Stan Ofisyèl 

M Pare – Blcknwhit (lanmou m pa pè w ankò)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2WyXGOBzHk

Tradiksyon:  Bèta Hays ak Alain Sylla
 
Tan pase
Kè k te brize yo repare
Tout doulè mwen yo efase
Wi mwen ka di mwen prepare
 
Time passes
Hearts that were broken are repaired
All my pain is erased
Yes I can tell you I am prepared
 
Pa paske m an mank
Tout dlo je a yo tounen lank
Pou yon pi bèl istwa lanmou
on pi bèl istwa lanmou
 
Not because I'm lacking
All the tears turn into ink
For a more beautiful love story
A more beautiful love story
 
M vini pou m fè gran so a
Sa tante m, m pare,
M  pa pè w ankò lanmou
M pa pè w ankò lanmou
 
I came to make the big leap
That which entices me, I'm ready
I'm not afraid of love anymore
I'm not afraid of love anymore

M ap louvri kè m pou ba w antre
Sa tante m, m pare,
M pa pè w ankò lanmou
M pa pè w ankò lanmou
 
I am opening my heart to allow you to enter
That which entices me, I'm ready
I'm not afraid of love anymore
I'm not afraid of love anymore
  
Flè yo fleri
Lavi a reprann tout dwa li
Maladi sèl lanmou k geri
Mwen pliye anba pouvwa li
 
The flowers bloom
Life regains all its rights
A sickness that only love can heal
I fold under its power
 
M pare pou m bay
Tout sa m ta renmen resevwa
Kite m chante yon lòt istwa
Chante yon lòt istwa
 
I'm ready to give
All that I would like to receive
Let me sing a different story
Sing another story

Menmsi 2 montay p ap jamè kwaze
Mwen rete kwè 2 kè ka kontre
Bon moun lan, nan bon moman an
Bèl istwa pou n rakonte
 
Even though 2 mountains are never going to meet
I still believe 2 hearts can meet
The right person, in the right moment
Beautiful story for us to tell
 
Tankou yon Fenix mwen renèt
Flanm ki anndan mwen an ravive
Flanm ki anndan mwen an ravive
 
Like a Phoenix was reborn
The flame that is inside me has revived
The flame that is inside me has revived
 
M pare pou m rekòmanse renmen nèt
Se sèl lanmou ki bay lavi vre
Se sèl lanmou ki bay lavi vre
 
I'm ready to start loving completely
It is only love that makes life authentic. 
 

PRIYE POU PEYI MWEN (Lyrical Video)

Haitian Christmas traditions: How to make a fanal in 7 steps

Haitian Christmas traditions: How to make a fanal in 7 steps: 

Instructions on how to to make a simple fanal lanterns, a Haitian Christmas tradition.

Gather the necessary materials and see images below:

• Four pieces of 8-½” x 11” cardstock
• Ruler, scissors and/or exacto knife, transparent tape
• Colored tissue paper
• Battery-powered votive candle

Step 1

• Take one piece of cardstock. Turn it so one of the short ends is toward you. 
• Use the ruler on the long side to measure and mark  7 inches from the bottom. 
• On the other long side, directly across from the first mark, make another, also at 7 inches from the bottom. 
• At the top, on the short side, make a mark at 4-¼ inches from either side (the center).

Step 2

• Draw a line from each mark on the long side to the mark on the short side to create the peak of the roof.  
• Use the scissors to cut along the two lines and remove the corners.
• Draw a line between the 7-inch marks, fold along the line but make sure to open the fold.
• You now have one wall-and-roof section.

Step 3

• Using the other three pieces of cardstock, repeat the process with the same measurements, cuts and folds. 
• You should now have four wall-and-roof sections.

Step 4

• Place the four sections together, joining three of the walls. 
• The roof points should be at the top, pointing away from you. 
• Use the transparent tape to join the three of the wall sections together. 
• Keep the fanal flat!

Step 5

• On all four walls, use the exacto knife to cut out rectangles, approximately 2-inches wide by 1-inch high. They can be cut in a random fashion or in a pattern. 
• Cut and tape small pieces of colored tissue paper over the spaces. 
• This will be the inside of your fanal.

Step 6

• Fold the fanal, keeping the tissue paper and tape to the inside. 
• Tape the last two walls together to form a cube. Carefully, fold the roof segment toward one another and tape the roof edges together. It may be helpful to put your hand inside the fanal to push up as you press tape on the top.
• You have finished the structure of the fanal. Now you can decorate it with designs or holiday wishes, using acrylic paint or markers. 

Step 7

• Turn on the battery-powered votive candle and place it inside the fanal. 
• You now have your very own Haitian-inspired Christmas tradition, a fanal.

Jwaye Nwèl!  

