Featured papers
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Liming and Ole Talk: A Site of Negotiation, Contestation and Relationships
Nakhid, C. (2022). Liming and Ole Talk: A Site of Negotiation, Contestation and Relationships. In Decolonising Peace and Conflict Studies through Indigenous Research (pp. 89-103). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.
Liming and ole talk, a localized form of interaction and communication in Trinidad and Tobago, evolved from the diverse histories and peoples of the country. Liming and ole talk has always allowed for negotiation, contestation and relationships, and those who come to lime know that the valued and treasured nature of a lime will ensure the wellbeing of all limers. There are no formal rules that prescribe how a lime should take place though there is an expectation that certain practices such as sharing food and/ or drinking, and certain behaviours like teasing and talking over one another will occur, and that the respected atmosphere of a lime is to be maintained. A lime allows for the airing of concerns and the collective intention to address concerns with the aim of moving on and moving forward. Humour, as a significant and crucial feature of a lime, and the ole talk that takes place, help to reduce tension and give limers an opportunity to acknowledge and support views that may have been contrary to their own.
A Culturally Affirming Approach to Research Methodology Through the Caribbean Practice of Liming and Ole Talk
Nakhid, C. (2021). A culturally affirming approach to research methodology through the Caribbean practice of liming and ole talk. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.
A culturally affirming approach to research methodology centers Indigenous, Black, People of color in the research process and recognizes the value of our own ways of knowing and sharing knowledge. Unlike a decolonizing methodology that remains tied to a colonial discourse against which it seeks to argue its relevance, an affirming methodology originates from within the worldviews, realities, and practices of the people from whom knowledge is sought and shared. Culturally affirming research is surrounded by its own traditions and ways of knowing so that its worth is in its own right, and it is valuable in and of itself.
The Caribbean region, with its indigenous history and localized present forged from peoples both local and global, has created social interactions, rituals, and cultural practices that signify and affirm themselves and their ways of knowing. Indigenous knowledges affirm the diversity of histories and experiences that shape our human development, and indigenous scholarship challenges the oppression by Western academia of indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing.
Affirming Methodologies in Two African Diasporic Contexts: The Sharing of Knowledge Through Liming and Ole Talk Among Caribbean Islanders in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Practice of Sharing with Sydney-Based Africans
Nakhid, C., & Farrugia, C. (2021). Affirming Methodologies in Two African Diasporic Contexts: The Sharing of Knowledge Through Liming and Ole Talk Among Caribbean Islanders in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Practice of Sharing with Sydney-Based Africans. Peabody Journal of Education, 96(2), 177-191.
This article discusses the value of affirming methodologies through two studies of African diasporas that reveal how affirmation enhances autonomy, ownership, solidarity, and cultural assertiveness in the research process. Against the background of an indigenous epistemology, the first study presents insights into the cultural practice of liming and ole talk as a research methodology for researching and sharing knowledge with Caribbean Islanders living in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. The second study uses culturally informed practices of sharing to explore the resettlement experiences of women from different African backgrounds in Western Sydney, Australia. Together, the authors suggest that a culturally informed and practice-based approach foregrounds the social worlds of African diasporic communities and paints a more nuanced picture of their everyday lived experiences. The call for the decolonization of methodologies has drawn attention to the detrimental impact of mainstream research approaches on the representations of and responses to indigenous and Black people and people of color. This article asserts the importance of going beyond a decolonizing approach to an affirming position where researchers’ learnings are informed by more culturally relevant methodologies. These methodologies should be considered important in and of themselves and not simply in opposition to dominant modes of data collection, analysis, and dissemination.
Liming as Research Methodology, Ole Talk as Research Method - A Caribbean Methodology
Nakhid, C., Mosca, J., & Nakhid-Schuster, S. (2019). Liming as Research Methodology, Ole Talk as Research Method-A Caribbean Methodology. Journal of Education and Development in the Caribbean, 18(2), 1-18.
While western qualitative research methodologies have been embraced in their efforts to explore various worldviews including those of Caribbean people, the reception from academia for culturally relevant ways of knowing has been subdued. In recent publications, liming and ole talk has been presented as an appropriate approach to researching and understanding how people from the Caribbean region and diaspora see and interpret the world. The discussion now centres on distinguishing liming as a research methodology and ole talk as a research method. Through an exploration and analysis of three limes we argue that the philosophical and cultural basis of liming aptly positions it as a research methodology. Similarly, the practice of storytelling as exemplified through ole talk identifies the latter as a uniquely Caribbean research method for sharing knowledge. This paper hopes to contribute to the literature and debate on research approaches that ought to include Caribbean epistemologies.
