Dougla people
Caribbean people of mixed African and Indian descent From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dougla people (plural Douglas) are Caribbean people who are of mixed African and Indian descent. The word Dougla (also Dugla or Dogla) is used throughout the Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean. Afro-Indo people may also be another term used to describe them.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Caribbean (notably in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Guadeloupe, and Martinique) Diaspora in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands | |
| Languages | |
| English, French, Dutch, Sranan Tongo, Papiamento, Caribbean Hindustani, Creole languages | |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afro-Caribbeans, Indo-Caribbeans |
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".[1] 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.[2]
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.[3]
In the French West Indies (Guadeloupe, Martinique), the few Afro-Indian people used to be referred to as Batazendyen or Chapé-Kouli, while in Haiti they were called Marabou.
History
There are sporadic records of Indo-Euro interracial relationships, both consensual and nonconsensual, before any ethnic mixing of the African and Indian variety.[4]
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.[5]
In Trinidad culture
In 1961, the calypsonian musician Mighty Dougla (born Cletus Ali) described the predicament of Douglas:[6]
If they sending Indians to India,
And Africans back to Africa,
Well, somebody please just tell me,
Where they sending poor me,
I am neither one nor the other,
Six of one, half dozen of the other,
So if they sending all these people back home for true,
They got to split me in two— Split Me in Two
Notable Douglas
- Cletus Ali, Trinidadian musician, better known as Mighty Dougla
- Tatyana Ali, Indo-Trinidadian/Afro-Panamanian American actress
- Esther Anderson, actress (United Kingdom; born in Jamaica)[7]
- Nicole Beharie, actress
- Johnson Beharry, Grenadian British soldier in the British Army[8]
- Melissa Bell, Jamaican-British singer and mother of Alexandra Burke
- Katharine Birbalsingh, teacher and education reformer
- Diego Biseswar, Surinamese footballer
- Foxy Brown, rapper (United States; Trinidadian and Tobagonian background)[9]
- Alexandra Burke, British-Jamaican singer and daughter of Melissa Bell
- Super Cat, Jamaican deejay[10]
- Joseph Charles (born Serjad Makmadeen), founder of the Solo Beverage Company[11]
- Tanya Chutkan, jurist and lawyer
- Sabrina Colie, actress (United States; born in Jamaica)[citation needed]
- Mervyn Dymally, Trinidadian-American politician[12]
- Special Ed, rapper (United States; Jamaican background)
- Indira Etwaroo, stage producer and director
- Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer
- Marlene Malahoo Forte, politician (Jamaica)[13]
- Amy Ashwood Garvey, activist (Jamaica)[14][15]
- Masaba Gupta, actress and fashion designer (Antiguan and Indian)
- Lisa Hanna, Miss World 1993, MP for Saint Ann South Eastern[16]
- 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[17][18]
- Kenny J, calypsonian[19]
- Diana King, singer (United States; born in Jamaica)[20]
- Jeffery Kissoon, actor
- Vashtie Kola, music-video director
- Sonnet L'Abbé, Guyanese Canadian poet
- Darryl Lachman, footballer (Netherlands; Curaçaoan and Surinamese background)
- Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, playwright
- Sir Trevor McDonald, Trinidadian British news anchor and journalist
- Nicki Minaj, singer, rapper (United States; born in Trinidad and Tobago)
- Nicole Narain, model and actress
- Rajee Narinesingh, LGBT activist (United States; Trinidadian and Tobagonian background)[21]
- Furdjel Narsingh, footballer (Netherlands; Surinamese background)
- Luciano Narsingh, footballer (Netherlands; Surinamese background)
- Roxanne Persaud, politician (United States; born in Guyana)[22][23][24]
- Thara Prashad, American singer and model[25][26]
- Prince Rajcomar, footballer (Netherlands; Curaçaoan and Surinamese background)
- Mary Rambaran-Olm, literary scholar specializing in early medieval England from the fifth to eleventh centuries[27]
- Gema Ramkeesoon, social worker and women's-rights activist (Trinidad and Tobago)[28]
- Andre Rampersad, Trinidadian footballer
- Nick Sagar, British actor and model
- Sean Sagar, British actor and model
- Kenneth Salick, chutney soca singer[29]
- Krishmar Santokie, cricketer
- Edward Seaga, banker, businessman, politician and former
- Abrahim Simmonds, youth advocate (Jamaica)
- Toni-Ann Singh, Miss World 2019 (Jamaica)
- Justine Skye, entertainer (Jamaica)
- XXXTentacion, rapper[30]
- Joyce Vincent, British woman whose death went unnoticed for over two years (Grenadian of black and Indian ancestry)
See also
References
Further reading
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