Belize
The small English-speaking nation on the Caribbean coast of Central America, a mosaic of Maya, Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo, and Mennonite peoples, of ancient ruins and living villages, of rice and beans and the Garifuna drum. The complete guide.
Belize is a small country on the Caribbean coast of Central America, tucked between Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west and south, the only nation of the region where English is the official language, home to only about four hundred thousand people. To understand it, begin with the extraordinary mosaic of peoples who share the land, the Maya, the Creole, the Garifuna, the Mestizo, the Mennonites, and many more, living side by side in a small and peaceful nation; with the deep heritage of the ancient Maya, whose great civilisation rose here and whose descendants live in the villages still; with the African and Caribbean culture of the Creole and the Garifuna, and their drum and their punta; with the British colonial past that left the English language, the law, and the Commonwealth tie; and with the warm, easy-going, laid-back Caribbean spirit. From these flow the food, the faith, and the customs of daily life. This guide walks through each in turn.
Overview
Belize is a small country on the Caribbean coast of Central America, bordered by Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east, along whose shore runs one of the great barrier reefs of the world. It is a land of tropical forest, rivers, savanna, low mountains, and a long coast of cays and islands, rich in wildlife and natural beauty. Only about four hundred thousand people live there, one of the smallest populations in the Americas, in a country about the size of a small region, with the seat of government at the planned inland capital, Belmopan, and the largest city and old capital at the coast, Belize City.
Belize is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy within the British Commonwealth, sharing King Charles III as head of state, represented by a governor-general, with an elected prime minister, currently Johnny Briceno, who leads the government. The nation, once the colony of British Honduras, won its independence from Britain in 1981, and it is the only country in mainland Central America that is a Commonwealth realm and where English is the official language. Yet Belize is profoundly multicultural, home to Maya, Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo, Mennonite, and many other peoples, and Spanish, Creole, Maya languages, and others are widely spoken alongside English. The economy rests on tourism, agriculture, and fishing.
A few deep forces shape life in Belize. There is the remarkable mosaic of peoples in one small nation. There is the deep heritage of the ancient Maya. There is the African and Caribbean culture of the Creole and the Garifuna. There is the British colonial legacy and the English tongue. And there is the warm, laid-back Caribbean spirit. The sections that follow trace these and walk through the food, the faith, and the customs of the nation.
A mosaic of many peoples
The most striking fact about Belize is its extraordinary diversity, for this tiny nation is one of the most multicultural lands on earth, home to a remarkable mosaic of peoples living side by side in peace, each with its own heritage, language, faith, food, and traditions, and together making the rich and distinctive culture of Belize. No single group is the whole of the nation, and Belizeans take deep pride in the peaceful coexistence and blending of their many cultures.
The largest group are the Mestizo, of mixed Spanish and Maya descent, Spanish-speaking, strong in the north and west, their numbers swelled by people who came from the neighbouring lands. The Creole, or Kriol, are the descendants of African people and British settlers, long the defining culture of Belize City and the coast, whose Kriol language, an English-based creole, is spoken and understood across the nation as a common tongue and a mark of being Belizean. The Maya, the indigenous people, live above all in the villages of the south and the interior. The Garifuna, of African and indigenous Caribbean descent, live along the southern coast.
To these are joined the Mennonites, the German-speaking Christian farming communities, plain in dress and traditional in life, who came in the twentieth century and now supply much of the nation's food; and the Chinese, East Indian, Lebanese, and other communities who add their own threads to the weave, in commerce, cuisine, and culture. English binds the nation as the official language, while Spanish, Kriol, the Maya tongues, Garifuna, German, and more are heard across the land, and many Belizeans move easily between several. The peaceful living-together of so many peoples in so small a nation is the proudest feature of Belizean culture.
The ancient Maya and the living villages
Long before any other people, Belize was the land of the Maya, and the deep Maya heritage is one of the foundations of the nation. Here, across the lands now shared by Belize, Guatemala, and southern Mexico, rose the great Maya civilisation, one of the most brilliant of the ancient Americas, which reached its height more than a thousand years ago and built the cities, temples, and pyramids whose ruins still stand in the Belizean forest. The great Maya sites, among them Caracol, Xunantunich, and Cahal Pech, with their towering stone pyramids rising above the jungle, are among the wonders of Belize and a source of immense national pride, drawing visitors and scholars from across the world.
The Maya are not only a heritage of stone, for the Maya people live in Belize still, above all in the villages of the south and the interior, the Mopan, the Q'eqchi, and the Yucatec Maya, who keep their languages, their customs, their traditional dress, and their old ways of life. Many Maya are farmers, working the land in the time-honoured way, planting and harvesting the corn that is the heart of Maya life and food, living in close village communities under their own traditional leaders, the village alcalde, and keeping alive the crafts, the weaving, the cooking, and the beliefs handed down from their ancestors.
