11.29.2006

Garifuna Settlement Day

Better late than never, eh? Well, that's what they say anyway, so I'm going with it. About a week-and-a-half ago, Drew and I celebrated Garifuna Settlement Day with the entire population of Dangriga, plus a few thousand more. And don't let the name fool you, it is not simply a DAY of celebration. It is a whole month of activities, that gets revved up a week before to nightly "knockin'" sessions and culminates in an entire weekend (that is 3 days!) of no sleep, concerts, Punta, drumming, drinking and cultural merriment.

What is cultural merriment? It is the glow of pride on a Garifuna father's face when he sees his son playing a trumpet in the Settlement Day Parade.



He must have taught his son everything he knows.

It is waiting on a dock or a bridge in unseasonably (and ridculously) cold weather at 6am when you have danced all night to watch a reenactment of the Garifuna people making their way to Belize in dug-out canoes, then dancing to their chanting and drumming before parading down to the Catholic church for a 2 hour service.



These women are in traditional dress and entwined with the fabled plants the Garifuna brought with them when they came to Belize: Coconut, Cassava, Sugar Cane, Plantain.

It is getting your hair braided special or your nails painted gold, black and white so when your auntie sees you dancing in the parade, you feel good about who you are and what you accomplished to get there.



Our neighbor's daughter is able to dance in the majorette group from Deliel Academy (high school) because she gets good grades.

It was a great weekend spent celebrating the culture we have come to know and love.

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