Review of the Indigenous Caribbean: Queen Jennifer Cassar

Showing posts with label Queen Jennifer Cassar. Show all posts

24 July 2018

On the Passing of Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar

Tributes for queen of First Peoples

The Guardian, July 21, 2018

“The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community is mourning the death of its Queen Jennifer Cassar. Cassar, 66, died on Thursday after a brief illness. She would have celebrated her birthday on August 4. She was elected Queen of the Santa Rosa First Peoples’ Community in 2011, until her death. Cassar succeeded then ‘Carib Queen’ Valentina Medina, who died at the age of 78. A statement from the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community said Cassar would be remembered ‘as being a very warm, humble and compassionate Queen of the Community, who worked tirelessly with the young Community members.’ She was a cultural activist for over 20 years and known for her advocacy for the arts…. The ‘Carib Queen’ as she was affectionately called, Jennifer Cassar was born on August 4, 1951 at Malabar, Arima to Nicholasa Lara-Pile and Rawle Pile. She is the first of five children. Her ancestral line was quite deep as she was descended from the full Amerindian bloodline through her maternal great, great, grandparents—Jose and Annicasia Lara (nee Lopez); Great Grandmother Maria Chichita Lara and Grandfather Pablito Lara, also called Hubert de France. Her paternal grandmother was also of full Amerindian blood from Guyana while her mother was also a descendant of the Caribs. Cassar was a member and Assistant Secretary of the Santa Rosa First Peoples (Carib) Community. She was a practising Roman Catholic who lived the Amerindian way of life through her grandparents who observed a staunch indigenous lifestyle through their involvement with the Santa Rosa Festival. She was a member of the Cabinet-appointed Amerindian Project Committee for five years. Cassar represented the Santa Rosa First Peoples Carib Community at the 3rd Indigenous Leaders’ Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama in April 2009. In December of that year she participated in a seminar on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the Caribbean held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. She had was a cultural activist for over 20 years and was a member of the Regional Carnival Commission with responsibility for co-ordinating National Stick-Fighting Competitions. As a career public servant, Cassar joined the Public Service of T&T in 1971 and served the country for 40 years. She worked in several government ministries including the Ministries of Education, Community Development, Culture, Sports, Health and the Judiciary. She was also a certified Home Health Care professional.”

Please note: Carib Queen—no quotation marks needed—is not an “affectionate title”. It is a formal title in the Carib community, as has been the case for a period stretching now across three centuries.

Condolences on the passing of the Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar

Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, Statement from Prime Minister Keith Rowley.

“I wish to extend sincerest and heartfelt condolences to The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community on the passing of the Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar. As the First People mourn this loss so too do the people of Arima, as Mrs. Cassar was a symbol of strength, will and power within this community. Though today we feel sadness having experienced this loss, I feel comforted by the fact that as Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar was able to experience the celebration of the First People across Trinidad and Tobago in 2017. This celebration and recognition of the community showed to all of us the vigour, energy and excitement that was Jennifer Cassar as she ceremoniously paraded through the streets in this celebration. Mrs. Cassar was not only the Carib Queen but also heralded a career in the Public Service of Trinidad and Tobago and served this country for over forty years. She contributed to the development of her country through work in Education, Community Development, Culture, Sport, Health and the Judiciary. Today I take the opportunity to again express my humblest gratitude to Mrs. Jennifer Cassar for her yeoman service to the First Peoples Community, to the Borough of Arima and to Trinidad and Tobago. May her life be an example to those in and outside of the Carib community and may her legacy be carried with love, light and positivity. May she rest in peace”.

PM issues tribute to late Carib Queen

CNC3, no date

“Mrs. Jennifer Cassar worked tirelessly to sensitise us to the role and contributions of the First Peoples Community and continuously strived to preserve and revitalise Amerindian history and traditions. The Carib Queen was one of the key advocates who lobbied Government to honour a long-standing call for a one-off holiday to formally recognise her Community’s presence and contribution to our country. Government granted the request and the holiday was celebrated on October 13th, 2017 with Queen Cassar leading a procession through the streets of Arima. She was a member of the Cabinet-appointed Amerindian Project Committee from 2007 and also a member of the Regional Carnival Committee of the National Carnival Commission with responsibility for coordinating National Stick Fighting Competitions”.

