Slide One

Building a greater sense of national cultural identity and self-esteem among the
Dominican populace and to harness and employ skills and talents to further
develop arts and culture

Slide One

Building a greater sense of national cultural identity and self-esteem among the
Dominican populace and to harness and employ skills and talents to further
develop arts and culture

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Our Mission

To promote, develop and preserve Dominica’s culture and to encourage a greater awareness of the culture of the Caribbean and that of the wider world

Mr. Earlson Matthew
Chief Cultural Officer

Our Responsibilities

  • Preservation and promotion of Dominica’s cultural heritage and all its various expressions
  • Provision of support for Dominica’s cultural industries’ sector
  • Encouragement of cultural exchange with other countries
  • Assistance with poverty alleviation through arts and culture
  • Building of the institutional capacity of the Division of Culture
  • Management and maintenance of Dominica’s arts centers
Honorable Roselyn Paul
Minister

Kokoy was introduced to Dominica by immigrants from Antigua and Montserrat towards the end of the 19th century.Those hard-working persons were largely of the Protestant faith in particular Methodists. They worked on the estates of Hatton Garden, Londonderry and Eden at Wesley as well as on the Woodford Hill Estate.

Kokoy is the lingua franca of the Marigot and Woodford Hill communities in Dominica’s Northeast region. It is also spoken in Clifton, in Zicak and Glanvillia in Portsmouth and in Roger. It is considered an English creole language similar to that spoken in Jamaica or Antigua.

Like its Dominica Creole sister language Kwéyòl, many-viewed Kokoy as the language of the unlearned, illiterate and especially the working class peasants. Some persons characterized Kokoy as bad or broken English in the same way that Kwéyòl was regarded as a patois or broken French.

Nowadays, Kokoy enjoys a greater acceptance in the wider society and Kokoy speakers want official recognition as a valid language for their native tongue. A Kokoy Committee was established during the nineties to encourage preservation and promotion of the Kokoy language. A Kokoy language programme was aired on DBS Radio. These efforts have been short-lived.

In terms of usage, Kokoy lends character and drama to social commentary of Carnival songs, the rhythmic hauling and digging songs, the spellbinding oratory of folktales, and the reverential essence of vernacular praise for God himself. The common use of Kokoy by persons of advanced educational standard underscores this point.

Kokoy remains quite distinct from Standard English. Both in morphology and phonic structure, kooky is similar to West African languages while its actual speech patterns parallel those of the English Creoles spoken in Jamaica.

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An example of the difference.

English: Question Kokoy: Answer
Do you believe you will come here to beat me? Yoo ting soesayeyoogoekom yah foo beat me?
Corcor beat me?
Is there anyone at home? Nor noebadie Nor day
Is there more bread? Nor en nor hah non moe

 

English: Statement Kokoy: Statement
I wanted to go to church today. Meemeewahgae ah praize tee day.
But I had nothing to put on it rained. Bohmee nor mee hah notten foo put arnsoo so much Muchranefarl.

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Cultural Institutions and Groups

Arawak House of Culture

The refurbished Arawak House of Culture has been opened to the general public since 1994. It is located on Kennedy Avenue, opposite the new Financial Centre in Roseau...

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Dominica Festivals Committee

The Dominica Festivals Committee (DFC), a Division of the Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), has special responsibility to ...

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Kalinago Barana Autê

Kalinago Barana Autê, the Carib Cultural Village by the Sea, honors the diversity, history and heritage of the Kalinago people by presenting ...

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The Dominica Institute for the Arts

The Dominica Institute for the Arts is a premier arts training institution serving Dominica and the Eastern Caribbean...

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The Dominica Pan Association

The Pan Association was set up in the early 1980’s by the Cultural Division and is the umbrella body...

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The Dominica Writers' Guild

The Writers’ Guild was established by the Cultural Division to strengthen efforts geared at encouraging writers in Dominica ...

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The National Cultural Council

The National Cultural Council is a semi-autonomous cultural body set up by in 1981 to formulate cultural policies ...

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The Old Mill Cultural Centre

The Old Mill Cultural Centre was officially established in 1985 to provide facilities for the administration of the arts ...

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Books For Sale

Heritage Dominica—A Collection of Old Dominican Photographs Vol 1 $50.00 $20.00
Heritage Dominica—A Collection of Old Dominican Photographs Vol 2 $50.00 $20.00
National Dress of Dominica
By Aileen Burton
$40.00 $15.00

View All Books For Sale

CD's For Sale

Sound of Dominica Vol 1 $30.00 $12.00
Sound of Dominica Vol 2 $30.00 $12.00
Sound of Dominica Vol 5
(Mabel Cissie Caudeiron’s—Kairi Artistic Troupe)
$30.00 $12.00
Sound of Dominica Vol 6
(Lawonn—Ring Games of Dominica)
$30.00 $12.00

View All CDs For Sale

DVD's For Sale

DVD of Dominica's Traditional Dances

$60.00

$24.00 

DVD of The Bele Dance of Dominica

$30.00

$12.00

DVD of The National Wear of Dominica

$30.00

$12.00

View All DVDs For Sale

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