For those of you who have pondered and wondered about the reasons why Cape Verdeans tend to have grandiose minds(ta da pa bom) in spite of being from an abjectly(materially) poor country and lacking formal education, you need to read on!

The Cape Verde Islands are located nearby the drought ridden sahara desert, West Africa, where on a yearly basis, there's less than 3 months of rainfall. Consequently, the Cape Verdes are constant victims of drought, which inevitably has factored in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Cape Verdeans via starvation. So the Cape Verdeans learned from very early on that their only way to survive is to relocate to more ecologically favorable places, namely mainland African countries, such as Senegal, Guine Bissau, Ivory Coast, among others.

Europe, too, has been historically a favorite place for Cape Verdeans to migrade and escape the "ingrato" ecology of Cabo Verde. Further, Cape Verdeans have been migrating to the countries of the Americas, mainly the United States and Brasil, for centuries, for the same reasons as the aforesaid, trying to escape the punishing ecological and material poverty of Azidja, the ancient name of Cabo Verde.

So as you can see, the Cape Verdean community is inter-continental in scope, it has no borders per se. Cabo Verdianos and Cabo Verdianas are to be found in every continent and nations of the world. We skillfully adapt and absorb the languages, cultures and ways of the various countries we relocate to, yet our Cabo Verdianidade or Cape Verdianity, remains intact.

On a different note, we, the Cape Verdeans, work hard too. The recurrent specter of starvartion that has killed hundreds of thousands of our compatriots in the last 2 to 3 hundred years compells us to be graceful for having a job, even if it's menial, so we can feed ourselves, our families and our dear less fortunate ones in Azidja(cape verde). So as a group we don't have the psychological luxury to strive to "intellectualize" ourselves, alas, "intellectuals" in Azidja are not looked up to. In other words, formal education, though we yearn to attain it, has been historically out of reach for the masses of our people.

This was certainly the reality of the old timer Cape Verdeans. Old timer Cape Verdeans most of whom didn't have more than a 4th grade education, felt nonetheless like doutores, Phds. Even though, they could not read or write portuguese, spanish, french, english, dutch, they could nonetheless speak them with relative fluency, that is, they could carry on conversations in the aforementioned languages on top of their native Kabuverdianu(kriolu) tongue.

More importantly, however, the above noted langauges, being the defacto global languages, and since Cape Verdeans can understand and speak them with relative fluency, even if without formal finnese, gives the archetype Cape Verdean a sense of being a dotorado by virtue of possesing the linguistic skills that usually only the most well-trained(educated) elites posses.

Ami nen skola n'ka tem, ma n'ta papia nha lingua(kriolu) y mas sinku lingua di europa. It's this liguistic perspicacity of Cape Verdeans that is essencially the psychological reason for the "ta da pa bom" mentality. Furthemore, on an important note, it is the lack of formal education finesse of the Cape Verdeans and their "ta da pa bom" mentality that compells alot of non-CVs who because they are trained, that is so say, formally educated, redicule and deride "uneducated" Cabo Verdeans.

In the minds of the "educated" rediculers of CVs, the fact that Cape Verdeans "ta da armadu em bom" in spite of not having any substantial formal education is laughable. So they call us names, redicule, berate and deride us. But to no avail. We don't get fazed.

What these riculers of CVs don't realize is that the mere ability of thinking in complex abstract ways, without being formally educated, is reason enough to feel like a dotorado.

No Merkinau di kor, a CV turned CV-hater, or a yanbab or any other Merikanu, will shatter our pride. Our Cabo Verdiano "dotorado" pride will forever remain as quiescent as the rock of gilbratar.

You see, it's through language that one grasps and makes sense of the world and its various cultures and histories. The Cabo Verdiano by virtue of being fluent in several languages and consequently by being acquainted with these countries' and their former colonies' (just about the whole world) cultures, languages, and their overall political and historical idiosyncrasies makes him for all intents and purposes a PHd, even though he's not formally educated, alas, Manu Salah.

