'Seriously' Speaking: Will Lisa be the 'Last Woman Standing'? | Loop Jamaica".
  13. (2012). "Jep Sting Radica with Rum and Roti: Trinidadian Social Dynamics in Chutney Music". Popular Music and Society.
  14. Batson-Savage, Tanya. (2013-07-01). "Esther Anderson: "They said I'd snubbed Hollywood"".
  15. (17 May 2013). "I wouldn't say I am lucky... Interview with Johnson Beharry, VC – The Best You Magazine".
  16. "The Honorable Mervyn M. Dymally's Biography".
  17. Rajee Narinesingh
  18. Calloway, Sway. (2001-05-29). "Foxy Brown – Outspoken (Part 4)". [[MTV News]].
  19. [https://www.today.com/video/lester-and-jenna-trace-their-jamaican-roots-44495427630 Today Show: "Lester and Jenna trace their Jamaican roots"] Aired on September 9, 2012 {{webarchive. link. (September 13, 2012)
  20. Holt, Lester. (2007-05-11). "To Jamaica with Mom". NBC News.
  21. (September 2025). "Reggae Singer Diana King official Biography". Dance Hall Reggae World}}{{Dead link.
  22. "Gala 2016".
  23. (November 4, 2015). "Guyanese-born New York Assemblywoman, Roxanne Persaud, was elected to the New York State Senate".
  24. (2016-01-13). "New York's immigrant lawmakers make their mark". Times Union.
  25. Jennifer Bisram. (Sep–Oct 2009). "Thara Aims High: What can't she do?". MoraFire.
  26. (June 2016)
  27. Schuessler, Jennifer. (2022-05-07). "Medieval Scholars Spar on a Modern Battlefield: Twitter". The New York Times.
  28. "XXXTENTACION CALLS OUT DRAKE IN HIS FIRST INTERVIEW AFTER JAIL".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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