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Bandele · 02-26-2007, 04:39 PM

Tobago:African cultural post in the Caribbean
• Sunday, Feb 4, 2007

An African Tobagonian recently took me on a trip from Trinidad to the beautiful island of Tobago to learn more about the culture and traditions of the predominantly African people who live there. I was expecting to stay in a hotel but similar to the African tradition of hospitality, I was given a bed and home cooked meals in the home of an 81 year old artist who raised ten children in that three bedroom house the way many African families do raise large families back in Africa.

When I asked her how she could raise so many children in the home of that size, she explained that it was not just her ten children but also the children of others who were sometimes dropped off by their parents for all of the summer holidays and she would care for all of them as if they were hers. Once, an immigrant from a different island stayed with her for one month prior to delivering her baby and then left the baby with her for a week but never returned until eight months later to pick up the baby just because the host herself was due to deliver her own baby in the hospital. All this sounds very familiar to an African like me who grew up in the Nigerian countryside.

The friend that took me to the island advised me to have a heavy breakfast because I was going to walk until I dropped but I smiled knowing how much I walked while growing up in Africa. In the end, the friend was the one complaining of being tired from all that walking. First, we walked up to Upper Scarborough where the Tobago House of Assembly is located. In front of the Assembly I saw the monument to Mr. James, a nationalist politician who allegedly committed suicide after he lost the first independence election.

We walked up to the top of the hill to enjoy the breath-taking views of the coastline and view King James Fort, which was started by the British in the year 1777 but completed by the French after they defeated the British only to lose the island to the British again around 1831. In those days, the British administered Tobago and Grenada together as one colonial territory, until 1854 when it became linked administratively with Trinidad. The hospital that was located at the fort was said to be manned by mostly Nigerian medical doctors today.

In the evening, a retired son of my hostess volunteered to drive us to meet a 91 year old school mate of his mother to hear more about the culture of the Africans who live there. First of all, we stopped to speak with Mr. Wendell Buckley; the local member of the House of Assembly who is also the Assistant Secretary for Culture. Although it was a Saturday evening and his constituency office was closed, he invited us to his office and gave an informal interview that I found fascinating. Again, this reminds me of the concept of African time which is known as Trinidad time over here, the idea that time can be flexible and so office hours do not have to run by the clock, that the office can be opened at odd hours to serve the people without demanding for overtime payment or any other reward other than the joy of sharing your own culture with a visiting brother:

Mr. Buckley (the name of the Irish priest in my home town, Awgu) told me that he returned recently from a visit to Guinea where he went to study Balenke drumming and where he wept to see the misery and poverty in which his fellow Africans are forced to live in this day and age. He wondered how the chief of the village could be allowed to suffer from leprosy in his 700 year old hut when there is medication in the world to eradicate the disease, why a woman was left to wander about with open lesions on her chest, why the people are made to live in such little huts decades after winning their independence from France under the inspirational Sekou Toure, and whether there is anything his country could do to help his fellow Africans back in the motherland?

Then he described in detail, the ‘salaaka’ feasts honouring the ancestors that I am so familiar with in my Igbo culture. He said that you will found similar feasts throughout the Eastern Caribbean where it goes by different names like Communa festival in Jamaica and Congo festival or salaaka in Tobago. The people of Tobago known as Congo people originated from Igbo, Ashanti, Congolese, Mandinkes and Dahomey enslaved people. He proudly asserted that his grandfather was a ‘Congo Boy’ - a reference to the belief that he was a pure African who did not mix with the other ethnic groups unlike the ‘red people’ who descended from Igbo women that the Europeans raped, while they worked as enslaved people in the houses of the masters. He suggested that most enslaved people in Barbados were Igbos and Congolese, while Jamaicans were mostly Ashanti but Tobago is more diverse.