I've been speaking on the telephone with Manu Salah lately and I have to tell you, this man is brilliant. He impresses me more than all the Phd professors that I had in my college years. Manu Salah is a self-thought man. The depth of his knowledge and creative thoughts, equal if not surpass, most Phds out there. But since he lacks the finesse of a formal education, he has not been given the media exposure and accolades he deserves and ought to have been given. But that is soon to be no more. Manu Salah and I will co-author a book that I have no doubt will be a best seller titled "The kaleidoscopes of humanity: The story of the people of Cape Verde and its diaspora" in the near future. Manu Salah's creative perspectives on Azidja(Cabo Verde) and vast knowledge which ought to have been published a long time ago will be extensively detailed in this book along with even further extensive psychological analysis of the "ta da pa bom" mentality of Cape Verdeans.

I look foward to your constructive suggestions and criticism on the above analysis.

"Ta da pa bom" in Cv language has its own meaning. Can you explain what is the meaning you attribute to 'ta da pa bom' in your essay?

That is, is it good or bad according to you?




Cabrala

Cabrala, the meaning of "ta da pa bom" is in the post. In any case, pretend you're a teacher and you have to grade this "essay", what comments would you make and what grade would you give it?

I have heard Manu Salah O.Mateus at Boston College and at Bridge Water State College sevearl times. He certainly gives us a lot to think about. I have read many of his material. The man has great experience and lots of knowledge. He should be giving more lectures and should be heard more often. Met him back in 1973 at that time I was a student at Brown U. He is every thing you say. I would hope that the Government of Cabo Verde would make him a public relation person. Because of his leadership we became to understand about the struggle of PAIGC and about Cabral.His contribution as a public servant for Guine Bissau & Cabo Verde is what warrant him in recieving The Ordem of Amilcar Cabral from President Pedro Pires. It was long overdue.
Many of us wish we could hear more of him,he brings a whole different perspective and dynamics in terms of Cabo Verde history that others don't talk about. Plus he has made a big difference on the question of African American and Caboverdiano unity. He is a very humble man and we who are born in Cabo Verde or in Senegal,Gambia,Guinea Bissau or any other country should give him the honor and the praise that is due him. Some of us who rode his bus when he was a bus driver in New Bedford became better students and better CV'S because of him.
There is a sister who has graduated from Harvard who can attest to his
wisdom and knowledge. As you have mention beccause he does not have a Phd from a university and that he is from the grass roots not much attention is giving to this man.
That is the problem with so many Kriolus we are like crabs in the barrel.
Thank you for letting people know more about Manu Salah.
One of the areas is when he speaks on spirituality and reality,if you notice
in his own quiet way he makes reference to Deus in which he says
Dialectic-Eclectic-Universal- Science. I think that is so cool.

Thank you Kakau

THE WHOLE HOUSE CAME DOWN LIKE a hurricane!

Has he lived (Manu Salah) or has been in Cabo Verde between 1975-1991? Has he ever criticized PAICV for the wrong doing to the capeverdian people?

CAN't trust his honesty! His allegiance to PAIGC is sickning! He became PAICV's golden retriever...

Unknow Quantity wrote:

His contribution as a public servant for Guine Bissau & Cabo Verde is what warrant him in recieving The Ordem of Amilcar Cabral from President Pedro Pires. It was long overdue.

MY LORD! Do you have a hint from what you've just said?

Why would any one want to assassinate, you my brother?
Gee if that was the case that could be done right here you don't have to go to Cabo Verde. Wow, you must be afraid to go out. Yes I know who you are. We live in the same town about 2 blocks from each other.
You seem to be doing alright. Well any way I wish you the best of health and long life. When you talk about CV politics we have had only 30 years of it; so what makes you think you know more? I will take your advice and I will beat it. Don't be pisst off,life is to short.
I can't and I will not stay out of it; Cabo Verde is my home for better or for worse and I would like to make it Better for all of us. I know what the worse was. I have scars to prove it and they did not come from the present government. We do have something to share. Perhaps a good confession will help.
Perhaps we will see each other at the church.

Sapo, I suggest you write your own posts and discuss whatever theories of PAICV conspiracies you have in mind, just don't do it in my posts. I wrote this post to get feedbacks on the psychological and historical dynamics of the CV "ta da pa bom" mentality. Period. If you don't have anything construstive to add, then, don't say anything at all.

Kakau,

"BO eh propri BOM"...
I GUESS "ta da pa bom" attitude applies to you more than anybody else? AM I right?

WHEN DO WE STOP BOASTING about our achievements? Your post is GREAAT!

My post, your post, his post....what a heck are we talking about here?

Why don't you suggest people the kind of comment you'd like to see on this thread?

