The month of October pays tribute to a community known as the First Peoples leading to a crescendo of celebrations on 14th October. These indigenous peoples are namely the Arawaks (Taino/Lokono), Caribs (Kalinago), Kalina, Warao, Kalipuna, Nepuyo and Aruaca who survived colonization, existing in Trinidad and Tobago for over 9,000 years.
Citizens and visitors are invited annually to learn more about the communities comprising the First Peoples by observing street parades, the Water Ritual and Smoke Festival celebrated in Arima and other parts of T&T, including the Red House site which was a former burial ground for indigenous people in colonial times. This is necessary as regrettably, some of our roads and buildings were built over many of the early Amerindian trails and settlements including the Tumpuna Road, Arima and a portion of the Siparia-Quinam Road, South Trinidad.
Our founding fathers paved a way of life and are remembered through sacred landmarks and popular place names such as Arima, Tacarigua, Chaguanas, Couva, Mayaro and Erin. The rich heritage of each of these areas plays its part in making life in T&T so enjoyable and diverse.
While descendants of the First Peoples co-exist and preserve the heritage across Trinidad, in Tobago they have almost been completely wiped out due to colonization. Amerindian settlements excavated in Trinidad include Palo Seco, Ortoire, Banwari Trace, Princes Town and Moruga Road. Meanwhile towns like Bon Accord, Milford, Mount Irvine and Courland were unearthed in Tobago as far back as 3500BC to 1000BC. Coming out of the Santa Rosa Festival, in the 18th century, a Carib King or Queen governed the festivities. Cemeteries were cleaned and tirite palms were cut to decorate the church with bamboo poles that secured the colourful flags placed around Harris Square.
We have the First Peoples to thank for what we enjoy today as Barbecue, derived from the Arawak term ‘barabicu’ — a method of slow-fire cooking. We pay homage to them for cultivating cassava and corn, crafting pottery and building canoes. Each time we enjoy a meal of roasted breadfruit, cassava pone, cocoa, maize, wild meat flavoured with roucou and chadon beni, or warap (beer derived from fermented cassava) we are enjoying a historical tradition handed down from our collective Amerindian heritage. This October, immerse yourself with a firsthand experience of an integral part of T&T’s history, that has shaped our distinct present and continues to shape our future.
