Photo: Inken Janning
Photo: Aujourd’hui Studio
HERITAGE FESTIVAL
Festivals
Tobago Festivals By Katy Young
Ole Time Wedding
One of the most popular parts of the heritage festival is the re-enactment of a traditional Tobago wedding. It is designed to highlight the European influences on the island. The women wear long, colourful gowns, while the men wear black stovepipe hats, scissor-tail coats, white gloves, bow ties and umbrellas to provide their partners with shade. Hundreds come to witness the preparation of the bride, dressed all in white. This is followed by the wedding, and then the heel-and-toe procession through Moriah to the reception site. There is plenty of feasting and entertainment into the night, including dancing the reel and jig. The rituals reflect traditional values such as fertility, purity and fidelity.
Les Coteaux Folktales and Superstitions
The village of Les Coteaux is synonymous with mystery. It was the landing place of the legendary African witch known as Gang Gang Sara, who, it is said, flew to Tobago to search for her family, who had been sold into slavery. The village is also thought to be the centre for Tobago’s obeah, a type of witchcraft. As you might therefore expect, these myths have been woven into an annual play performed as part of the Heritage Festival. Local actors and actresses put on the comedic presentations; characters include the commerce lady, the obeah man and the preacher. These characters draw on Tobago’s rich Amerindian, European and African influences. The tales usually involve themes such as retribution for bad behaviour and reversals of fortune.
The Seafood Festival
A true celebration of the sea and the importance of fishing in Tobago. This annual festival is held in Roxborough and provides a wonderful opportunity to sample many of the local seafood dishes. Earlier in the morning there is the re-enactment of the Belmanna Riots of 1876, which saw slaves at a Roxborough Cocoa Estate rise up against bad working conditions. It celebrates the close community spirit amongst Tobago’s slave population, a way for many to survive. Other fishing villages in Tobago also hold fêtes during the Heritage Festival, including Charlotteville and Black Rock where there is the chance to take part in “pulling seine”. This communal hauling in of fish has been taking place in Tobago for a least one hundred and fifty years; everyone taking part gets a share of the catch. This cooperative work ethic can be traced back to Africa; the method was adopted by Tobago’s slave population after Emancipation to build homes and work the land.
Other Festivals Blue Food Festival Photo: CaféMoka Gallery
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Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago
This is a unique culinary event held every October at Bloody Bay, and which celebrates the humble root vegetable, taro, known locally as dasheen. It is known as “blue food”