Maya life blends the ancient and the modern, the old farming, faith, and custom with schooling, work, and the wider Belizean nation, and the Maya villages, especially in the remote south, keep some of the most traditional ways in the country. The Maya heritage, in the great ruins and the living villages alike, is honoured as a deep root of Belizean identity, and the corn, the village, and the old beliefs endure. For a visitor, the Maya sites are among the great sights of Belize, and a visit to a Maya village is approached with courtesy and respect for the community.
The Garifuna and the drum
Among the most distinctive of all Belize's peoples are the Garifuna, also called the Garinagu, a people of mixed African and indigenous Caribbean descent whose unique culture, language, music, and faith are treasured as one of the glories of Belize and have been honoured by the world as a masterpiece of human heritage. The Garifuna are descended from West Africans and the indigenous Carib and Arawak people of the Caribbean islands, who, after being exiled by the British, settled along the coast of Central America, reaching the southern shores of Belize, where they built their communities in towns such as Dangriga and Punta Gorda.
The heart of Garifuna culture is the drum, for the Garifuna are famous above all for their music and dance, driven by the deep, hypnotic rhythm of the Garifuna drums, which the people consider essential to every part of life. From this music comes punta, the energetic, drum-driven Garifuna dance and music that has become one of the most popular sounds in all of Belize, along with the slower, soulful paranda, and a rich tradition of song. The Garifuna also keep their own language, their distinctive food, above all the hudut of mashed plantain and fish in coconut broth, and their own spiritual traditions, in which the drums and the honouring of ancestors play a central part.
The Garifuna celebrate their heritage above all on Garifuna Settlement Day, the nineteenth of November, the great festival marking the arrival of the Garifuna in Belize, observed with drumming, dancing, processions, traditional food, and a joyful pride that fills the southern towns and the whole nation. The Garifuna culture, with its drums, its punta, its language, and its deep sense of identity, is a vibrant living tradition and a source of immense pride for Belize. For a visitor, to hear the Garifuna drums and see the punta danced is among the most powerful experiences of Belizean culture.
Rice, beans, and the Belizean pot
Belizean food is as varied as its peoples, a delicious blend of Creole, Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna, and Caribbean cooking, hearty, flavourful, and built on the produce of the land and the sea. At the very heart of it stands rice and beans, the beloved national staple, in which the rice and red beans are cooked together with coconut milk and seasoning into one rich dish, served with stewed chicken, fish, or meat and a little potato salad or coleslaw; and, by a fine Belizean distinction, the separate dish of beans and rice, in which the stewed beans are served alongside white rice, a different meal with the same ingredients.
Each culture brings its own dishes to the Belizean table. From the Creole come the rich stews, the stewed chicken, the hearty boil up of fish, eggs, and ground food, and the Sunday cooking of the coast. From the Mestizo and the Maya come the corn tortillas, the tamales, the escabeche and chimole soups, the salbutes and panades, and the dishes built on corn and recado seasoning. From the Garifuna comes the hudut, the cassava bread, and the fish in coconut. The sea gives fish, lobster, and conch, and the famous local game meat, the gibnut, has a place of honour on Belizean menus.
Belizean cooking is generous with coconut, plantain, hot pepper, and the flavours of the tropics, and the food is central to family life and to the bringing-together of the nation's cultures, with mealtimes a valued family gathering. The country makes its own rum and beer, and the local hot pepper sauce is a national favourite, splashed on everything. The variety of Belizean food, drawn from so many peoples, is a delight and a mark of the nation's rich mix. For a visitor, to eat rice and beans, fresh seafood, and the dishes of the many cultures is to taste the diversity of Belize.
Faith and the spirit world
Belize is a Christian nation, and faith runs deep through its many cultures, though it takes as many forms as the peoples themselves. The largest church is the Roman Catholic, brought by the Spanish influence and strong among the Mestizo and Maya, but Belize also has a large and growing Protestant population, more than any other country in Central America, a legacy of the British era, in many denominations, along with the plain Christian faith of the Mennonites and the churches of the Creole and Garifuna communities. Faith, the church, and Christian festivals are woven into the life and calendar of the nation.
Alongside and within the Christian faith, older and deeper beliefs endure, for the Maya and the Garifuna keep their own spiritual traditions, often blended with Christianity, in which the world of spirits and ancestors is close and real. Among the Maya there survive the old beliefs, the village healers and shamans, and the honouring of the ancestors. Among the Garifuna, the drums, the rituals, and the honouring of the dead carry a deep spiritual meaning. And across the cultures of Belize there lingers a rich world of folklore and the supernatural, the belief in spirits and in the old powers, including the practices known as Obeah, and the cherished and slightly fearsome figures of Belizean legend.
