ABSTRACT
In 1995 President Jean-Bertrand Aristide formally disbanded the Haitian armed forces, marking the end of two centuries during which the army exercised extraordinary sway over government, labor, land use, the legal system, and the economy. The chapter examines a number of Haitian musical performance complexes to reveal the role played by military symbols, practices, and ideology. John Thornton has argued that "African aristocratic and military culture helped to fire rebellion and provide leadership." The centrality of the military in Haitian politics and consciousness had powerful repercussions for Haitian expressive culture, especially because cultural institutions were shaped in the image of military models. Music was central to the military endeavor in the eighteenth century. Most important, it was crucial to the communication of commands amid the din of the battlefield.
