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It is important to recognize that culture is always in a process of change due to both internal and external occurrences and influences. Gales Point is not in total isolation or unaffected by the broader
Belizean cultural lifestyles and 'Western culture'. Many things have changed in the community.
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The Sambai is by tradition considered a fertility dance and occurs during the full moon cycle. Farmers plant and harvest crops directly related to lunar cycles as well and this may contribute to the reason that the Sambai is considered a fertility ritual. Also, many lyrics are sexual in nature such
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recently established that, based on (textual and oral) evidence, Gales Point
Manatee was an early maroon community, a settlement made by persons who resisted enslavement by fleeing the control of the colonial authorities and "slave masters" to live in self-sufficient communities in the hinterlands.
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Elders remember the days when children were not allowed to participate in the Sambai. Although children are allowed to be at a Sambai now the event has not changed much since the old days. A circle of dancers and drummers gather around a pine wood fire. Drummers begin playing and "call" the song
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These modern influences at the same time have benefited the community. For example, they now have access to electricity and water. There is little economic activity occurring in the village which leads people to migrate out of the community. Many persons hope that increase tourist arrivals will
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It is theorized that since the escaped slaves, or maroons, were likely first generation slaves, they probably remembered rituals and rhythms from their home in Africa. Since the
Goombay (gumbeh) drum was not outlawed until 1790, it's easy to say that these rhythms were brought with these escaped
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Often subtle courtships were explored as individuals frequently choose the candidate of their pursuit for the evening. If the person was interested they would return the gesture by choosing back the potential partner. If the person was not interested in the courtship then the discrete lack of
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Colonial knowledge of maroonage in
British Honduras dates to 1816 when Superintendent Col. George Arthur recorded that there was "a community 'near Shiboon River, very difficult to discover'" outside the influence of the colonial authorities (quoted in Shoman: 2000, 51).
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Gales Point
Manatee or Malanti is the local name for the village. The majority of the village’s population lives on a peninsula located in the Southern Lagoon, which is a manatee reserve. The Southern Lagoon's water is brackish. This lagoon connects directly to the
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It is believed that Gale's Point became one of such communities where "ex-enslaved" persons from "nearby areas such as Sibun River, Runaway Creek, Mullins River and Main River" established around the late 1700s and early 1800s (Hyde: 2009, p. 13, 16).
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Fishing and hunting were also a much greater source of food for the community. For example, fish seré is a dish which is essentially a coconut-milk soup of fish and ground foods (yam, coco, potato, etc.). It may also be served along with white rice.
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The dancers enter one at a time and "Jump Sambai" as it is referred to. When the individual exits the ring he or she chooses the next dancer by pointing to or "reeling in" with a gesture or simply exits next to the person they are calling in.
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slaves to the area near
Runaway Creek. It is likely that the rhythms migrated from their origins as the people themselves did carrying with them the flowing and mutating rhythmic dialects of their own style, still strongly rooted in Africa.
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The origin of the word Sambai is not fully known, but Sambai refers to the rhythm style, drum style and event from the village of Gales Point
Manatee. The Sambai rhythm is the most unusual aspect of Kriol culture from Manatee (taken from
323:, first nurse in the village, recognized the need for managing village affairs and organized a council. Her idea later became the model for the current village council system which has been implemented throughout the country.
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The introductions always started with a bizarre exaggeration to make the crowd laugh such as "Back in the day when monkey use to chew tobacco" and ended with the classic Creole line "if the pin neva ben, di story neva end".
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then the crowd answers. This "call and response" style is typical of the
African tradition. For example: Call: "Aanti Kala Kala Kalala sohnting so" Response: "Aanti noh badi mi".
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Due to the geographic isolation of Gales Point
Manatee from the rest of the country, some traditional African practices continue to be observable (see Iyo, et al. 2007; Hyde: 2009).
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For example, the Sambai is no longer the same. There are more children participating in the dance than actual adults. In the past, no children were allowed to do the Sambai.
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People now live in concrete houses as opposed to thatched houses in the past. Processed and canned foods are available in the village. There is a local
Christian church.
