Dougla people (plural ''Dougla’s'') is the term used to describe Caribbean people who are of mixed

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...

and

Indo-Caribbean Indo-Caribbean or Indian-Caribbean people are people from the Caribbean who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent. They are descendants of the Jahaji indentured laborers from British India, who were brought by the British, Dutch, and ...

Definition

The word ''Dougla'' originated from dogala (), which is a

Caribbean Hindustani Caribbean Hindustani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbean people and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is a koiné language mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most-spoken dialec ...

word that literally means "two-necks" and may mean "many", "much" or "a mix". Its etymological roots are cognate with the Hindi "do" meaning "two" and "gala", which means "throat". Within the West Indies context, the word is used only for one type of

mixed race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

people: Afro-Indians. The 2012 Guyana census identified 29.25% of the population as Afro-Guyanese, 39.83% as

Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Guyanese Indians, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, a ...

, and 19.88% as "mixed," recognized as mostly representing the offspring of the former two groups. In the

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Ma ...

(

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

), the few Afro-Indian people used to be referred to as Batazendyen or Chapé-Kouli, while in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

they were called Marabou.

History

There are sporadic records of Indo-Euro interracial relationships, both consensual and nonconsensual, before any ethnic mixing of the African and Indian variety. Other Indo-based types of mixed heritage (Indo-Chinese ( Chindians), Indo-Latino/Hispanic (Tegli), Indo-English (

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...

s), Indo-Portuguese ( Luso-Indians), Indo-Irish ( Irish Indians), Indo-Scottish ( Scottish-Indians), Indo- Dutch, Indo-

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

and Indo-

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

) tended to identify as one of the older, unmixed ethnic strains on the island: Afro, Indo, Amerindian or Euro or passing as one of them.

In Trinidad culture

In 1961, the

calypsonian A calypsonian, originally known as a ''chantwell'', is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the Calypso music, calypso genre. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition. Origin ...

musician Mighty Dougla (born Cletus Ali) described the predicament of Douglas:

Notable Douglas

* Cletus Ali, Trinidadian musician, better known as Mighty Dougla * Tatyana Ali, Indo-Trinidadian/ Afro-Panamanian American actress *

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, Trinidadian music artist * David Chariandy, Canadian author with Trinidadian parents * Andre Rampersad, Trinidadian footballer * Sunil Narine, Trinidadian cricket player * Frances-Anne Solomon, British-Canadian filmmaker with Trinidadian parent’s * Machel Montano, Trinidadian soca artist * Sir Trevor McDonald, Trinidadian British news anchor and journalist * Mervyn Dymally, Trinidadian-American politician * Kenny J, calypsonian * Rajee Narinesingh, LGBT activist (United States; Trinidadian and Tobagonian background) *

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese in the United Kingdom, Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound and socially conscious lyrics; his music has blended elements of p ...

, Guyanese singer * Gema Ramkeesoon, social worker and women's-rights activist (Trinidad and Tobago) * Rohit Jagdeo, Guyanese politician * Melanie Fiona,

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

artist with Guyanese parents * Esther Anderson, actress (United Kingdom; born in Jamaica) * Nicole Beharie, actress * Johnson Beharry, Grenadian British soldier in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

* Melissa Bell, Jamaican-British singer and mother of Alexandra Burke * Katharine Birbalsingh, teacher and education reformer * Diego Biseswar, Surinamese footballer * Foxy Brown, rapper (United States; Trinidadian and Tobagonian background) * Alexandra Burke, British-Jamaican singer and daughter of Melissa Bell * Super Cat, Jamaican deejayBarrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae'', Rough Guides, , p. 286 * Joseph Charles (born Serjad Makmadeen), founder of the Solo Beverage Company * Tanya Chutkan, jurist and lawyer * Special Ed, rapper (United States; Jamaican background) * Indira Etwaroo, stage producer and director * Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer * Marlene Malahoo Forte, politician (Jamaica) * Amy Ashwood Garvey, activist (Jamaica) * Masaba Gupta, actress and fashion designer (Antiguan and Indian) * Lisa Hanna, Miss World 1993, MP for Saint Ann South Eastern *

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

Vice-President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of the United States (Jamaican and Indian) * Maya Harris, lawyer and writer (Jamaican and Indian) * Lester Holt, U.S. news anchor and journalistToday Show: "Lester and Jenna trace their Jamaican roots"
Aired on September 9, 2012 * Diana King, singer (United States; born in Jamaica) * Jeffery Kissoon, actor * Vashtie Kola, music-video director * Sonnet L'Abbé, Guyanese Canadian poet * Darryl Lachman, footballer (Netherlands; Curaçaoan and Surinamese background) * Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, playwright * Nicole Narain, model and actress * Furdjel Narsingh, footballer (Netherlands; Surinamese background) * Luciano Narsingh, footballer (Netherlands; Surinamese background) * Roxanne Persaud, politician (United States; born in Guyana) * Thara Prashad, American singer and model * Prince Rajcomar, footballer (Netherlands; Curaçaoan and Surinamese background) * Mary Rambaran-Olm, literary scholar specializing in early medieval England from the fifth to eleventh centuries * Andre Rampersad, Trinidadian footballer * Nick Sagar,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

actor and model * Sean Sagar, British actor and model * Kenneth Salick,

chutney soca In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname, chutney soca music is a Crossover music, crossover style music style that blends Soca music, soca and Calypso music, calypso with chutney music—a genre rooted in Indo–Trinidadians and Tobagonians ...

singer * Krishmar Santokie, cricketer * Edward Seaga, banker, businessman, politician and former * Abrahim Simmonds, youth advocate (Jamaica) * Toni-Ann Singh, Miss World 2019 (Jamaica) * Justine Skye, entertainer (Jamaica) *

XXXTentacion Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion gai ...

, rapper * Joyce Vincent, British woman whose death went unnoticed for over two years (Grenadian of black and Indian ancestry)

Definition

History

In Trinidad culture

Notable Douglas

See also

References

Further reading