VOA常速英语2008年-Caribbean Beat Pulses with Indian Accents

By Ravi Khanna
Washington, DC
07 February 2008
 

The American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress in Washington featured Indo-Caribbean drumming and dancing at a recent performance. The center has been featuring traditional ethnic¹ and regional music that is "homegrown" in communities across the United States. VOA's Ravi Khanna has more.

This is the story of a small American community that is following its own cultural traditions of music and dance, and at the same time sending a subtle message of religious tolerance² and moderation.

The community is mostly in New York. It originated in Guyana, and in Trinidad and Tobago, and its roots go across the oceans all the way to India.

This team from New York is known as the Major League Tassa. This kind of dance and drum beating marks the Muslim holy month of Moharram, and the uniqueness of this team is that all its members are Hindus.

During the past three decades, Indo-Caribbean immigrants from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago brought Tassa drumming to New York City and South Florida. And their origins can be traced to North India, especially the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

For the Indian indentured³ laborers⁴ who came to the Caribbean region in the mid-19th century, Tassa became closely associated with the Muslim "Hosay" or Moharram commemoration. The word Hosay comes from the Muslim martyr⁵ Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. And for a large majority of Muslims, it is a month of mourning in memory of Imam Hussein and his family.

Anil Raghoonanan from Trinidad is the leader of this Tassa team who formed the group three years ago. His team caters⁶ to the cultural needs of the community in New York.

Raghoonanan explains, "It is a very big Hindu Muslim Indian community, Punjabis, there are a lot of Indians, West Indians, Indians from India."

Hosay is an annual procession, with miniature temples paraded through the streets to the Tassa beats. It is commemorated⁷ by both Muslims and Hindus.

The dancers are Amanda Basdeo and Lauren Moomlal. They perform traditional dancing in the style practiced widely at religious ceremonies and weddings, as well as popular contemporary dancing.

Basdeo is an accountant and dances as a hobby. She says her community loves it.  "They love to see the younger generation not on the streets. We are doing something productive," she says. "We are carrying on our culture, and our generation cares about it."

While Basdeo is trying to learn Bharat Natyam and other Indian classical dances, Moomlal says she has not had any training. She says, "It is familiar for us, even though we were brought up here."

When asked, "Were you trained or is it natural," Moomlal responds, "Natural. All natural."

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

3 indentured   

v.以契约束缚（学徒）( indenture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Africans became indentured servants, trading labor for shelter and eventual freedom. 非洲人成为契约上的仆人，以劳力交换庇护及最终的自由。 来自互联网
• They are descendants of indentured importees. 他们是契约外来工的后代。 来自互联网

4 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

5 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

6 caters   

提供饮食及服务( cater的第三人称单数 )； 满足需要，适合

参考例句：

• That shop caters exclusively to the weaker sex. 那家商店专供妇女需要的商品。
• The boutique caters for a rather select clientele. 这家精品店为特定的顾客群服务。

7 commemorated   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Lincoln commemorated the soldiers killed in the battle in his address. 林肯在演说中表扬阵亡将士。 来自辞典例句
• You'll be commemorated for killing a spy, and be specially discharged. 你们每杀一个间谍将会被记录到特殊档案。 来自电影对白