Part of their cultural tradition from Africa was the strong belief in ‘obeah’ or protective rituals and invocations that are done under the strict guidance of elders. The water for libations is usually left for seven days in the dew and then taken to a crossroad with four junctions to pour libations to the ancestors. Anyone who grew up in the African countryside will be familiar with the significance of the cross roads as a preferred site of ancestral offerings. From the road intersection, the ritual moves to a sacred compound where some animals are slaughtered and sometimes the blood is poured down a hole in the ground, although some no longer allow the sacrifice and insist only on the feast.

There is drumming and chanting until the spirits of the ancestors seize someone and makes the person to ride with them until the person is exhausted and drops. The person speaks in tongues, as many Africans back home continue to do even in churches today; to reveal the wishes of the ancestors who might counsel against a certain course of action or support it as the case may be. Following that, the people would give thanks to the ancestors for their guidance and feast on roasted pork until the morning.

Mr. Buckley later took us to see the 91 year old woman who lived above Congo Hill but we traveled along a road called Top Hill Road which translates literally to Enugu, my home state in Nigeria. The English would have said Hill Top but the Africans were probably translating from their own language when they named it Top Hill or Enugu. As soon as we got there, the old woman asked us to show some love by giving her presents and the politician explained that Africans consider it rude to visit an elder without presents.

What amased me was that as soon as I put my hands into my pocket, the old woman mentioned the amount of money I was going to give her! She offered us something to drink and we each had a glass of water: Mr. Buckley brought out two drums and gave one to the elder: They both started playing and chanting and I was almost convinced that some of the words were Igbo words that I could recognise and the words meant the same thing in Igbo. For instance, in a fertility chant in which women were supposed to call for salt water (sperm) to be given to them, while gyrating and the men were supposed to follow by chanting ‘Mama Kalukalu (penis in their local dialect) Keliwe (erection in Igbo), I was simply amased. As if reading my thoughts, the old woman launched into the most energetic drumming that would shame many young men, chanting 1gbo lele’ or simply admire the Igbo in my language or something like that. Her final chant was about Jonah surviving in the belly of the beast on his way to Nineveh and Mr. Buckley explained that the enslaved used such metaphors to deceive the in slave-holders into thinking that they were worshipping the white man’s God, while they were performing their ancestral rituals.

Finally; the old woman told the story of Gangan Khan who is a mythical figure in Tobago and who was said to have flown from Africa to the island but could not fly back because she ate too much salt. The symbolicism of this for excessive salt consumption by the enslaved who were fed salt-fish by the Europeans and the high incidence of hypertension among people of red African descent was not lost on me. They said that there is a grave where Gangan Khan was buried but I, did not visit it on this occasion. Mr. Buckley said that I regretted that he could not learn how to fly when he visited Guinea and I told him that there is always the airline. When next I visit I would try to see the grave of Gangan Khan and perhaps attempt a documentary to film about the narratives or the people.

Agozino is a Professor of Sociology and Acting Head of Department of Behavioural Sciences, The to University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad.

http://www.thetidenews.com/article.a...n=CULTURESCOPE

Bago20 · 02-26-2007, 11:44 PM

But it is something i knew from a very long time.....

Tobago people are direct descendants of Africans.....

Trinidad now, well you know the deal with them already....

VINCYPOWA · 02-27-2007, 12:09 AM

Originally Posted by Bago20

But it is something i knew from a very long time.....

Tobago people are direct descendants of Africans.....

Trinidad now, well you know the deal with them already....

The TRINIS gine FEEL a BIT INSECURE now.

Bago20 · 02-27-2007, 12:13 AM

Originally Posted by VINCYPOWA

The TRINIS gine FEEL a BIT INSECURE now.

Yuh know....

Pebbles362436 · 02-27-2007, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by VINCYPOWA

The TRINIS gine FEEL a BIT INSECURE now.

What Trinis have to feel insecure about

Anyway anyone who visits Tobago can clearly see a lot of simlarities with African culture and among the folks that live there.

Trinidad however is a lot more diverse with all the different cultures and people that live there.

Otorongo · 02-27-2007, 07:06 PM

I'd say there are a few places with that claim.

