Remembering our Ancestors - Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago

Imagine you are travelling abroad and someone were to ask you where is your “home land", what would you say? Would your answer be Africa? India? China? I for one would say Trinidad and Tobago. But there was a time when my ancestors would have answered differently, they would have claimed India to be their home land, their mother land so to say, and they would have been right. Because they would have been Indentured Labourers, who came from India and embarked on the journey to Trinidad with the goal of creating a better life.

Indian Arrival Day, celebrated on the 30th of May, commemorates the arrival of the first Indian Indentured labourers from India to Trinidad, in May 1845, on the ship Fatel Razack. During this period an estimation of over 140,000 Indians were transported to the island. Approximately 85% of the immigrants were Hindus, and 14% Muslims.

When the Fatel Razack sailed into the Gulf of Paria in 1845, it brought not only a new labour force, but also a new culture, because the Indians brought with them their food, dress, language, music, dance, religion and customs.

Despite the trying conditions experienced under the indenture system, about 90% of the Indian immigrants chose, at the end of their contracted periods of indenture, to make Trinidad their permanent home.

While there are hundreds of thousands of the older generations that always preach the sacrifices made by our ancestors, many young persons like me are losing touch with the traditions and practices of our families gone by.

I thought it would be interesting and educational to ask our colleagues what traditions and cultural practices they remembered or heard that their ancestors undertook.

I approached Devika at the front desk with the question “Did you grow up with your grandparents?" She spoke about her Aaji (paternal grandmother) and how she lived with her until she passed away. She described her Aaji to me and pointed out her signature Ohrni (head scarf), how she made it her duty to always don this item of clothing, even when she had just finished taking a bath she would have still clipped her Ohrni to hair because to her being without it was equivalent to her being without clothes. It signified to her and the women from India a form of modesty and this practice was second nature to many. My mind wandered on my Aaji, she also passed away but I only remember her wearing her Ohrni when she went out of the house, but at her home she let her long grey hear blow in the wind. It goes to show the same era can produce different practices and interpretations of the same culture.

Rudra also came from a family that kept their Indian culture alive. Even though he did not experience these instances personally he told a rich history of his great grandfather who would travel to villages on a bull cart with other worshipers to sing bhajans (song with religious theme from India) share readings from the Bhagavad Gita ( the holy text of Hinduism) and conduct prayer sessions. Such actions from his great grandfather was the vehicle in the preservation of their religion and culture, he also told me that they used also pool together their monies to purchase various instruments from India to mimic the sessions that their mother land undertook.

Vrijindra also hails from a family that was dedicated to the preservation of the cultural and religious history of their ancestors. He painted a picture of his family living on the same area and a common building was constructed near the family member whose house was located in the central area of the compound that was built for the sole purpose of sharing a space where they could have practiced their religion and culture freely. This structure was called the “Marrai" (mar-eye). A not so common sight in these times but it was made out of “carat leaves" for the roof, skinny trees for the supports and leepay (plastering) with mud for the floor. It housed many Sunday worship sessions and preparations for events (weddings, prayers). It was mainly used for panchait (to share and discussions the news of the village) . Sadly, the structure he so fondly spoke about was demolished before he was born but the importance of “Marrai" is so profound that his mother can describe it clear as day.

I made my way into Deedra's office still trying to quench my thirst in finding out more about Indian culture, I thought she would be a great person to talk to since she comes from a family of pundits ( a Brahmin scholar or a teacher of any field of knowledge in Hinduism). We spoke about the rituals that were performed for her during the days of her wedding. One such ritual that stood out to me was one that took place on the Saturday night the “parching of the Lawa/Laawa or rice paddy." The bride's father's youngest sister, called the poowa, parches the Lawa/Laawa over a fire and everyone dances and gives her money. The parching of the Lawa/Laawa, “signifies the amount of prosperity of the marriage," based on how well it is parched. This parched Lawa/Laawa is taken to the wedding and thrown into the fire. The Lawa from the girl's side is mixed with the Boy's side and offered to the fire as a symbol of the joining of the Dulaha (Groom) and Dulahin (Bride).

Remembering our ancestors is keeping our journey alive and it makes our achievements monumental, it shows where we have come from and where our children are going. We're all immortal, as long as our stories are told.