Abstract

JOSEPH, Handerson. Diaspora houses and local houses: Haitian mobility and transnational networks. Etnográfica [online]. 2020, vol.24, n.3, pp.749-774. ISSN 0873-6561.  https://doi.org/10.4000/etnografica.9566.

The objective of the article is to analyze the relationships between homes and transnational mobility in the Haitian social world, as well as their modes of government. It is based on prolonged ethnographic surveys, carried out in the cities of Fonds-des-Nègres, in Haiti, and Cayenne, in French Guiana, thus making it possible to follow the migratory trajectories of Haitians. A recurrent theme among Haitians is the use of the concept « diaspora » to differentiate homes : kay dyaspora (diaspora home), kay lokal (local home) and kay nan dyaspora (home in diaspora). The article focuses more specifically on two homes, one “diaspora” and the other “local” in order to show how the construction of the homes and their furnishings reflect the links that Haitians in transnational mobility establish between them, places they go to in contrast with their original homes where they sometimes have a heritage. To what extent do the dynamics of homes and their differentiation enlighten the Haitian social world, in particular the transnational mobilities of its actors? How, conversely, does this moving world inform us about the dynamics of homes, their relationships, the relationships between homes and the objects that populate them, the links between those who leave and those who stay in place? How is home governance constituted? There is no diaspora without mobility and there is no mobility without homes. The “diasporas homes” and the “local home” give an insight into the different dimensions of Haitian culture and society, in particular the socio-economic hierarchies of Haiti.

Keywords : diaspora home; local home; mobility; Haiti.

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