What kind of traditions and cultural mythologies do Dominicans practice one might ask? Why is it so important to the culture? Well to find out the answer to the question, let’s start at the beginning. Dominican Republic was not always called or was Dominican Republic. Like American, we also had to gain our independence as well as our freedom. In 1496, Spaniards set up their first Spanish Colony in the Western hemisphere in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). In 1697, The Treaty of Ryswick gave the colonized eastern part of Hispaniola, which is DR now, to Spain. It took 147 years to declare independence. On February 27th, 1844, Santo Domingo declared its independence and became known as the Dominican Republic. Fast forward to 2021 and we have our government. The Chief of State and Head of Government is President Danilo Medina Sanchez. Since our country’s independence we have 38 more constitutions than any country. To add on, our constitution establishes the system of governance as a democratic unitary republic. Living in Santo Domingo as well as being a part of the Dominican culture, we have a lot of myths we pass along through generations as well as traditions. 

Dominican Republic and its people have diverse cultures. In having a widespread culture that means we have very populated traditions. For example, we have a food called Sancocho which is a stew of meat, corn, and vegetables. Some other families or others in different parts of our country make it differently based on their taste. It is mostly enjoyed on holidays. We also have a sport that is known as the common Dominican sport which is baseball. If you step out onto the streets and ask a Dominican man or woman what sport they play, most likely they will say baseball or softball. Moreover, being that baseball is by far the most popular sport in DR, we have men from our island that play in Major League Baseball (MLB). To name the most respected and famous player to come out of Dominican Republic, Juan Marichal is inducted into the hall of fame. Additionally, we also have dance traditions; The most common and admired dance is Merengue. As stated by the article “its suggestive lyrics and erotic dance movements mke it easy to identify”. To those who do not know about Merengue or its origins, it comes from Santo Domingo and consists of a lot of fast paced drums and bass. It is more lively in terms of music as well as its eight step dance. Our dance moves are easy to identify and so is our music. Merengue is fast paced and is an eight step dance in comparison to bachata that is 3 steps and slower than merengue. (Brathwaite)

Culture and traditions is important due to the fact that it is what makes Dominicans unique and ordinary. The food is different from other countries, the style is more Americanized but that is because Dominicans take pride in wearing the best of the best as well as wearing high end designer clothing. In Dominican culture, appearance is very important since it shows your stature. In other words, clothing, more specifically the fabric or what you wear, is used to indicate social standing additionally the degree of a person’s success. Another key point in traditions, Dominicans have a tradition of “besar la mano” or “kiss the hand” . Now it is not literal but more figurative; “kiss the hand” is a sign of respect. Also according to the article on the Dominican traditions “this tradition involves young people “kissing” the hands of their elder family members such as their mom, dad, uncle, and grandad. The term “kissing hands” actually refers to asking for a blessing. A younger person would say something like ‘blessing dad’ and they would respond ‘god bless you, honey”.(Brathwaite) In other words, there is a phrase that is said; the child must present themself to the elder and say “bendicion …”/ “cion…” which means “blessing” and the dots indicate the person that is being said to. To demonstrate, when saying “cion mama/cion papa” we are asking for the blessing of our parents to which they respond “dios te bendiga” or “god blesses you”. Once again, it is commonly used to show honor and respect to the elders in the family. 

As previously mentioned, when introducing yourself or when seeing an elder, for respect one would say “bendicion” or “cion”. In a culture like Dominicans the parenting style is very important in tradition. According to a study published in 2007, “the term respeto has been used to describe the importance of adherence to authority, be it based on age or social position”, respeto in English means respect. Latino/ Hispanic parents condition their children to respect their elders due to their pride. Previously mentioned, Dominicans are very prideful, in that they will govern their kids so in a way the world knows their kids are home trained. Lastly, proves the point of the tradition of respect that is passed down from generation to generation. 

