St Maarten Culture
One hundred and twenty plus nationalities...

As a resident and Citizen of the Dutch kingdom, I will attempt to provide a brief history that entails a segment of the evolution of the culture of St Maarten/St Martin.

Both the Dutch and French sides of the Island boast a rich way of life which has been swayed by Europe and Africa. Even though, these two countries are distinct, they share one small island.

The every day life is intriguing on both sides and they share individual features noticeable in religion, music, language and cuisine.

A popular cultural meal of johnny cake and chicken legs is often talked about as the national dish of the Island.

The natives on this island can easily trace their origins to Africa, France or the Netherlands, since this region had been a crossroads for travelers to the New World.

Traders from French, Dutch and British lived on this island in earlier times. The boundary between the French and Dutch areas are practically imperceptible, and even though the two places share many facets of culture and history, both sides have maintained a lot of the distinctiveness of their own national culture.

The official language for St. Maarten is Dutch, whilst French is the official language for St. Martin. Even though, French and Dutch are the major languages, English is likewise widely spoken and also taught in schools. This is very often a topic of much heated debate surrounding the diluting of St Maarten culture.

The Afro-Caribbean folks brought their language and culture to St. Martin, and many of the local islanders speak French-based patois (a mixture of African, French and various other dialects.) Besides these languages, Papiamento and Spanish are also spoken on this island.

Typically, the chief religious influences come from the European cultures and most of the individuals on both sides are Roman Catholic followers. The Methodist church is actually the second most common denomination on the two sides.

St. Maarten cuisine is a combination of tastes from Africa, Europe and the Caribbean and highlights the multiplicity of the people on the island.

The real voice of the Caribbean can be found in the region's distinctive musical forms. The authentic rhythms of this remarkable place in the world mostly originate from African origins and utilize a great deal of drums.

Although the native dress has be depicted in many books and documentation over the years, it is difficult to see someone attired in a traditional garment. However during festivals such as Carnival and Christmas it is not uncommon to encounter colloquial things at such cultural events.

Local artistes such Tanny and the boys, The mighty Dow, King Timo, Youmay and King Bobo are just a few names that come to mind synonymous with the performing arts. The Sualiga drum band, Boy blue's drum band and numerous other religious and secular bodies, comprising members of varying age groups, play quite an integral roll in keeping the native drum beat alive.

While in general terms we refer to culture as the indigenous customs of any particular entity, it is more practical to view this as the current way of life. As is the case today, St Maarten with only a few square miles now accommodates over 80 nationalities and their infiltrating customs as the fabric of this dual flag nation. It is interesting to see how St Maarten culture has changed over the decades.