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P. Anthony Scaletta

Dr. Monica Frölander-Ulf

Anthropology 1720

March 3, 2009

Exploring Rural Haiti through Jennie Smith’s: When The Hands Are Many: Community

Organization and Social Change in Rural Haiti

The Caribbean island nation of Haiti is poor, dreadfully poor. In fact, Haiti is the poorest country

in the Western Hemisphere, and its rural peasant population is considered to be the poorest of the poor.

In her ethnographic work, When The Hands Are Many: Community Organization and Social Change in

Rural Haiti, anthropologist Jennie Smith points out that, “Haitian peasants are some of the most

politically disempowered, malnourished, and illiterate people of the world” (2). Exactly how does a

country and its rural citizenry become so subjugated and poverty stricken? Perhaps more importantly, is

the question of how the peasantry responds in the face of such adversity. Let us turn to Jennie Smith’s

ethnography to better answer these questions and gain some insight into rural Haitian society and culture.

Haiti has a long history of exploitation and deeply rooted racist ideologies that have played major

roles in shaping the country’s current political and socioeconomic conditions. This exploitation began

with the very first European colonizers of the 16th century and is upheld to this day by current neo-

colonial practices. In 1664, the French claimed the western portion of Spanish controlled Hispaniola and

named it Saint Domingue (which later became known as Haiti as a result of the successful slave

rebellion). Before long the French colonizers established a large scale plantation economy on the island.

Using the racist ideology that dark skinned people are inferior and therefore need to be ruled, the French

were able to justify their use of Africans as enslaved plantation laborers. Rooted so deep was this

ideology that to this very day, many Haitian peasants feel that that “the powers that be treat them as

though they are beasts” (103). This feeling would appear to be duly justified as evidenced by the extreme

amount of inequality that exists in Haiti. However, this is profoundly paradoxical, as Haiti is a country

that was founded by those that rebelled against this very type of oppression and exploitation in hopes of

creating a more just and equal society. Smith observes that historians explain this paradox as a result of

“the ideals of the Saint Domingue revolution (being) subverted even in the first days of the Haitian

republic” (19). The new rulers simply readapted the ways of the European colonial system and left things

largely unchanged. Although the former salves were liberated from the cruelties of slavery, they

remained inferior in the eyes of those in power and continued to be exploited to the fullest extent.

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A little over two centuries later, these socioeconomic inequalities still exist. Anthropologist

Michel-Rolph Trouillot reasons that, “the campaign of Haiti’s rulers to subjugate and exploit the rest of

the population has continued largely unabated ever since (the Saint Domingue revolution)” (20). Within

the Haitian government corruption and greed reign supreme over the ideals of justice and economic

equality. So intimately intertwined are the government and economic elite in Haiti that Haitians have a

term (leta) that they use to refer to this cozy relationship. This unequal power balance is reflected in the

tremendous gap in wealth that exists between these privileged few and the rest of the country.

Exacerbating this problem is the grossly uneven income tax structure that is in place. Only in a corrupt

system could the wealthy minority get away with paying less income tax than the poorest citizens. What

little money the peasantry makes is taxed heavily by the Haitian government. In fact, peasant revenues

account for more than 80 percent of government revenues (21). The real problem lies in the fact that

absolutely none of this revenue is reinvested into the rural areas that is extracted from, where

infrastructure and social services are desperately needed. Rather it is spent in the capital of Port-au-

Prince where it has “fattened Haitian rulers’ bank accounts, expanded their real estate holdings, built their

mansions, and amassed the magazines of weapons they have used to secure their reign against challenges

by the populace” (21). It is a depressing realization that the Haitian leta are getting richer off the

country’s desperately poor peasantry. Smith illustrates this “predatory-parasitic” relationship with the

following data: 1% of Haitians control 50% of the country’s wealth, while more than 70% of the

population lives in severe poverty (21). It is understandable that the incredible magnitude of this chasm

has created a genuine distrust between the people and their government. Making matters that much worse

is the fact that this exploitation of the rural peasantry extends beyond Haiti’s borders.

