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If you know of any recent development which has changed the Grenada landscape in a significant way, please and let us know |
Just in case you're interested in an army account of some of the action which took place when President Reagan ordered U.S. intervention, check this Web site about the U.S. Army Rangers.
NOTE: When the page is loaded, scroll down until you get to the section headed "Grenada." If you click on the Grenada link on the page, it will take you off track. At least that was our experience at the time we tried it.
FISHERMAN'S BIRTHDAY
Grenada's Fisherman's Birthday festival is probably unique in the
Caribbean. Said to be the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, it is observed
on June 29 in the fishing villages, but more splendidly in Gouyave, which
incidentally is in the Parish of St. John. Fishermen's boats and nets are
blessed. There are dancing, feasting, boat racing and, to end it all, a
mini-carnival with street dancing.
ST. GEORGE'S UNIVERSITY, GRENADA
Following an Act of Grenada's Parliament, St. George's Medical School, an
American institution, opened in 1977 in Grenada with about 200 students.
In six years it got caught up in the cold war.
One of the main objectives of the American troops rushed to Grenada in
1983 was to rescue American students (about 600) and staff at St. George's
Medical School. At that time they were located in a number of
trailer-style buildings tucked into a hillside.
The 1983 US intervention took place as St. George's was settling into a
new site built by Cuban allies of Grenada's revolutionary government near
the Port Salines International Airport . The School was forced to abandon
the campus when 6,000 US troops landed and airlifted students and
professors back to the United States as part of the operation ordered by
President Reagan.
Today St. George's is a full-fledged University . Its True Blue and Grand
Anse campuses are located in the southwest area of the island. It also has
a campus in the southern part of the island of St Vincent, near the
capital city of Kingstown. Its faculty of full professors, associate and
assistant professors and instructors now number 800.
St. George's now caters for more students from the Caribbean and from many
parts of the world. Student enrollment at the end of the year 2000 was
more than 2,100. Caribbean students make up about 13 percent of St.
George's total undergraduate enrollment and 4 percent of the medical
school. Although the medical school still draws the most students, St.
George's now offers studies in veterinary medicine, business
administration, public health, and marine biology.
St. George's University's Web site is http://www.stgeorgesuniv.edu
(Reproduced, with permission, from Caricom Perspective, January – June 1989)
THE BIG DRUM CEREMONY
Carriacou
The contemporary Big Drum is performed in commemoration of the major life events of the individual, family and community. The rituals include the wedding, boat launching, dedication of a new house, Stone Feast (the deceased’s final funeral observance), Shango Hair Cutting (the measure taken to ward off danger threatening a child), and the Sacrifice/Maroon. The dances may also be mounted as entertainment for political rallies or as a cultural exhibition for visiting dignitaries.
There are two Big Drum ensembles on Carriacou that are based in the villages of Mt. Royal and Harvey Vale. The drummers and song-leaders are shopkeepers, clerks, traders, sailors and fishermen. The Harvey Vale troupe is, for the most part, made up of female students and young women. They receive token payments from the hosts of the events, although traditionally the performance was mounted in exchange for offering of food and rum.
Any family may host a Big Drum event. The Big Drum usually takes place in the sponsor’s yard and sometimes under a tarpaulin erected in the event of rain. The yard, a physical space surrounding the house, bears significance for the Carriacou family, for all ceremonies, rituals and memorials take place there. The wake as well as five successive funeral observances take place in the yard and for years thereafter sacrifices and libations are performed on that ground to commemorate the life of the individual.
The ritual concert takes place within a circle formed by a standing crowd that surrounds three male drummers and a group of between five and twelve female singers led by a lead singer/dancer, the Chantwell.
The singers are certain numbers of men and women alike. They sing the various songs and the drummers beat the rhythm to accompany the songs and the dancers, who dance to suit the rhythm.
The dancers dance by turns. When one dances and leaves another takes his place until the drummers top the beat, or even the dancers.
The ceremonial opening of the dance is made by the head or owner of the dance and his family, by pouring liquors, water, etc., in the way of sprinkling the ground in a form of supplication.
Then starts the actual dance. After some of the dances are complete during the night, the drummers are called for supper. Singers might recess for about an hour or more. Dancing might resume until the break of day.
Costume Description
Several reminiscences of culture-bearers helped to recreate the Big Drum apparel of earlier times. Dancers wore the open skirt modeled after the French colonial fashion and called the “douette” in Saint Lucia. The douette skirt was made with a train that sometimes incorporated eight yards of material. The luxuriant, white, starched petticoat worn under the colorful outer skirt was made from bleached flour-bag material with ribbon woven through the embroidered hem line. The hem of one side of the multi-colored skirt was stylishly tucked into the waistband and removed and held if the dance mode warranted it – one hem edge in each hand. Dancing barefoot, the women integrated the African head-tie, earrings and the colonial gown.