AHANAIE is a group of some forty committed artists, writers, and musicians of varied and diverse backgrounds who are dedicated to the idea of confronting dehumanization and increasing understanding of humanization. Owing to the fact that many of the groups' members are originally from the Caribbean, many of the compositions and creative offerings of the group are imbued with the historical and cultural specifics of Caribbean social realities and provide unique insights into the Caribbean/Canadian immigrant experience and the broader African Diasporic experience. The core group of musicians associated with AHANAIE features five percussion specialists. This predominance of rhythmic elements drives the spoken word, vocals and overall musical expressions. This is significant because the music language and movement, in fact the very spiritual essence of the Caribbean, Africa and the wider Diaspora is greatly characterized by its rhythmic elements.

AHANAIE does not, however, confine itself within any boundaries nationalistic, cultural, geographic or otherwise the principal aim being to offer a vision of belonging to the world by highlighting the commonality and complexity of people's experiences. The detailing of this common vision is explored through educational themes like: uprootment and transformation; resistance against dehumanizing forces and circumstances; signifying of multiple ancestries; recalling of interwoven histories; emphasizing the collective ethics of community and place; and celebrating histories of survival and resilience.

AHANAIE is a word that represents and brings together all cultures of the world. The letters and what each represents are as follows:

AHANAIE's guiding philosophy is that all people can live together in harmony, appreciating and respecting each other and different ways of seeing the world.

AHANAIE is opposed to any logic that automatically privileges any group, culture, race, nation or society over any other.

AHANAIE rejects all colonizing practices and exclusionary categories but seeks to understand and analyze the impact that these practices and concepts have had on our social entities and identities.

AHANAIE refuses to accept limitations of freedom; it refuses to accept any borders or barriers as permanent and it asserts freedom as the inherent birthright of all human beings. Ultimately, the overall initiative is to join together seekers of truth and liberation in a community of Spirit by means of musical poems and the message they carry. The innovative compositions are an interfacing of scribal and oral traditions but each piece also explores musical syncretism by means of blending a variety of musical styles, rhythms and melodies. The music that is intricately interwoven with the lyrics of each of the poems, therefore, represents an exploration and unifying dialogue of itself.

AHANAIE is currently working towards producing its first CD that will be released by the end of the year.

AHANAIE welcomes you to our website and to the Celebration. We invite all to join us in journeying across a wide variety of landscapes and settings and share in meditations on life, art, place, political futures, simple intimacies, domestic disharmonies, originary being, truth and history and to dance to the healing, fortifying rhythms of the drums. There can be no denying that artistic creation can redefine our position in the world by defending our values and ideas against totally hostile systems.