An interrogation of research on Caribbean social issues: establishing the need for an indigenous Caribbean research approach
Wilson, S., Nakhid, C., Fernandez-Santana, A., & Nakhid-Chatoor, M. (2019). An interrogation of research on Caribbean social issues: establishing the need for an indigenous Caribbean research approach. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 15(1), 3-12.
Caribbean social issues, like so many other global issues, are often researched and addressed using traditional Western philosophies and methodologies. However, some societies have criticized the use of Western approaches recognizing their unsuitability to accurately assess the distinctive culture, identity, and overall social structures of these societies. An investigation of the use of Caribbean research methodologies or approaches revealed that there is a significant absence in the use of culturally specific ways of conducting research in the Caribbean region and diaspora. This pattern was found to be consistent with the authors’ findings from a critical review of research methodologies used by postgraduate scholars in investigating Caribbean-related issues in the past 10 years. As a result, this article lobbies for the promotion of more culturally specific and relevant Caribbean research approaches that are respectful of the worldviews and practices of locals within the region.
Liming and Ole Talk: Foundations for and Characteristics of a Culturally Relevant Caribbean Methodology
Santana, A. F., Nakhid, C., Nakhid-Chatoor, M. Y., & Wilson-Scott, S. (2019). Liming and Ole Talk: Foundations for and Characteristics of a Culturally Relevant Caribbean Methodology. Caribbean Studies, 99-123.
In this paper, the authors argue that Caribbean practices used in research more accurately enable a process of knowledge construction that is consistent with how we think, live and feel as Caribbean subjects about issues that concern us. This allows for participants and researchers to draw on their cultural and communicative strengths to reflect about topics of relevance to their community. Caribbean diversity in terms of population, culture, ethnicities and language needs to be considered in the articulation of culturally relevant methodologies in the region. Through an examination of empirical data, we have endeavoured to show that Liming and Ole Talk can be utilised widely across the region for research purposes.
Exploring Liming and Ole Talk as a Culturally Relevant Methodology for Researching With Caribbean People
Nakhid-Chatoor, M., Nakhid, C., Wilson, S., & Santana, A. F. (2018). Exploring liming and ole talk as a culturally relevant methodology for researching with Caribbean people. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1), 1609406918813772.
This article explores the necessity of developing a qualitative research methodology grounded in Caribbean peoples’ worldviews and interactions. It presents the epistemology and ontology of liming and ole talk to show their natural employment in qualitative research settings. Liming offers an opportunity for social engagement and provides a culturally relevant purpose, environment, and space in which ole talk can take place. Ole talk is presented as a uniquely Caribbean way of engaging with one another in small or large groups. The potential of liming and ole talk to create new ways to research and share knowledge is discussed. Through a brief analysis of two limes, this article proposes liming and ole talk as an authentic research methodology for researching Caribbean peoples and their contexts.
The radicality and cultural significance of the sweats in Trinidad and Tobago
Kola Adeosun (2018). DOI: 10.1080/02614367.2023.2271180
The sweat, meaning to sweat, is a moniker attached to prearranged but unorganised and informal sport and physical activity within local communities in Trinidad and Tobago. Explained as a culturally significant phenomenon, the sweat is a space of community cohesion and radical questioning through its resident attendant ole talk where the critical deconstruction of social reality readily occurs. Using Paolo Freire’s pedagogical ideas of problem-posing dialogue, this ethnographic paper, explores three main areas. Those being, the sweats and ole talk; the radicality of the sweats displayed in individual agency against the structured restrictions of formal sports participation; and the sweats as a site for cross-cultural integration and interaction in an otherwise ethnically diverse country. Through the experiences of eight individuals associated to the sweats, Freirean ideas of love, radicality and hopefulness are prominent in the description of the sweats. To this end, this paper adds to the growing body of literature on informal sport participation as a site to negotiate and reconcile differences in local communities, as well as a site for social and sport-for-development.
If I Giya Soma Dis Ting You Ga Talk It: An Exploration of the Use of Bahamian Creole and Standard English by Young Bahamians
Fernander, Pasha; 2023-10-28; Theses. Anthropology. Master of Arts. Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
This thesis examines the use of Bahamian Creole and Standard English among educated young Bahamians. It explores the divide between formal Standard English and informal Bahamian Creole within the historical context of British colonization in The Bahamas. The study analyzes the relationship between these two language variations, tracing their development from childhood influenced by family to experiences abroad for university. It discusses how previous generations were shaped by colonial attitudes that devalued Bahamian Creole and elevated Standard English, leading to the ability to code switch between the two languages.