With this mentality, capeverdians have NO FUTURE!. We are a lost GENERATION. NOT EVEN IN A MILLION YEARS!
How do you like my comment? HMMM? GREAT? SUPER?

I read your Great post before, but sincerely I'm disappointed with you, with this type of comment. And I thought you and I were related!!!!

KAKAU,

To be fair with Sapo, your comment should be directed to "Unknown Quantity" first. Sapo's response was to "Unknown Quantity" thread.
That's the beginning of the whole conversation

You just can't avoid people replying to somebody else, but TO YOU ONLY!

SUGGESTION:

WHY DON"T YOU CREATE YOUR OWN website and DISCUSSION FORUM?
That way you can prevent or allow whoever you want!

THINK ABOUT IT!

Excellent idea to open this site to discuss subjects on Cape Verde and capeverdians, but in a language that is understood, spoken and written by only "half a dozen" of Creoles? Of who this idea was? Which is the goal to reach with the removal of who do not dominate the English language?

Manuel Delgado, I wrote this post. Basically what I meant to accomplish by writing this post is to shed some light on the psychological and historical reasons of the Cape Verdean pride, in spite of being from an ecologically destitute and economically poor country. See, when Cape Verdeans first started to relocate to the United States, France, Portugal, Holland, Brasil, et cetera, most of them were illiterate, they couldn't read or write. But they had a sense of 'dotorado' pride, nonetheless. They exoded a proud aura, spite of their humble origins. This pride often annoyed some Americans, especially African Americans.

See, even to this day, many African Americans in New England, interpret the Cape Verdean pride as a form of snobbery and "denial". In addition, coupled with the fact that Cape Verdeans, rarely, if ever, let go of their Cape Verdean identity further perplexes some New England African Americans. When a Cape Verdean says "I"m cape verdean", some African Americans read it as "I'm not black" or the old "I'm not black, I'm portuguese." What they don't realize is that when a Cape Verdean says "I'm Cape Verdean" he or she is merely reafirming his and her royal African Diasporicness.

Most Cape Verdeans don't know how to articulate the historical fact of Cabo Verde being the craddle of the splendid African Diaspora but nonetheless they feel it in their hearts. Cape Verdeans know in their hearts that Cabo Verde is a trans-hemispheric nation. Their ability to easily adapt to the various cultures of the world and their fluency in several languages(even if without any formal education) is an indication of their inter-continental flair in of itself.

Well, you said it yourself, sapo, the powers-that-be from the estrela negra party, PAICV, are very aware about the identity crisis and plight of unenlightened(uneducated) Cape Verdeans and as a result, have prioritized the education, the "eluminason", that is, of the Cape Verdean mind, through the dissimination of historical facts (read: Manu Salah and my contribution to this forum).
See, every time you tell someone that you are portuguese or spanish you lie to them and even worse you lie to yourself when you say such a thing. King Solomon, the wisest man to have ever lived, said, "above all things to thy own self be true". More importantly, though, when some Cape Verdeans attempt to deny and distant themselves from Africans and Diasporic Africans they insult the dignity and honor of the hundreds of millions of Africans from the continent and throughout the diaspora whom they share a direct link with via blood and history.

You, for instance, realize (albeit unconsciously) that you and mainland Africans, African Americans, and other diasporic Africans are family but that little "diabo" that lives within you often compells you to doubt the authenticity of you and the above noted groups being one and the same(family). This little "diabo" within you is the main culprit for your racial self hatred. And believe it or not, some people, namely political parties, I won't name names, are quite aware of this "diabo", and they try to politically capitalize on it. Their ultimate goal is to have you listen to this "diabo" inside you and vote for them. But you must not. You must always resist and rebuke the racist diabo within you.
PAICV, by contrast, have done and will always seek to destroy this "diabo" by liberally disseminating and elevating the Cabo Verdiano people to a more wholesome self-appreciative African oneness. In short, the goal of PAICV is to have all Cape Verdeans return to our true glorious enlightened African selves, hence Cabral's adage, you must return to the source.

I think that we have to keep in mind what history tells us. There is a side of "ta da pa bon" of Cape Verdeans that we should examine. As second class "Portuguese," we were brainwashed by the Portuguese colonialism to think that were were better than other Africans. We were used as "proxy" colonizers on the continent and our African counterparts still resent us for that. We were baptised with the benign term "asssimilado" and given land, while the other Africans were labeled "indigenous" and could not have a place to call home. So, this pride is a mixed blessing and deeply rooted in the devisive wiles of colonialism.