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Iyo, Aondofe, Tzalam Froyla, and Francis Humphreys. Belize New Vision: African and Maya Civilizations, Heritage of a New Nation. Belize: Factory Books, 2007. Print.
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has developed into simply a social event and is no more a fertility ritual. It is done along with most other nighttime activities involving other dances.
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In 1820, Arthur again made reference to "two Slave Towns, which it appears have been long formed in the Blue Mountains to the Northward of Sibun" (ibid).
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Like many West African cultures, the people of Manatee were traditionally reliant on ground food and other locally planted crops for subsistence.
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430:, or at least the growing of 'locks', is now quite common among the youth (for discussion on Rastafari in Belize, see Lawrence: 2012).
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Iyo, Joseph. Towards Understanding Belize's Multi-Cultural History and Identity. Belize: University of Belize, 2000. Print.
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The people at Manatee are also well known for their homemade wines from local berries and cashews, amongst others fruits.
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Bolland, Nigel. Colonialism and Resistance in Belize: Essays in Historical Sociology. 1988. Mexico: Cubola, 2003. Print.
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The story may also change according to the mood of the teller. For example, the storyteller mentioned or integrated
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Lawrence, V. (2012). Dreadlock displaced: Stereotyping Rastafarians in Belize Journal of Belizean Studies, 31(2).
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Flight from enslavement in the Bay of Honduras to Freedom in Petén, Guatemala: Preliminary Findings
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in two of the stories, making the audience laugh at a recent disaster that affected the community.
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Some of the stories are long and have morals that can only be captured if one pays keen attention.
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In around 1944, Gales Point became the first village in Belize to have a village council. Nurse
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588:"Stoan Baas" people: An Ethnohistorical study of the Gales Point Manatee community of Belize
582:"Stoan Baas" people: An Ethnohistorical study of the Gales Point Manatee community of Belize
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At the time of the 2010 census, Gales Point had a population of 297. Of these, 89.2% were
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population. It is also possible to camp at Methos Campsite near the end of the point.
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increase the economic activities of the community and decrease outward migration.
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Storytelling has always been an important form of entertainment in the village.
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I mi gawn da malanti: Reflections from a field-trip at Gales Point Manatee
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reciprocation would be noticed only by the pursuer of the courtship.
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Most recently, in 2010, the population was placed at 296.
541:. Belize City, Belize: Belize National Women's Commission
370:"Hok-i-nani-beh…here here ….hok-i-nani-beh…koko faiya."
597:." Belize Archeology and Anthropology Conference. 2012.
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584:. The University of the West Indies, 2009.
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577:. Belizean Minds Blogspot. Web Article.
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442:The village of Gales Point has some
639:Populated places in Belize District
535:"Cleopatra Eugenie White 1898-1987"
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617:Gales Point on BelizeDistrict.com
497:"Introducing Gales Point Manatee"
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16:Place in Belize District, Belize
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566:Cocom, Rolando. (2014).
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452:West Indian manatee
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23:Gales Point Manatee
622:2003-08-02 at the
573:2014-04-28 at the
539:Belize Music World
415:Outside influences
156: • Total
35:Gales Point center
409:Hurricane Richard
258:Manatee Bar River
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140:Constituency
545:2 September
278:East Indian
227:Gracie Rock
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633:Categories
465:References
151:Population
448:ecosystem
428:Rastafari
288:and 0.3%
282:Caucasian
165:Time zone
159:296(est.)
620:Archived
571:Archived
507:28 April
286:Garifuna
128:District
444:tourism
438:Tourism
327:Culture
296:History
290:Mestizo
284:, 0.7%
280:, 0.7%
276:, 2.4%
272:, 6.1%
243:farming
239:fishing
199:village
182:Climate
174:Central
108:Country
82:88°20′W
79:17°11′N
375:Sambai
350:Sambai
302:(2009)
270:Creole
229:, and
207:Belize
121:Belize
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274:Mixed
197:is a
170:UTC-6
547:2015
509:2014
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