My heritage

I am fascinated by the topic of heritage. How do you define heritage? Is it determined by your birth place, your parents nationality or by where you grew up? I was born in Trinidad and Tobago and I moved to Saint Vincent permanently at the age of 7 — my parents are both Vincentians. At the age of twenty one I migrated to the US. Anddd my @ancestry DNA says I am 43% Nigerian. (Ha!) For me though, I am a proud Vincentian!

It’s quite interesting for me because I have a Trinidadian birth certificate and I spent several years there. So much so that I know enough of the culture and some of the things that Trinidadians hold dear. Though I’ve often said I’m “Trini to dah bone” I really don’t feel complete affinity to Trinidad.

However, I consider myself a Vincentian. Both my mom and my dad are Vincentians. And from the age of seven, Saint Vincent was home. Most of my childhood, adolescence and early adulthood was shaped by the cultures of Hairouna, the land of the beautiful. So for me, where I grew up defines my heritage.

Define Heritage

Now that I live in the United States of America I’ve realized that for many this is not the case. My daughter  was born in the US and grew up there. She is an American in my mind. She, however, says that she’s 99% Vincentian. Many of my friends of Caribbean parentage adopt that approach as well. They choose their parents birth place.

This is true with many cultures. Haitians, Nigerians, Mexicans, and Jamaicans even though they were born in the US they still claim their parents country of birth as their own. Many even cling to the heritage of their great grandparents. Often though some parents instill American culture in their kids, the children still adopt the customs of their parent’s birth country.

Heritage is much more than where you were born or where your parents were born. However, your cultural upbringing dictates the norms and heritage you adopt. Nature is as strong as nurture, yes?  Somethings are inbred in us. They are part of our cultural and biological DNA.

Here’s how some of the fashNcurious family described heritage:

I’m a proud Haitian and I classify my heritage by my cultural upbringing — the language I speak, the food I eat, the values I learned, etc.

I primarily claim my parents roots — Nigerian although I was born in the UK and I have lived in the US 🇺🇸 since I was 17. However, I embrace them all because they all contributed to who I am.

My heritage is where my parents are from which is Guinea. However, all the places I’ve lived are part of me as well.