African Origins of Haitians

Exerpt from a great article on Haiti 360:

"The Africans who came from Africa into Haiti were mainly from the Bight of Benin. The Republic of Benin was known as part of the Dahomey kingdom. Dahomey was a powerful kingdom in the west part of Africa until it was taken over from 1894-1960 by the French. However, before the French took over completely the French were already buying slaves, trading for slaves and shipping them into the Caribbean to be used as slaves."


"... as most scholars would note, most Africans brought to Haiti were of the Yoruba people in Benin. However, this is due to the Dahomey kingdom conquered territories; which were assimilated through intermarriage, uniform laws, and a common tradition of enmity to the Yoruba. The non-Yoruba Africans came from the Kongo and Angola, with most coming from the region in which the Kongo people resided. Be mindful that the Kongo and Angola people were also intermingle with the Yoruba people. In other words the Yoruba people were all over the west part of Africa. If anything, they were considered to be the largest group of people in the west parts of Africa. Although, Haitian descendants come from the same continent, some of the Africans in Haiti were very much from different parts of Africa. Furthermore, mixing the different African tribes with each other, was a tactic used by the French as well as the other Europeans to keep African slaves from revolting or rebelling. For example, if all spoke the same language there would be a higher chance in communicating and revolting; as appose to those who spoke a different languages and possible conflicts already from being in different tribes, would create chaos which gave the European the advantages in control of the Africans."

History of Haitian Creole

Taken from The Haitian Creole Language Institute of New York


The Haitian Creole Language is spoken by over 10 million people, both in Haiti and around the world in many communities of the diaspora . Often stereotyped as a bastardized form of French, there are many who are unaware of the richness of the language and the complex and expressive ways in which it is used.

Some basic facts about Haitian Creole:
•It is an analytic Language which means that separate words are used to indicate tense, plurality, possession, etc.
•Its structure and grammar are based on Fon gbè, a West African family of languages that is still spoken today in Benin, Togo and parts of Ghana and Nigeria.
•Its phonetics (Sounds) are based on French, so the majority of its vocabulary is French in origin. although It is important to note that some definitions may have shifted or changed, so French and Haitian Creole are not mutually intelligible.
•It has historically been an oral language, with a strong tradition of oral histories being passed on from generation to generation.
•Its orthography was only recently standardized, in 1979.
•There are nearly no silent letters in Haitian Creole. It is a highly phonetic language.

Michael Benjamin's "Si m te gen zèl"

Vole, vole...
fly, fly...


Vole, vole keyi zetwal nan syèl
fly, fly, gather the stars in the sky
Vole, m ta vole...
Fly, I would fly...


Si m te gen zèl,
I I had wings,
tankou yon zwazo, m ta vole, al keyi zetwal nan syèl.
like a bird, I would fly , to gather stars in the sky

Si m te lapli,
If I were the rain
Mwen ta jete dlo, pou m wouze flè k pouse anba solèy.
I would drop water to spray the flowers growing under the sun
Si m te lajwa,
If I were joy.
M ta antre nan kè, tout malere pou yo kapab jwenn lespwa.
I would enter the heart of the unfortunates to give them hope.
Si m te lanmou,
If I were love
M ta met ajenou, devan Bondye pou lèzòm kabab sispann goumen.
I would kneel before God so that humanity would stop fighting
Yo ta renmen.
They would love

M ta fè tout mòn blanch yo rebwaze,
I would reforest the barren hills
Tout sous ki seche, rekòmanse koule,
All dried up springs, start flowing again
Si m te gen pouvwa pou mwen chanje,
If I had power to change
Tout sa m dezire.
Whatever I desire

Mwen ta bani tout trayizon,
I would bannish all treason
Tout sa ki malad ta jwenn lagerizon,
All the sick would find healing
Tout sa ta pwouve saj yo te gen rezon.
All that would prove the wise were right

M' ta fè tout sa k' grangou jwenn manje,
I would give food to the hungry
Sa k' nan lesklavaj, ta va jwenn libète,
The captives would go free
Si m te gen pouvwa pou mwen chanje,
If I had power to change
Tout sa m dezire.
Whatever I desire
Mwen ta fè tout zam tounen jwèt,
I would turn weapons into toys
Move zentansyon, santiman disparèt,
corrupt intentions and ambitions disappear
Si m te ka chante pou m chase mechanste
If I could sing to chase away naughtiness

Karabela Dress

A Karabela (or Carabella) dress is a traditional Caribbean dress worn during the quadrille dance, and is worn not just in Haiti. Now people wear them during some cultural dances. Karabela dresses are custom made and can be purchased in downtown Port au Prince or at the Iron Market for $15 to $25. This is the most beautiful one I have seen and I want one just like this for my daughter!