The folklore of Belize is alive with such figures, among them the Tata Duende, the small forest spirit and guardian of the animals, and a host of other beings of the bush, the river, and the night, whose stories are told and half-believed across the cultures and passed to the children. The customs of mourning, too, blend Christian and older ways, including the Caribbean tradition of the nine nights of gathering after a death. The deep faith and the rich spirit world together shape the inner life of Belize.
The go-slow welcome
Belizeans are known for their warmth, friendliness, and famously relaxed, easy-going way of life, the laid-back Caribbean spirit that the nation shares with the islands more than with its Central American neighbours. Life in Belize moves at an unhurried pace, the gentle go-slow rhythm of the tropics, and the people are sociable, courteous, good-humoured, and welcoming, quick to greet a stranger, to chat, and to offer help. Greetings are warm and unhurried, and it is common and expected to greet people, even strangers, on the street and to take time for a friendly word.
Courtesy and respect are valued across the cultures of Belize, especially toward elders, and the personal connection and the friendly exchange matter more than haste or formality. Family and community lie at the heart of Belizean life, the families often large and close, the communities, especially the villages, tight and supportive, and the bonds of kinship and neighbourliness strong. Across the diversity of peoples runs a shared Belizean identity, a pride in the nation and its mix, and a famous tolerance and ease among the cultures.
For a visitor, the keys to Belize are simple. Return the warmth and the friendly greeting; take time for the personal exchange; show courtesy and respect, above all to elders and in the villages; and above all, slow down to the easy Belizean pace, for haste and impatience are out of place in this relaxed land. Visitors to a Maya or other village do well to greet the community and its leaders with respect. The genuine, easy, friendly warmth of Belizeans, and the unhurried tropical pace, are among the most cherished features of the nation.
The barrier reef and the September Celebrations
Belize is blessed with extraordinary natural beauty, and the love of the land and the sea runs through the life and the pride of the nation. Along the whole coast runs the Belize Barrier Reef, the largest in the northern hemisphere and one of the natural wonders of the world, a vast living wall of coral teeming with fish and marine life, dotted with cays and islands, and pierced by the famous Great Blue Hole, a deep round sinkhole in the sea that is among the most celebrated dive sites on earth. Inland lie the tropical forests, rivers, caves, and mountains, rich in wildlife, the jaguar, the toucan, and countless more, which have made Belize a leading land for nature and the visitors who come to see it.
The brightest season of the Belizean year is the September Celebrations, the great patriotic festival of the late dry season that joins two national days into a month of pride and festivity. The tenth of September is St. George's Caye Day, recalling the sea battle of 1798 in which the early Belizean settlers, with the British, turned back a Spanish fleet, and the twenty-first of September is Independence Day, marking the winning of independence from Britain in 1981. Together they fill September with parades, carnivals, music, flag-waving, and celebration across the nation, the high point of the patriotic year.
The Belizean calendar holds many other beloved festivals drawn from its cultures: Garifuna Settlement Day in November, the Christian holidays, Baron Bliss Day honouring a great benefactor of the nation, and the lively local fairs and fiestas of the many communities, the Mestizo fiestas of the north, the cultural festivals of the cays, and more. Through the natural wonders and the festivals alike runs the Belizean pride in a small but beautiful and richly varied land. For a visitor, the reef, the forest, and the September Celebrations are among the great experiences of Belize.
The nation today
Belize today is a small, stable, multicultural democracy of about four hundred thousand people, a peaceful nation on the Caribbean coast of Central America, governed from Belmopan by a prime minister, Johnny Briceno, and an elected parliament, with King Charles III as head of state, represented by a governor-general, and a tradition of two-party democracy reaching back to independence in 1981. The economy rests on tourism, drawn by the barrier reef, the Maya ruins, and the natural beauty of the land; on agriculture, the sugar, citrus, and bananas of the farms; and on fishing, with the nation a leader in conservation, having set aside much of its forest and reef in parks and reserves.
For so small a nation, Belize faces real challenges. It works to grow and broaden an economy heavily dependent on tourism and a few crops; it copes with poverty, crime, and the high cost of living; it manages a long-standing territorial claim by neighbouring Guatemala to much of its land, a question now before the international courts; it absorbs migration from its neighbours; and it stands, as a low-lying coastal nation with a precious reef, among those most exposed to hurricanes and the changing climate. These are the concerns of a young, diverse, and resilient nation finding its way.
Through it all, Belize holds firmly to the identity that defines it. The mosaic of many peoples, Maya, Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo, Mennonite, and more, still lives together in one small land; the ancient Maya heritage still stands in the ruins and the villages; the Garifuna drum and the Creole Kriol still sound the African and Caribbean soul of the nation; the rice and beans still grace the Belizean table; and the easy, go-slow Caribbean welcome still greets every visitor.