Abstract

In Guadeloupe, today, thanks to such people as Mitchel Clarac, the manager of the federation Amon-Ra, there are people of African descent who are learning their own history. A qualitative case study was conducted at Amon-Ra to explore how the learning of their history influences a small group of African West-Indians' 1) awareness of their African identity, 2) interest in seeking their history, 3) image of their people, and 4) choice of their motherland. The manager plus six adult student-teachers who are learning their history at l'Arbre à Palabre (the ancestral treasure of Amon-Ra) were interviewed in order to seek answers to the following two questions: 1) "In what ways does the learning of their history influence African West-Indians? 2) How is learning about the history of their people an effective tool to enable people of African descent to overcome their malaise with their identity?" The findings show that with the learning of their history participants have not only become aware of their African identity, but they are as well interested in seeking their history. Besides, participants have developed a positive view of their people and have connected to Africa as the motherland. These findings reveal too that learning their history is an effective tool to help African West-Indians overcome their malaise with their identity. Implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.