Taj · 02-27-2007, 07:20 PM

nice info

02-26-2007, 04:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bandele mi nuh cater to bad-mind Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Inna di jaws of Babylon Posts: 906 Credits: 72	Tobago:African cultural post in the Caribbean Tobago:African cultural post in the Caribbean • Sunday, Feb 4, 2007 An African Tobagonian recently took me on a trip from Trinidad to the beautiful island of Tobago to learn more about the culture and traditions of the predominantly African people who live there. I was expecting to stay in a hotel but similar to the African tradition of hospitality, I was given a bed and home cooked meals in the home of an 81 year old artist who raised ten children in that three bedroom house the way many African families do raise large families back in Africa. When I asked her how she could raise so many children in the home of that size, she explained that it was not just her ten children but also the children of others who were sometimes dropped off by their parents for all of the summer holidays and she would care for all of them as if they were hers. Once, an immigrant from a different island stayed with her for one month prior to delivering her baby and then left the baby with her for a week but never returned until eight months later to pick up the baby just because the host herself was due to deliver her own baby in the hospital. All this sounds very familiar to an African like me who grew up in the Nigerian countryside. The friend that took me to the island advised me to have a heavy breakfast because I was going to walk until I dropped but I smiled knowing how much I walked while growing up in Africa. In the end, the friend was the one complaining of being tired from all that walking. First, we walked up to Upper Scarborough where the Tobago House of Assembly is located. In front of the Assembly I saw the monument to Mr. James, a nationalist politician who allegedly committed suicide after he lost the first independence election. We walked up to the top of the hill to enjoy the breath-taking views of the coastline and view King James Fort, which was started by the British in the year 1777 but completed by the French after they defeated the British only to lose the island to the British again around 1831. In those days, the British administered Tobago and Grenada together as one colonial territory, until 1854 when it became linked administratively with Trinidad. The hospital that was located at the fort was said to be manned by mostly Nigerian medical doctors today. In the evening, a retired son of my hostess volunteered to drive us to meet a 91 year old school mate of his mother to hear more about the culture of the Africans who live there. First of all, we stopped to speak with Mr. Wendell Buckley; the local member of the House of Assembly who is also the Assistant Secretary for Culture. Although it was a Saturday evening and his constituency office was closed, he invited us to his office and gave an informal interview that I found fascinating. Again, this reminds me of the concept of African time which is known as Trinidad time over here, the idea that time can be flexible and so office hours do not have to run by the clock, that the office can be opened at odd hours to serve the people without demanding for overtime payment or any other reward other than the joy of sharing your own culture with a visiting brother: Mr. Buckley (the name of the Irish priest in my home town, Awgu) told me that he returned recently from a visit to Guinea where he went to study Balenke drumming and where he wept to see the misery and poverty in which his fellow Africans are forced to live in this day and age. He wondered how the chief of the village could be allowed to suffer from leprosy in his 700 year old hut when there is medication in the world to eradicate the disease, why a woman was left to wander about with open lesions on her chest, why the people are made to live in such little huts decades after winning their independence from France under the inspirational Sekou Toure, and whether there is anything his country could do to help his fellow Africans back in the motherland? Then he described in detail, the ‘salaaka’ feasts honouring the ancestors that I am so familiar with in my Igbo culture. He said that you will found similar feasts throughout the Eastern Caribbean where it goes by different names like Communa festival in Jamaica and Congo festival or salaaka in Tobago. The people of Tobago known as Congo people originated from Igbo, Ashanti, Congolese, Mandinkes and Dahomey enslaved people. He proudly asserted that his grandfather was a ‘Congo Boy’ - a reference to the belief that he was a pure African who did not mix with the other ethnic groups unlike the ‘red people’ who descended from Igbo women that the Europeans raped, while they worked as enslaved people in the houses of the masters. He suggested that most enslaved people in Barbados were Igbos and Congolese, while Jamaicans were mostly Ashanti but Tobago is more diverse. Part of their cultural tradition from Africa was the strong belief in ‘obeah’ or protective rituals and invocations that