Konbit
Haitian Creole term for co-operation
Konbit (also spelled coumbite) is a Haitian Creole term for a Creole word for co-operation. A Haitian traditional form of communal working group in a sociopolitical sense. Commonly used as an agricultural group, political action, community patrol, arts and dance groups. It is similar to barn raising in North America. A related type of communal work is a kóve.
01Etymology
The Spanish word "convite" is used in the Dominican Republic in a somewhat similar way. The word "convite" means invite, a board or "junta" in that context.
02Use
The term is used in the names of some Haitian and diaspora NGOs, and even of several Haitian political parties.
As a dance
It can also refer to a style of Haitian music and dance associated with work parties, possibly being a form of influence on Rara music, and the sense of solidarity has also been compared to that of hip-hop culture.
Kombit dances (Dance troupes) perform at all facets of events and festivals of society.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Konbit”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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