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!

Wòch, Papye, Sizo

With my limited Creole, this seems like a lot to explain. So I might just demonstrate with someone and explain this part:

Who wins:
Ki moun ki genyen Wòch ka kraze Sizo. Sa vle di Wòch bat Sizo Sizo ka koupe Papye. Sa vle di Sizo bat Papye Papye ka kouvri Wòch. Sa vle di Papye bat Wòch

But here are the complete instructions too. Thanks to Mandaly from Sweet Coconuts. I found the translation of how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors here: http://sweetcoconuts.blogspot.com/search?q=%22jw%C3%A8t%22

Wòch Papye Sizo Anpil timoun jwe jwèt sa a pou detèmine kilès kap gen priyorite. Ou gen dwa jwe li pou konnen kilès kap kanpe devan nan yon lin, kilès kap chita devan machin nan, kilès ki premye ap jwenn yon bagay. Goal of the game Bi Jwèt la Jwèt Wòch Papye Sizo a gen twa eleman. Bi jwèt la se pou yon jwè chwazi yon eleman (wòch, papye, oswa sizo) ki ka koule eleman lòt jwè a. To play the game: Pou Jwe Jwèt la: Pou jwe jwèt la, de jwè dwe kanpe fasafas. De jwè yo dwe chwazi ak ki men y’ap jwe, men goch oswa men dwat. Epi de jwè yo dwe fè yon pwen avèk men sa a. Gameplay Jwèt la Jwè yo dwe kòmanse ansanm. Yo kapab konte sou twa pou yo kòmanse ansanm. Jwèt la kòmanse ak: en, de, twa. Jwè yo kenbe pwen yo youn anfas lòt. Epi yo fè yon monte desann pwen yo tankou se kafe yap pile pandan y’ap di ansanm, “Wòch, Papye, Sizo! … ale!” Menm kote yo di “ale” a, chak jwè yo fè yon fòm eleman an ak pwen yo. Fòm wòch la se yon pwen. Fòm Sizo a se yon pwen ak dwèt indèks la e dwèt majè a pwente tankou yon sizo. Fòm Papye a se yon men plat, tankou si ou tap bay lanmen. Who wins Ki moun ki genyen Wòch ka kraze Sizo. Sa vle di Wòch bat Sizo Sizo ka koupe Papye. Sa vle di Sizo bat Papye Papye ka kouvri Wòch. Sa vle di Papye bat Wòch Example: Pa egzanp: Lè de jwè yo di “ale!” a, si yon jwè fè fòm Papye e yon jwè fè fòm Wòch, se jwè ki fè fòm Papye a ki genyen. E si yon jwè fè fòm Papye e lòt la fè fòm Sizo, se jwè ki fè fòm Sizo a ki genyen.

If both players choose the same item:
Si tou de jwè yo chwazi menm eleman Si tou de jwè yo chwazi menm eleman an nan yon jwèt, rekòmanse ankò jiskaske gen yon jwè ki genyen. Bònn Chans!