Haiti’s neighbor to the north, the United States, through its neo-colonial practices has managed to

do much more harm than good in the country. From the onset of its imperial ventures, the United States

government has felt that the Caribbean region is theirs to do what they want with and Haiti has proven to

be no exception. Things certainly didn’t get off to a good start between the two countries, as the U.S.

found the success of the slave rebellion to be troublesome. Sociologist Alex Dupuy reasons that “the

presence of an independent black republic in a sea of slavery threatened white supremacy and the slave

system” (23). Then, and to a large extent now, racist ideology has helped shape the United States’

attitude toward Haiti and still plays a major role in the dynamics of its international policies and aid

efforts. In typical imperialistic fashion, the U. S. has always felt the need to manipulate the Haitian

people and its government in order to best protect and promote its own economic self-interests. It was

precisely this manner of thinking that led to the U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915-1934, during which

the Haitian constitution was rewritten to better suit U.S. economic and political interests. Never mind that

it worsened economic and political conditions for most rural Haitians. The 1970’s “Swine Aid” project is

another excellent example of the U.S. sticking its snout where it doesn’t belong, while managing to

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overlook the negative consequences of its actions on the Haitian people. In the name of protecting the

U.S. pork industry from the spread of African swine fever, the U.S. slaughtered the country’s entire

population of Haitian Creole pigs. Never mind the loss of economic security that the Creole pigs

provided the peasantry or the fundamental disruption of the religious and cultural practices that were

associated with these pigs. Unfortunately, it is this “we-do-whatever-we-want” attitude that characterizes

U. S. foreign policy toward Haiti. Interestingly, the American media really helps to justify such ways of

thinking. It tends to paint this sad portrait of rural Haitians as a “backward” and “underdeveloped”

people that just aren’t intelligent enough to figure it out without U.S. intervention and aid. As terribly

inaccurate as this may be, this ignorant ideology has become deeply ingrained in the minds of many

Americans and as a result has profoundly affected the lives of the Haitian peasantry.

As Smith reveals, the Haitian peasantry is actually quite deft at assessing and tackling the many

challenges and struggles that they face. Central to their way of life and key to their survival and

adaptation to their harsh circumstances is their strong sense of community. It is at the very heart of the

peasant way of life and pervades all of their cultural practices, from family to religion to work patterns.

Smith notes that, “the most distinctive characteristic of Haitian peasants is that they commonly own at

least part of the land they work” (11). This practice of joint land ownership is inherently community-

based and therefore both nurtures and strengthens the peasant’s sense of community. Smith’s detailed

descriptions of the different community-based peasant organizations, wonderfully demonstrates the

structure and patterns of rural Haitian social organization.

There are two traditional labor exchange groups, such as the smaller atribisyon-s and the larger

sosyete-s, as well as the more contemporary development-oriented gwoupman peyizan or GP. All three

groups utilize the collective agricultural work parties, known as the konbit and the kόve, as integral tools

in carrying out the many arduous tasks of rural Haitian life. Both konbit-s and kόve-s use music and song

to help lighten the load of the often difficult work. Typically this involves the use of African derived

drumming patterns and call-and-response style singing, which provides the peasantry with a vital link to

their African roots. These songs were one of the few things that the colonizers couldn’t take away from

the slaves and therefore became a means for passing on essential African cultural characteristics. The

importance of both the role of song and konbit-s and kόve-s in the peasant’s lives can’t be overstated.

Smith asserts that konbit-s and kόve-s “have been foundational building blocks for much contemporary

community-based organization in rural Haiti” (87). Although the sosyete is a much larger group than the

atribisyon, both rely on a membership inheritance system to keep the groups intact over the years,

ensuring the group remains viable and strong. Both also use a system of officers that hold certain

managerial positions that help to run and organize the groups. However, it is interesting to note that in

the smaller atribisyon there is virtually no social stratification within the group, while there is some that

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exists in the sosyete. The nature of the larger-sized sosyete is that its members are from different

neighborhoods and for this reason are typically not “kin or close acquaintances” (105). The key

characteristic that differentiates the GPs from the atribisyon-s and the sosyete-s is their “association with

outside institutions” (171). Indeed, the GPs strength lies in their willingness to blend the old with new in

order to foster a more holistic development in rural Haiti.

