Period+4+Group+5

Group Members: Margaret, Julie Ann, and Caroline
media type="custom" key="330187" "Culturegram." Culturegrams. 2007. Brigham Young University. 30 Oct. 2007 .

Junkanoo Festival dominoes church school maracas beach in the Bahamas



__Cultural Features-Caroline__
===Social Groups-the population is 303,800. Bahamian government does not keep track of the ethnic backgroups because many Bahamians do not view themselves in terms of one ethnic category. About 70 percent of Bahamians live on New Providence Island. Many Bahamians know each other. This creates a small atmosphere throughout the island. 85% is African American 15% is black.=== ===Language- Bahamians speak English with a Bahamian accent.Bahamians use different dialects with unique expressions such as " He done reach" which means he has arrived.The main language is English, but some Haitian immigrant speak Creole.===

===Religion- Most Bahamians are Protestants. Bahamians are very serious about their religion.Catholic churches have grown in recent years due to Haitian immigrants.Baptist and the church of god are growing the fastest.Bahamians are very serious about their religions. There are often many services each week.The leaders of the church play important roles in the government.=== ===Daily Life- The Bahamas celebrate many holidays similar to the U.S like New Years.Some holidays that they celebrate that we do not are Emancipation Day, which commemorates the end of slavery; Discovery Day, or National Heroes Day ; and boxing day, a British holiday. A important culture holiday is Junkanoo. Junkanoo is a holiday that the slaves started but was baned by their masters. Now, it is promoted by the citizens of the Bahamas. Citizens parade around on Nassau's Bay Street wearing colorful costumes.The sailing of workboats is the national sport.Watching the races are more popular than actually racing in the race.Soccer, basketball, track-and-field, volleyball, golf, cricket, and baseball are other popular sports.The Family Island Regatta, the nation's largest competition, is held in Exuma around Easter.Bahamas beautiful water and beaches make water sports very popular.Watching movies is very popular.There isn't a lot of movie theaters so most Bahamians watch movies in their houses.Dominoes is popular for men and boys.Fresh fish and sea food are the main dishes for Bahamian cusine.Soups and stews are also very popular.A popuar breakfast dish is fresh fish served with grits. There is little illeracy in the Bahamas. Schooling is from five to 14 years of age. Public secondary and technical schools have been expanding. The College of The Bahamas, started in 1974 in Nassau, is a community college that offers programs in with other universities. Bahamians are usually free of malnutrition and diseases, and medical problems with in children mostly are those involving common infections.Bahamian house style is th same from the colonial times. House are bright and usually made from wood and concret blocks. Bahamians usually build their homes thmselvs and it can take up to 4 to 5 years to finish a home.=== ===Art- Pop music is listened to, but tradition Bahamian music is still popular.Most Bahamians sing in a church choir.Goatskin drums, saws, and maracas provide an island beat known as goombay music or rake n' scrape.Meringue is a popular type of dance music from Dominican Republic.Caribbean music and steel drum music is also very common in the Bahamas.Many of the Bahamas' most famous authors write dramas that are produced by professional companies in Nassau. However, a large portion of Bahamian stories continue to be sung rather than written down.===

__Physical Features-Julie Ann__
=== Land Forms- The names of the main islands are Acklins Island, Andros Island, Cat Island, Eleuthera Island, Grand Bahama Island, Great Abaco Island, Great Exuma Island, Great Inagua Island, Little Abaco Island, New Providence Island, and San Salvador Island. The Area is 5,358 sq. mi. and The highest point or highest elevation is at 206 ft. The Bahamas are a bunch of long, flat, coralline limestone islands. It is a very low and flat area with few lakes and mangrove swamps. There are no navigable rivers. Nassau is the capitol. The land use; Forest areas cover 32%, pastures cover 1%, agricultural- cultivated is 1%, and other is 66%. The Bahamas is an archipelago of about 700 islands and coral reefs. It stretches over 1225 kilometers from north to south. There is a Little Bahama Bank and a Grand Bahama Bank. The Andros Barrier Reef is one of the longest reef systems in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Most of the other reefs are in good condition because of the location and the low population. They have not been as worn down or polluted. The Bahamas have no mountains. The capital city is Nassau, on the island on New Providence. The geographical coordinates of the Bahamas is 24 15 N, 76 00 W. The coastline is about 3,542 km long. The main layout of the bahamas is long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills. Some of the natural resources are salt, aragonite, timber, arable land. Some of the current enviromental issues is coral reef decay and solid waste disposal. The highest point of elevation in the Bahamas is Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island at 63 m. The lowest point of elevation is the Atlantic Ocean at 0 m. The total area of the Bahamas is slightly smaller than Connecticut. The names of the islands of the Bahamas are Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay. The main physical features of the Bahamas are beaches and islands and there are many palm trees. ===

