East Indians in Belize

The earliest evidence of the influx of East Indian in Belize was in 1858, when the British Parliament arranged for the transport of some one thousand mutineers with their wives and families after the suppression of the Indian mutiny. The East Indian that came again in the 1880s were from Jamaica, brought mainly to work on the sugar estates of ex-confederates who settled in the Toledo district after fleeing the Civil War in the U.S.A.

About the same time, some East Indian who had previously been employed in Guatemala planting coffee also settled in Toledo. By the turn of the 20th century, East Indian had also settled in Calcutta and San Antonio in the Corozal district in northern Belize cultivating a variety of fruits and vegetables for sale.

As laborers, it was proven over and over again in the Caribbean and Belize that for light field work the East Indian was an invaluable worker. Today, they live mostly in communities in the Toledo district in places like Forest Home and Mafredi. In the Corozal district they occupy the villages of San Antonio, Carolina and Calcutta; while in Belize City they are more diversified.

Within the past two decades there have been recent Hindu immigrants to Belize, engaged mostly in merchandizing. Many of the young East Indian working in their stores were brought as indentured workers.

Presently comprising about three percent of the population, the East Indians have almost completely intermixed in terms of marriage and culture.

Food-Most East Indians eat traditional foods.  Their festival food is cohune cabbage and dahl roti (flour tortillas). East Indians flavor their foods with tacari or curry powder. In order to obtain tacari powder, the yellow ginger root is planted and harvested in the months of April and May. It is then boiled and sun dried and grated with a large rubbing stone known as ‘hardi’. Seasonings such as cilantro, thyme, sage and black pepper are added and mixed to become powdery.

Clothing- Traditionally, the women wear long skirts, long sleeve blouses and a large head scarf is thrown across their shoulders. Under their clothing they wear a ‘chemise’, which consists of a long slip and a pair of long breeches. East Indian women are always well covered up in case of a sudden change of weather should occur. They also wear a sari, which is a single piece of cloth about six or seven yard long, which is wrapped around the waist and thrown around the shoulder. The East Indian men tend to dress in Western clothing, but a hat is usually worn to protect them from the sun. Most East Indian women in Belize wear Western-style clothes.

Beliefs- In the East Indian beliefs it is believed that babies should not be left alone because a witch known as Old Heg will suck their blood, and that opening the Bible to Psalm 23 will protect them from harm and that to prevent poverty no sweeping is to be done in the night.

Reference: Different Faces in Belize, Cultural Groups of Belize