are done under the strict guidance of elders. The water for libations is usually left for seven days in the dew and then taken to a crossroad with four junctions to pour libations to the ancestors. Anyone who grew up in the African countryside will be familiar with the significance of the cross roads as a preferred site of ancestral offerings. From the road intersection, the ritual moves to a sacred compound where some animals are slaughtered and sometimes the blood is poured down a hole in the ground, although some no longer allow the sacrifice and insist only on the feast. There is drumming and chanting until the spirits of the ancestors seize someone and makes the person to ride with them until the person is exhausted and drops. The person speaks in tongues, as many Africans back home continue to do even in churches today; to reveal the wishes of the ancestors who might counsel against a certain course of action or support it as the case may be. Following that, the people would give thanks to the ancestors for their guidance and feast on roasted pork until the morning. Mr. Buckley later took us to see the 91 year old woman who lived above Congo Hill but we traveled along a road called Top Hill Road which translates literally to Enugu, my home state in Nigeria. The English would have said Hill Top but the Africans were probably translating from their own language when they named it Top Hill or Enugu. As soon as we got there, the old woman asked us to show some love by giving her presents and the politician explained that Africans consider it rude to visit an elder without presents. What amased me was that as soon as I put my hands into my pocket, the old woman mentioned the amount of money I was going to give her! She offered us something to drink and we each had a glass of water: Mr. Buckley brought out two drums and gave one to the elder: They both started playing and chanting and I was almost convinced that some of the words were Igbo words that I could recognise and the words meant the same thing in Igbo. For instance, in a fertility chant in which women were supposed to call for salt water (sperm) to be given to them, while gyrating and the men were supposed to follow by chanting ‘Mama Kalukalu (penis in their local dialect) Keliwe (erection in Igbo), I was simply amased. As if reading my thoughts, the old woman launched into the most energetic drumming that would shame many young men, chanting 1gbo lele’ or simply admire the Igbo in my language or something like that. Her final chant was about Jonah surviving in the belly of the beast on his way to Nineveh and Mr. Buckley explained that the enslaved used such metaphors to deceive the in slave-holders into thinking that they were worshipping the white man’s God, while they were performing their ancestral rituals. Finally; the old woman told the story of Gangan Khan who is a mythical figure in Tobago and who was said to have flown from Africa to the island but could not fly back because she ate too much salt. The symbolicism of this for excessive salt consumption by the enslaved who were fed salt-fish by the Europeans and the high incidence of hypertension among people of red African descent was not lost on me. They said that there is a grave where Gangan Khan was buried but I, did not visit it on this occasion. Mr. Buckley said that I regretted that he could not learn how to fly when he visited Guinea and I told him that there is always the airline. When next I visit I would try to see the grave of Gangan Khan and perhaps attempt a documentary to film about the narratives or the people. Agozino is a Professor of Sociology and Acting Head of Department of Behavioural Sciences, The to University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad. http://www.thetidenews.com/article.a...n=CULTURESCOPE

02-26-2007, 11:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bago20 I'm on the Rock Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Brooklyn,NY Posts: 5,832 Credits: 5,937	Very Interesting... But it is something i knew from a very long time..... Tobago people are direct descendants of Africans..... Trinidad now, well you know the deal with them already.... __________________ STAG, goat and rice. I'm good. http://www.islandmix.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=3345 http://www.islandmix.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&page=2&ppuser=25586

02-27-2007, 07:20 PM	#7 (permalink)
Taj Sherlock Crescent Hottie Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: USA Posts: 29,786 Credits: 160,076	nice info __________________ Life is short. Too young; too soon. Love everyone! be careful of who you pretend to be, you are who you pretend to be - kurt vonnegut "Mommy, stop waking me up for Kindergarten. You don't see me waking you up for work. You do that because you want to." Ahhh, the joys of parenting :-) - RNH (too funny) :

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02-27-2007, 07:06 PM	#6 (permalink)
Otorongo Salsero de pura cepa Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 10,473 Credits: 711	I'd say there are a few places with that claim.

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