The first martial art of Martinique, Danmyé—or Ladja—was born from the clash of two worlds. Enslaved people from Senegal, passing through Gorée Island, created a combat art inspired by the initiatory ceremony called “n'golo,” which symbolized the transition from adolescence to adulthood through wrestling. The primary source of inspiration was undoubtedly the làmb, or traditional Senegalese wrestling. These combats took place during patronal festivals or in organized bouts. However, after Martinique became an official French department in 1947, municipal decrees banned the practice of Danmyé. The fights were real, with genuine blows, and often served as a pretext for settling disputes. During the 1960s, the rise of folkloric groups—most notably the Martinican ballet—revived this combat sport through choreographed bouts. In the 1970s, with the emergence of independence movements, the phenomenon gained momentum, becoming increasingly prominent. Today, cultural associations work to preserve and update knowledge about this practice. Danmyé, or martial dance, developed exclusively in Martinique. It is performed to the rhythm of drums and ti-bwa within a circle formed by spectators. A singer encourages the fighters with chants in favor of the struggle. There are various venues in Martinique for “bèlè” evenings. Traditionally, the night begins with Danmyé bouts, followed by bèlè, creating a sense of communion that lasts through the night, ending at sunrise with the “ting-bang.”
05:57Here we are at the House of Belay, which was founded in Sainte-Marie in February 2003.
06:03Today we see many former performers who grew up here in the tradition of Belay.
06:08It was to bring people like them out of the shadows and give them the place they deserve
06:13the place of Belay was created.
06:14So this evening, the House of Belay is welcoming the Belay associations of Martinique for a little
06:28Belay time.
06:29And this Belay time is reserved for beginners.
06:33That means people who have been dancing a year or two, no more.
06:36This evening is just for them with drumming, with dancing, and with tibois.
06:41Belay is a dance in Martinique that comes from our slavery period.
06:46So, it's a legacy from Africa, with various European contributions.
06:51So, you have singers, the drum, tibois, dancers, and Daillet voices that we call choruses.
07:11These are songs that are very, very old.
07:16Because the masters of Belay are between 80 and 90 years of age.
07:20So, they're the trustees of this tradition.
07:23They're the oldest in Martinique, and they're all originally from Sainte-Marie.
07:28In Belay, the singing is in Creole, only in Creole.
07:32So, you have several different rhythms in Belay.
07:35You have seven rhythms.
07:37You have Belia.
07:39You have Grand Belay.
07:40You have Grand Belay.
07:41Pitche Belay.
07:42Biggin Belay.
07:43Chou Belay.
07:46You have Linkle dances.
07:48These are dances that are performed afterwards, that are performed in line.
07:52There's the Mabelo, the Kanigwe, the Benezwe, the Tingbang, and the Si Belay.
08:00You also have what we call Damye, which is a combat dance.
08:06Usually, Damye is performed in the early part of the evening.
08:10Then you have the Belay dances, and then the Linkle dances.
08:13So, depending on where you live or where you're living at the moment, you choose an association.
08:19We all have the same customs, where women wear a T-shirt, a skirt, a petticoat, and the scarf.
08:26We dance barefoot.
08:28Men wear loose clothing for ease of movement.
08:30And especially, we dance with our knees bent.
08:33We don't dance upright.
08:34We dance knees bent so our knees are protected.
08:36And that also comes from the field dances.
08:40The songs, as well as their purpose of giving a rhythm to work, were a means of recounting the island's history, as well as the communities and the neighbourhoods.
09:02Recounting with irony the differences between colonizers, and also the woes of a friend or of a foreman, and many other such things.
09:15The issue of Belay's origin raises a real controversy related to Martinique's turbulent past.
09:45The House of Belay's objectives are to honor the elders, trustees of an ancestral tradition, to put these elders into contact with the rest of the Martinique and foreign populations, and to immortalize this tradition, so that future generations can share in it.
10:15We dance .
11:15Martinique produces mainly rum from sugarcane.
11:26This production has since 1996 been labelled AOC, Appellation d'origine Contrôlée Martinique.
11:34This label attests to its great quality, to the special method of production and to the
11:39ageing of Martinican cane rum.
11:45Production of AOC cane rum represents 21% of the agricultural added value for the Department
11:52of Martinique.
11:53The rum is mainly exported to mainland France.
11:57It has long been appreciated for its great aromatic depth, its roundness and its creaminess in
12:03the mouth.
12:17Here we're at the De Paz plantation, a domain operating since 1645, acquired by Martinique's
12:23first governor, Jacques Diel du Parquet.
12:27The farm, called at the time La Montagne, stretched from the coast to the foot of Mount Poullée.
12:32A quarter of a century later, the property had two sugar plants, a water mill, an ox-driven
12:39mill and 125 hectares of cane.
12:43During the Enlightenment, La Montagne changed hands several times before being purchased
12:48by the Père, settlers originally from Bordeaux, established at Basse-Pointe.
12:52One of the daughters married Joseph Pécoule, then a modest lawyer from Aix-en-Provence.
13:00The Pécoules remained in control of the operation for more than 100 years, from 1810 to 1917,
13:07giving their name to the property, that was then called at that time Pécoule, La Montagne.
13:11In 1922, Victor de Paz started to build the huge chateau based on the model and the ruins
13:20of the one he'd spent his childhood in, Château Périnelle.
13:25This enormous property was home to his 11 children, of whom the three eldest sons, Raoul, Henri,
13:30then André, would one by one take over the reins of their father's business, which they
13:35held till 1989.
13:36That year, the distillery and five hectares of land were bought by the French group Bardinet,
13:43today called La Martiniquaise.
13:59Awarded the gold medal at the Concours Général de Paris in 2008, then silver medal in 2009,
14:04de Paz's plantation old rum ages three years in the little oak barrels that give it a
14:10beautiful aromatic richness.
14:12The nose of this rum has a complex aromatic depth, a mixture of fine notes of vanilla,
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