Perhaps the peasant group that tells the most about rural Haitian family and kinship is the

atribisyon. Due to its small nature, the group typically “consists of one or two extended families,” which

helps to ensure that membership and leadership positions are kept within the family (94). Gender roles in

the atribisyon require that membership is limited to mostly men and teenage boys. However, some older

women are generally sought out as “trustworthy managers of community funds” and are treated as equals

within the group. Atribisyon-s are certainly a time-proven strategy for organizing and carrying out rural

labor tasks, but it is their annual traditional feast, known as the rachόt, that enables us to peer deeply into

the culture of the Haitian peasantry. This cultural practice is downright fascinating because the group’s

members forgo a “relatively steady income flow during the year in favor of a few days of communal

feasting” (98). To an outsider it may seem puzzling why a people so poor and desperate wouldn’t spend

the atribisyon-s monies more frequently to provide a somewhat consistent influx of much-needed goods

and services into the community. This is truly a testament to the cultural value that the peasantry places

on this practice. They use the feast to evoke their ancestral spirits and pay homage to their fallen brethren

that freed their people from the tyranny of slavery. As an atribisyon member explained to Smith, the feast

provides the atribisyon members with a rare opportunity to “live as humans should” (102). Taking this

time to acknowledge and honor their past, bestows the peasantry with the strength to face their present

realties, however unforgiving they may be. The rachόt affords the peasants a glimpse of their ideal

society and allows them to live, if only for a few fleeting moments, as dignified humans.

In stark contrast to the “developed” world’s racist ideologies, Smith is able to demonstrate that

the rural Haitian peasantry does indeed have the ability to articulate a better and brighter future for

themselves. Nor has the relentless subjugation of the peasantry by the leta stopped them from

communicating and expressing their political views. One such way for the peasantry to convey their

social and political views is through the use of pointing songs known as chante pwen-s. These songs can

be sung anytime by anyone and are a key component of rural Haitian cultural, as they provide the

peasants with a platform for commenting on and critiquing Haiti’s social and political issues. The chante

pwen-s are skillfully crafted so that the message is hidden just below the surface and thus can be

expressed without fear of retribution from those in power. Smith asserts that chante pwen-s allow

“Haitian peasants (to) actively challenge their reputation as unenlightened and hapless victims of chronic

oppression and actively reformulate both individual and collective identities…chante pwen-s have been

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important tools in the struggles of Haiti’s poor to construct more dignified and fruitful lives and a more

decent society in which to live” (67). Ethnographically speaking, the chante pwen-s can be seen as quite

valuable for their ability to both elucidate the peasantry’s views on society and their portrayal of their

visions for constructing a better society.

In working with the various Haitian peasantry organizations, Smith was able to conclude that all

the groups shared a common vision of what a good society should be and how to achieve such a society.

Smith discovered there are nine particular elements that the peasant organizations commonly believe form

the “foundation of a truly civil society” (178). The following is a summary of these nine elements:

Relative economic equality with equal access to resources; a sociopolitical hierarchy that ensures their

leaders are willing to “care for” and “stand for” them; a society built on respect for one another; they be

respected and their human dignity recognized by all people outside of rural Haiti; all individuals “have a

voice” in society and therefore are able to be heard; cultivating sensitivity to different religious beliefs

and proper ancestor veneration; collective play, performance and song as part of cooperative work; all

citizens have equal access to basic social services such as schooling, transportation, health care, land

redistribution, and a fair judicial system; and government protection and security against crime. Smith

notes that according to the group members “a central objective of the (various groups) is to redress the

chronic failure of the Haitian government to develop their communities” (176). In many ways all of

these elements are striving to unravel the deeply ingrained ideologies of both the leta and the powers that

be in the “developed” world in an attempt to foster a more equitable relationship between the peasants

and the outside world. Once this type of relationship can be established, a just society can begin to be

constructed. Not surprisingly, another central theme to these nine elements is that of community. The

peasantry’s philosophy of “one and the same we” seems to reverberate through all aspects of their visions

for a brighter future. Then again, why wouldn’t it?

The rural Haitian proverb of Men anpil chay pa lou (When the hands are many the burden is

light), which is also appropriately the book’s title, serves as a mantra for the peasantry and this

philosophy is truly evident in all aspects of rural Haitian culture. It is precisely this strong sense of

community that has enabled the rural Haitian peasantry to survive through two centuries of persistent

repression, socioeconomic struggle, and desperate poverty. The beauty of Smith’s work is that it takes us

deep inside of rural Haiti and affords us the opportunity to experience both the struggle and strong sense

of community from the Haitian peasantry’s perspective, rather than through the often stereotype-tainted

lens of the American media.

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Works Cited

Smith, Jennie M. When The Hands Are Many: Community Organization and Social Change in

Rural Haiti. New York: Cornell University Press, 2001.