Knowing Your Ancestors: A Survey of Bahamians' Knowledge of Their Progenitor's Names

Abstract

An on-line survey of 1,447 persons indicate that almost all participants (98.4%) knew both their biological father and mother. However, few (7.6%) knew the names of all their great grandparents. The direct female relations on the maternal side were more likely to be known than other similar relations on the paternal side. This knowledge of names confirms the matrifocal nature of Bahamian families and indicates the need for families to take steps to preserve their own history, so as to provide a sense of identity.

Attitudes of High School Students Regarding Intimate Relationships and Gender Norms in New Providence, The Bahamas

“…Further, when male parental figures were absent from the household, they tended to be replaced by a grandmother, resulting in respondents being more likely to be brought up in a female, rather than male, dominated environment, and so be exposed to traditional views. This is consistent with the matrifocal nature of Bahamian homes (Bethel, Minnis, & Fielding, 2012). Children in female-headed households are at greater risk of living in poverty (Bahamas Department of Statistics, 2004Statistics, & 2014, so this may account for the fact that boys are encouraged to start work to contribute to household income.…”

Learning Gender-based Attitudes in The Bahamas

“…Most had a mother figure at home; thereby, we may surmise, making the mother the more influential parental figure. This typical pattern demonstrates the matrifocal (mother and grand-mother) nature of the Bahamian society as noted by Bethel et al (2012), among others. The importance of family or household members, in influencing attitudes towards women was highlighted by the themed responses as to where respondents first learned these attitudes.…”

First year English at the College of The Bahamas: Student Perceptions

“…Although there is still an ongoing debate regarding the value of Internet surveys as a research method, with certain scholars (Fricker & Schonlau, 2002) being more skeptical of the value and reliability of Internet surveys than others (Fenner et al, 2012), at least one study (Gosling, Vazire, Srivastava, & John, 2004) has found that, while Internet surveys may have biases, these biases appear to be no greater than other surveys that rely upon self-selected participants. While Internet surveys are, indeed, likely a less-than-ideal research tool for scientifically accurate sampling, the relatively wide level of Internet access in The Bahamas (at least outside of the classroom) has made Internet surveys a popular research tool; there is an established body of academic publications in The Bahamas using Internet surveys as a research tool (Bethel, Minnis, & Fielding, 2012;Oenbring & Fielding, 2014). What is more, there is an established tradition in the Caribbean of using self-reported electronic surveys for research (UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Support Team, 2014).…”