Echoes of Resistance: The Bèlè Drum and Decolonial Ecologies in Martinique

• In Event: Navigating the Currents: Ecologies of Land, Labor, and Liberation

Description for Program

At the nexus of late liberalism, racial capitalism, and environmental injustice, Martinique’s bèlè drum has been reimagined as a powerful symbol of land stewardship and a rallying call for decolonial ecological futures. A French overseas department since 1946, Martinique exemplifies the contradictions of late liberalism, particularly as it pertains to France’s biopolitical reach in the Antilles. Political inclusion coexists with persistent economic and environmental disparities rooted in Atlantic world processes. A stark illustration is the ecological devastation caused by chlordécone, a pesticide linked to widespread contamination of soil, food, and waterways. Despite its known toxicity and international bans, agricultural elites in Martinique lobbied for its extended use, exacerbating a public health crisis marked by alarming rates of cancer, infertility, and developmental disorders.

This paper explores how the bèlè drum has been mobilized to resist these enduring legacies of exploitation and reinforce sacred connections to the land. I argue that the body carries with it vast systems of ecological knowledge that are made legible in contemporary performance gatherings. Music-making practices and synchronized movement styles once forged under the labor regimentation of plantation slavery, these expressive forms emerged as a rich performance repertoire across rural peasant communities, encapsulating ancestral spiritualities that involve embodied ways of knowing/caring for the environment.
Today, bèlè cultural activists integrate these traditions into grassroots efforts addressing conservation and sustainability. From agricultural heritage workshops to ceremonies honoring ancestral knowledge, the drum serves as both a cultural anchor and a tool for mobilizing collective action against systemic harm and demands for institutional accountability. By situating bèlè within the broader struggles for environmental justice in Martinique, this paper highlights how embodied performance refuses the extractive logics of late liberalism, and argues that these cultural practices not only reclaim ecological heritage but also propose radical, decolonial pathways for sustainable futures.

Author

• Camee Maddox-Wingfield, UMBC