I guess CVs having once been "assimilados" and colonial subjects at the same time back in the old days would be the equivalent of what WEB Dubois termed - the American Negro 'double counciousness', that is, African Americans, then called Negro Americans, forever feel their dualness, as Negroes and as Americans. This psychic dualness, or double consciousness, needless to say, causes quite a bit of stress.
On the other hand, in the cape verdean historical context, having been considered assimilados i.e., relatively privileged, and at the same token, being colonial subjects, defacto slaves, certainly must have been equally if not more frustrating than the American Negroes' psychic sense of dualness(double consciousness).

Dear Manu Salah,

Sorry for my misjudgement about your allegiance to PAICV. I hope you've been honored by them but NOT used as an instrument of influence as I thought initially.

Sometimes people become blind by so much prestige, honor, given to them, that they forget to see the wrong they're doing. It is with pleasure that I see you've been critical of PAICV in several instances.

I was PAICV until I criticized them for the killing of one of my brother. It was then that I discovered the real PAICV. Nobody could open their mouth to say a thing against the regime, otherwise you'd suffer the consequences in yur skin. Because of that I experienced myself physical torture in prison for two years, and Thanks GOD I was not killed like several others. That's why I asked if you've been in Cape Verde lately, or if you have lived in Cape Verde during or just after the independence(1975-1991). That's the dark age for Cape Verde...and we don't want to remember what has been done to our brothers, during that period. If you could read the book, "Torture in the Name of PAICV...) I guess you'll have a clue what I'm talking about. I am afraid that most brilliant mind here in US, favoring PAICV don't have a slight idea what PAICV has done to our people. It is past, but history is history. They're trying to get their action together, but their ideology is still the same. They got more sofisticated of course, because we're living in 21 century and the world is different now than 1975, when RUSSIA was still a threat to US, and their number 1 ally. Have you hear how many thousand times did Pedro Pires shouted Down with Americam Imperialism? During his regime have you said anything in favor of US, you'd be called to the police station to justify it. My brother this is the party you're defending, and Pedro Pires is the man you are behind!

I've come to know you better from the posts I've read, and I strongly believe you are the man they're talking about, with great wisdom and character. I am sure if you have lived in Cape Verde during those dark ages, your opinion would be totally different. I AM SURE if you are the man tehy're talking about!!!!

The same is happening in Cape Verde at this very moment. Only those close to the regime enjoy freedom and not persecution. I have families still living in Cape Verde, and some of them lost their jobs just because they sympatize with MPD...things for you to think about.

As a man of God I believe no matter how much honor they give to you, how many golden medal they award to you, you wouldn't take the same position as you do now, because the minute you criticize them they will turn against you. You will be labeled as their worst enemy and they will trust you no longer. Ask some PAICV deputies here in US what do they think about their PAICV. I know someone that recently criticized them, and guess what happened to him? Did you hear about the VP in Brava that criticized the President (mayor) of Brava from overspending and abusing the public utilities? He was fired my brother. That's what's happening in Cape Verde presently. No more physical torture, but they used other means, more sophisticated ones, like taking your job away...that's worse my friend. You know those poor families of 10, 11 kids, only the father working and no job?...

OK my brother, It is good to sympatize with any party, but all I am asking everyone is to have a critical thinking about anything they support. We may say we are in God's side, but supporting the Devil without the best of intentions.
As a christian man these are the principles I defend. Knowing you know from the posts I read, I can tell you are a great man. All I pray is that for you or anyone else not living in Cape Verde to be aware of the devil, with voice and face of an angel, but acting like real SATAN.

Stay well, and I look forward meeting you personally and have a good conversation about our country.

Sorry if my words were not appropriate or unjust for the kind men you are. Didn't mean it!

Stay well and God Bless!
Sapo

Thanks Sapo, for the explanation you've given to this man. He seems to me a very good "soul". However, he lacks some knowledges of what we have been through. He was born here (US) and he doesn't know the demage that PAIGC/CV did to many of us. Even if he's visited CV, he wouldn't know or understand our suffering. I also recommend him to read that book and think about it

Labina Marcelino