Garifuna Settlement Day in Placentia

Garifuna settlement day did not turn out quite as  expected, but it was a dandy anyway. One of the reasons I came south was to be in Punta Gorda for the drum circle on the 19th. Come to find out the day before, that the drum festival was actually held the Sat before. But all was not lost as the official holiday was still the 19th and I was able to watch the festivities, and reenactment of the landings, right here in Placentia.

TThe Garifuna (pronounced Ga-RIF-una), or Black Caribs, are a unique cultural and ethnic group. They first appeared in Belize over 300 years ago, when escaped and shipwrecked slaves mixed with the native Caribs who had given them refuge on Saint Vincent Island. The Garifuna adopted the Carib language but kept their African musical and religious traditions, against the demands of the island's colonial masters. In 1795 the Garifuna people rebelled against the British; the Crown punished them for their insolence by deporting them to the island of Roatán, off Honduras. In the years that followed, the Garifuna slowly established villages on islands and along the coasts of southern Belize, Guatemala, and northern Honduras (OK. This part was cut and paste from the web).

The festivities started out with a Garifuna woman giving an impassioned speech about the culture, the importance to remember, and details of how they settled along the coast of Central America. Next there was the recreation of a typical landing, where a boat load of people would stay off shore while a scout in a canoe came to shore to ask permission to land. This was repeated over and over until they were finally granted access, and landed to start settlements.

The final part of the festivities included a drum circle, with many of the people doing the "punta" to the drums. It is hard to describe exactly, but imagine being in a bit of a crouch with your feet stomping up and down, no more than a few inches, going as fast as a hummingbirds wings, all the while your upper body remains still with your hands out in various poses. And they move side to side slowly, like a hovercraft. That is the punta.

This is a picture of the reenactment. It was a bit hokey, but worthwhile never the less. Now the drum circle, that was amazing. Unfortunately the camera ran out of power just as it started.

The scout.