What it means to be a Belizean

 Justin Moses Vera

January 14, 2019

What it means to be a Belizean

As the title may give away, the purpose and driving cause of this paper will deal with what it means to be a Belizean. To fully grasp this, three things will be explained, two of which are: What Belize, and what being Belizean means. The final point, more opinionated, will be concerning what Belize can become. The following is meant to inform and inspire you, the reader. Enjoy!

First of all, many Belizeans are aware that the country was formerly known as British Honduras, then in 1973 its name was officially changed to Belize. The name of our country “Belize”, as many tourists have noted, is very exotic and unique and over the years has generated various “origin” stories.  The origin of the name is unclear; however, there exist two popularly espoused possibilities of the etymology of the name Belize. The first, one of the more logical origin stories, was probably derived from the earliest records of the settlement found in a journal dated back to 1677 belonging to a Dominican priest named Fray Jose Delgado, as noted in Alan Twigg’s book, Understanding Belize: A Historical Guide.   Since the Mayans were the first settlers of the country, it is believed that the name was provided by the priest’s translator and originated from the Mayan word “Balix,” which means “muddy waters,” referring to the Belize River, or from another derivation of the Mayan word “Belikin,” meaning “land facing the sea,” referring to the coast — both of which were names of popular settlements of the ancient Mayas. Another possibility, noted in the Encyclopedia Britannica, is that the name was assigned by the Scottish buccaneer Captain Peter Wallace, who was credited in the 1827 Almanack with discovering the mouth of the Belize River. He used the river as a place of retreat and began a settlement around Belize River ca. 1638.  The story goes that Wallace, or his followers, gave his own name to Belize, but since the Spaniards could not pronounce “w,” it was substituted with a “v,” creating “Vallis,” which was changed to “b,” thus resulting in “Balise”. 

Truly it is fascinating to see how many origin stories exist for Belize, The Jewel of the Caribbean. Whichever the case of the Belize etymology, Belizeans should be proud of our long heritage of settlers, ranging from the Maya and British buccaneers in the past to the current presence of various ethnic groups from all over the world, who are spread throughout the country.  By peeping into our past, we can truly appreciate our present. How is it that this would translate into any relevance into a modern individual? Is it even relevant? Yes, it is very relevant. Being a Belizean drives meaning from this. Picture a future that would have had a country named “British Honduras”. Would that not impose colonialism into our everyday lives each time we say the name of our country? As derived from personally my favorite theory of how Belize got its name, the Mayan words “Balix” and “Belikin”, which is way cooler. Not for the reasons you may think, rather, they are giving name to a place that the people are from, and not just where they came from. So far in the Belizean studies class, I have learnt more about Belize than I have in my whole life. This is not an exaggeration. Belizean educational systems more often than not, include curriculums that are based rather than aided by outside people. In it that most of the literary works that we read was from foreigners. Being a Belizean is not about that. A Belizean is a resident of a country so obscure in its uniqueness that people only can marvel at it. To illustrate, we are the only country in the area to speak English. We are geographically part of Central America, yet we are also part of the Caribbean! We got our independence peacefully! We are one of few countries to boast of these things. Being a Belizean is about being unique, yet embracing that uniqueness and coming together. 

In that coming together, I would like Belize to become fearless. Not in the face of physical danger, yet that would be very useful, but psychological. What is meant by psychological dangers? Mainly prejudices. To further clarify: Belize City is painted as the “murder city” where crime and murders are seen on a regular basis due to gang violence. The news thrives in places like this and many a times people even say they focus only on that. Well, I was unsure where I stood on that. So, I decided to find out for myself. I went two days to Belize City on both days I walked from the sea side to the bus terminal. I am not going to lie, some people looked at me strangely, but I answered back with a smile and waved at them. Their faces immediately lit up and waved back. The walk to the terminal was safe, I did not see anyone get robbed or shot or stabbed, nor did it happen to me. The news feeds off of violence, it’s their bread and butter. I know for a fact that Belize City, and for that matter most towns in Belize are safe enough to walk. Belizeans need to become fearless so as to enjoy those little things like the smiles that light up people’s faces as they wave back at you.

In short, I would like for Belizeans to become fearless so that they can fully appreciate and enjoy their country. Because being a Belizean is about being unique and embracing that uniqueness. Belize may not have a definite answer of how the name came to be, but I know in the heart of our hearts, we know that Belize means home.