El Cadejo Part 4

  El Cadejo are spirits that follow travelers, one black and one white. They look like dogs.  The black one is perceived as harmful.  The white one is perceived as a protector.  In a previous article I implied that the difference between me speaking Spanish rather than English could well be down to who got off the ship at what port of call.  In the last article, I wrote of particular ship voyages, the Diana and the Vigilantie, implying how families were separated over Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and the U.S. 

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My great grandmother was born a slave.  She lived to be over 110 years old.  I was not old enough to remember her.  Most of my older brothers and sisters remember her well.  She may not have been too far removed from parents who suffered under the international slave trade.  This puts another spin on "He can pass."  A family relationship to Central or South America may not be as distant as one would think.  

This brings me back to the party and the well meaning but potentially problematic comment, “He can pass.” 

What of the El Cadejo lurking around thoughts of skin color?  Well, there were stronger spirits in the room, the spirits of hospitality, respect, and warmth projecting from the hosts.  That set the tone of how I approached others and how they approached me.  It turned the entire situation to something that connected us - brought us closer instead of something that segregated us.   

       

El Cadejo Part 3

El Cadejo are spirits that follow travelers, one black and one white. They look like dogs. The black one is perceived as harmful.  The white one is perceived as a protector.  In the previous article I implied that the difference between me speaking Spanish rather than English could well be down to who got off the ship at what port of call.

Emory University’s Voyages Database contains records on the human trafficking of Africans into the Americas and the Caribbean (http://www.slavevoyages.org/).  One can track ship commission dates, ship names, voyage dates, regions of slave trade, destinations, and more. The database shows how different traders purchased people from the same region then distributed them from New York to Argentina as part of international commerce.

For example, in 1793 both The Vigilantie and the Diana did their slave trading along the Gold Coast regions of Africa.  The Vigilantie left with 340 human cargo.  It disembarked 294 into Suriname.  Afterwards, it sailed into an unspecified port in the Spanish Central Americas (Panama-Colombia border area). The database does not list how many disembarked.

In the case of the Spanish Central Americas, persons from the Vigilantie and other ships were distributed throughout the Latin American isthmus and South America. In some cases, the resulting population of those with African ancestry reached 50% of the recorded population of Spanish colonies.     Construction of the Panama Canal brought immigrants from the Caribbean Islands and other countries into Panama to find work.    

The Diana left with 40 souls and arrived at the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius with 35.  It disembarked 12 souls.  It sailed into Savannah, Georgia, USA delivering 23.

These two voyages are examples of how it is possible that families may have been split between the English speaking colonies, such as Georgia and Spanish colonies, such as Panama.   

Read Part 4

El Cadejo, Part 2

 El Cadejo are spirits that follow travelers, one black and one white. The black one is perceived as harmful.  The white one is perceived as a protector.

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In many of the guests, the soulfulness of their voices, the movement of their dance, the Afro that was better than mine, made me understand that my speaking English instead of Spanish may well be where a slave ship delivered its cargo.  

Emory University’s Voyages Database contains records on the human trafficking of Africans into the Americas and the Caribbean (http://www.slavevoyages.org).  One can track ship commission dates, ship names, voyage dates, region of slave trade, destinations, and more. The database shows how different traders purchased people from the same region then, distributed them from New York to Argentina as part of international commerce.  – Read Part 3

El Cadejo, Part 1

A head nod, a short phrase that included something like paso, I looked at another man I had also met at the party.  His overwhelming willingness to translate from Spanish to English helped me feel comfortable among the mostly Panamanian guests. “You can pass,” he answered.  There was a brief pause.  Then, I laughed. Other guests laughed with me.

After all the jokes comparing Panama City against Colon, after the hand-waving and gesturing about the difference between the Atlantic tide versus the Pacific tide, after the gossiping and cutting of eyes, after the wide-eyed children who were unable to stop laughing and incapable of slowing down - even for a moment, after having a really good time at the party, I thought about the comment, “He can pass.”  I came to understand why there was a brief pause. - Read Part 2