===Water Forms- The Bahamas are located in the Atlantic Ocean.The North Equatorial Current from the southeast and the Gulf Stream, both affect the Bahamas. There are small bodies of water scattered through the Bahamas, the most important is that it is located in the Atlantic Ocean. The Bahamas are islands and islands are a landmass that is smaller than a continent and is surrounded completely by water. The natural disasters that occur in the Bahamas are hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage.=== ===Climate- The Bahamas have a semitropical climate with two seasons. Both seasons have humidity ranging from 60% to 100%. Rainfall per year is 1,320 mm or 52 inches. Most of the rainfall occurs from May to June and September to October. The winter season lasts from December to April and the summer season from May to November. The climate is mainly tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream.=== ===Animals- The only small mammals that live in the Bahamas are the raccoon and the hutia. The larger mammals are wild donkeys, horses, and wild boar. The whale and the dolphin are two other mammals that live off of the coast. Fish and edible reef animals are still on many reefs of th Bahamas. There is a lot of commercial export fish trade. Some people are Over exploiting a few species that include queen conch, whelk Cittarium Pica, spin lobster and several grouper. Some illegal fishing tactics are being used. They are using toxic chemicals, and harvesting hawksbill turtles, fishing for the undersized queen conch, and capturing the spiny lobster out of season.===

SIx (6) Photos
-John, and Craig. "Bahamas." 1 Nov. 2007 &lt;[|http://www.henry.k12.ga.us&gt;.] -Clark, Latimer. "Information on Bahamas." Atlapedia Online. 1993. Latimer Clarke Corporation Pty Ltd. 6 Nov. 2007 &lt;[|http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/bahama.htm&gt;.] -Bunting, Jim. "What are the Major Natural Landforms in the Bahamas?" 2007. 7 Nov. 2007 &lt;[|http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_major_natural_landforms_in_the_Bahamas&gt;.] Hawksbill Turtle A satellite picture of the Bahamas. The Bahamas Flag. The Bahamas on Andros Island. map of the Bahamas. Hurricane Isabel over the Bahamas. Island of the Bahamas. ==__The Bahamas__. __Relief Web__. 7 Nov. 2007 &lt;[|http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900LargeMaps/SKAR-64GE73?OpenDocument&gt;.]==

__Current Issues- Margaret__
===Current Events- Tropical Storm Noel came crashing toward the Bahamas on Nov. 1 leaving a trail of deadly mudslides and wakes in the Carribean. Forecasters said that the storm could approach hurricane strength as it continues north toward the cooler waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Noel was supposed to pass just west of the Bahamian capital, Nassau, according to National Hurricane Center forecasters.===

===Government- Constitutional Monarchy. The Bahamas has a parliamentary form of government with a bicameral legislature and a prime minister. The governor general represents the queen, who had large ceremonial powers. The Governor general now is Arthur Dion Hanna. The bicameral parliament, which serves a five-year term, has 41 members in its House of Assembly. which is the lower house. Also, there is a 16 member Senate, which is the upper house. The 16 senators are chosen by the governor general, 9 on the prime minister's advice, 4 on the opposition leader's advice, and 3 on their joint advice.===

===Economy- The islands' subtropical atmosphere, sky and sea, lush vegetaion, and folklore has made the Bahamas one of the most popular resorts in the hemisphere. Providing 60% of the gross domestic product and employing about half of the workforce, tourism is the countrys most important industry. Rum, salt, aragonite, animal products, chemicals, and pharmacueticals are the chief exports. The Bahamas also has facilities for the transshipment of petroleum. The United States and Spain are the country's main trading partners. The transport of illegal narcotic drugs has been a problem since the 1960's. Also the flow of illegal refugees from other islands has presented a problem for the Bahamas.===

===History- When Christopher Columbus first landed in the America's it took place on the easternmost island of the Bahama's, San Salvador. The islands were granted to England in 1629, and in 1647, the first English settlement was made with the colonization of the Eleuthera Island by the compant of Eleutherian Adventures, a collection of religeous refugees. These settlers built an agriculture economy which prompted a slave trade to develop in the islands. In 1861, due to the American Civil War, an unexpected economic oppurtunity due to the islands' close distance to the United States, the islands were used by blockade runners. In the 1950's the Bahama's majority black population, led by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), began a campaign to gain control of the govt. away from the white United Bahamian Party. Britain granted the Bahamas limited self-government in 1964.===

Six (6) Photos






BIBLIOGRAPHY

Voicethread Story Workspace