In terms of mythologies in the Dominican culture it is important to know there are multiple mythologies. Mythologies are important in cultures because they are meant to be passed down to every generation. Stories, folklore, and myths are supposed to be remembered and talked about. The one that will be discussed is the myth of the cigupa. The cigupa originated from Javier Angulo Guridi and wrote a novella (short novel) in 1866 titled “La ciguapa” published in 1866. According to the pages of his book “creature that is just three feet tall…it has a marvelously beautiful face and movements… has the golden skin of the authentic Indian, black almond-shaped eyes, soft, lustrous, and abundant hair that…falls down their gorgeous backs all the way to the knees”. The description gives the cigupa, a femininity to it. In the hispanic community some myths relate towards historical backgrounds. In this case, the myth of the cigupa is a “tale of an unconsummated love affair between Jacinto and Marcelina… that is Hispanic families can be understood as a parable for a Hispanic Caribbean grapplings with colonialism and independence, slavery and abolition, imperialism and sovereignty, nation and state”. In other words, the myth of the cigupa along with the love affair is a simple story to tell the world about the misfortunes the Hispanic community is about. 

Another significance of the myths is the religious aspects. The backgrounds of traditions and myths ranges based on Christianity and the church. More specifically, 76% of Hispanic and Latino communities are Chrisitian;there are also beliefs in voodoo or vodu. In the article made in the spring of 2007, “universally in the Dominican Republic, “vodu” implies black magic of Haitian origin, the work of the Devil rather than of God”. It is also stated there are organizations “religious brotherhoods or confraternities (cofradias, hermandades), the Afro-Dominican variety (cofradias afrodominicanas) being family-lineage based with patron saint as family deity, which act as mutual-aid and burial societies, and annually celebrate their saint’s day and members’ death rituals; vodu centers, altars, temples (places of “devotion to the misterios), sites for healing and divination utilizing clairvoyance and spirit possession; gaga societies, late twentieth-century Hatian-Dominican counterparts of… vow based societies associated with sugarcane plantation communities (bateyes), active during the Lenten season”; Lenten season which is Lent, the period of 40 days before Easter in the Christian calendar. This ties back to Dominican cultures having the religious and historical significance. 

To end the topic, there are deities that are significant to Chrtisiantiy. In the monothestic religion which is another way of saying Chrsitanity, deity is the supreme, the god. In the article published in the Spring of 2007, “the Roman Catholic use of saints can be seen as another aspect of a cult to the dead, as the saints were once living people who transformed into elevated spirits. Likewise many deities of the vodu pantheon were real people in West-African history, particularly those called the “white deities”(los misterios blancos)”. To put it another way, the use of saints in Christianity is in relation to the living people who died and were transformed into spirits; they are called white spirits. 

In summary, alike many traditions and myths around the world, all have historical backgrounds as well as family cultural significance. A lot can relate with having foods, sports, and other aspects of importance to their culture along the lines with stories they’d pass down to their kids and grandchildren. Everything is taught an important lesson, in the best way possible. Mostly the myths are taught or passed down to children and when they grow older they will start to learn the true meaning behind those traditions and mythologies they were taught as a kid.

Bibliography

Brathwaite, Shimon. “10 Traditions Only Dominicans Can Understand.” Culture Trip, 9 May 2017, https://theculturetrip.com/caribbean/articles/10-traditions-only-dominican-can-understand/.

Candelario, Ginetta E.B. “La ciguapa y el ciguapeo.” Dominican Myth, Metaphor, and Method, vol. 20, no. 3, 2016, p. 51. https://muse-jhu-edu.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/article/638689.

Davis, Martha Ellen. “Vodu of the Dominican Republic: Devotion to “La Veintiuna Division.”” vol. 26, no. 1, 2007. https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=ceb822ea-db31-4687-8c98-ff31cb879dd2%40sdc-v-sessmgr02.

Guilamo-Ramos, Vincent, et al. “Parenting practices among Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers.” vol. 52, no. 1, 2007. https://go-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&hitCount=8&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=8&docId=GALE%7CA161396384&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegmen.