Who were the Incas?

The Inca tribes lived in the Andes mountains in South America. In the 16th century they were farmers and cut up the mountain sides into farming terraces cultivating potatoes and corn. They also raised llama and alpaca both for food and for using them for work animals.

Their main god, among many, was the sun god and they built many temples dedicated to him. Many tales were told of this god and the Incas were made to believe that the Inca nation was made by him. They also believed in heaven and hell.

They were also great engineers and made amazing structures out of huge boulders, many still exist today.

These included massive forts. They also built roads from Equador to Chile.

Who were the Garifuna?

The Garifuna people were originally descended from Caribbean Indians and black African slaves who were shipwrecked on and island called St Vincent.

They used to build their houses from wild cane and palm leaves. They were lucky because there was a huge amount of natural food growing naturally, and they took advantage of this and were very good farmers. They used green plantains to make a meal called machuka, ate coconut milk soup and made alot of different breads. These included pumpkin bread, banana bread and cassava bread. They also ate a lot of fish which they used to catch with handheld lines and nets from hollowed out canoes.

The Garifuna agriculture, language and religion were very similar to that in the Caribbean, but they also had many cultures related to their African ancestors, especially dances, drum music and their art.

They used to use drums made from wood such as mahogany and the skins of deer or sheep They also used rattles made from gourds filled with seeds. They spent alot of time performing dances, mime, plays and storytelling.

The Garifuna migrated to Belize in 1893. The people there still celebrate the arrival with Garifuna Day when people come in canoes loaded with drums and supplies just as their ancestors did all that time ago.