Carib Queen’s life celebrated by President
Sunday Express, July 25, 2018

President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, Paula-Mae Weekes:

“Having worked for forty years in the public sector before her retirement, Ms. Cassar devoted almost her entire life to the service of her country. I have known her since 1996 when I had been working at the Hall of Justice. I quickly became aware of the esteem in which Ms. Cassar was held by members of her team and was struck by the diligence with which she executed her duties. She was fiercely loyal to the judge for whom she was the Executive Secretary for many years and involved herself with many other ancillary functions of the Judiciary until she retired. During her tenure at the Judiciary, Ms. Cassar held a deep concern for the welfare of the First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago. She had always wholeheartedly embraced her indigenous identity and sought to encourage others to also take pride in their heritage. Her inauguration as Carib Queen in 2011 therefore acknowledged her many years of activism and her standing in the First Peoples’ community. I was pleased to follow her leadership as Carib Queen as she worked tirelessly to improve the unity and solidarity of the indigenous people and to secure greater recognition for their customs and traditions, such as stick-fighting [sic]”.

NCC Mourns the Passing of Jennifer Cassar, the Carib Queen

National Carnival Commission, July, 2018.

“The National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago (NCC) joins with the nation in remembering the life of Jennifer Cassar – beloved Carib Queen, organiser, and cultural pioneer – who died on July 19, 2018. Cassar is widely lauded as a smiling, kind-hearted leader who worked alongside her community to organise events such as last year’s grand celebration for the First Peoples Public Holiday. Additionally, she has been an invaluable contributor and guiding figure in the Annual Arima Fest celebrations, Santa Rosa Festival, and First People’s Heritage Week. Cassar would also have a tremendous impact in an area outside of First Peoples’ empowerment movement. She is also fondly remembered for her work in bringing Stick Fighting to the fore and her tireless energy in giving the artform the respect and recognition it so rightly deserves. Remembering Cassar’s legacy and invaluable contributions, NCC Chairman, Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters said, ‘We, at the Commission, are deeply touched by her passing’”.

Passing of Carib Queen, Jennifer Cassar Sends Arima into Mourning

Power 102 FM, July 19, 2018, Press Release from the Arima Borough Council.

“Mayor Lisa Morris-Julian and the Arima Borough Council are grieved by the passing of beloved Carib Queen, Jennifer Cassar. The Council describes the loss as a blow to Arima’s foundation, which is rooted on the First Peoples’ contributions. The Council laments the loss of a phenomenal woman of pure Carib descent. However, the council is thankful that she assisted in extensive work to keep persons of First Peoples’ lineage united and thriving in the Santa Rosa First Peoples’ Community. It recognizes her decades of labour which assisted to create a space in the borough where the First Peoples are acknowledged and respected. The Council recalls fond memories of the late Carib Queen as a smiling, kind-hearted leader who worked alongside her Community to organize events such as last year’s grand celebration for the First Peoples one-off Public Holiday. The Council will miss her contribution to this year’s Arima Fest celebrations, Santa Rosa Festival and First People’s Heritage Week. The Arima Borough Council wishes to express sincere condolences to her family, the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community and all of her loved ones”.

The Carib Queen has died

Daily Express, July 20, 2018, by Sandhya Santoo

“Education Minister and Arima Member of Parliament Anthony Garcia also extended condolences on the passing of Cassar….’She contributed to the development of her country through work in Education, Community Development, Culture, Sport, Health and the Judiciary. Today I take the opportunity to again express my humblest gratitude to Mrs. Jennifer Cassar for her yeoman service to the First Peoples Community, to the Borough of Arima and to Trinidad and Tobago. May her life be an example to those in and outside of the Carib community and may her legacy be carried with love, light and positivity. May she rest in peace,’ he said”.

The Carib Queen is dead

Trinidad & Tobago Newsday, July 20, 2018, by Carol Matroo

“Arima Mayor Lisa Morris-Julien said Cassar was not only Carib Queen but the ‘Queen of Arima’…. ‘We expected to have Mrs Cassar with us for a very long time. She was loved by everyone, by her neighbours, by the entire community. Every Arimian was proud that she was our queen. She was heavily involved in culture and I credit her for bringing back stick fighting back to Arima, always trying to ensure that we become the cultural mecca that we should be,’ Morris-Julian said…. It was Cassar’s dream to establish an Amerindian village in Blanchisseuse and the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community was granted 100 acres towards this venture. ‘Government gave them the land and I’m so happy that she lived to see the one off holiday (last October 13). Her role in the community could never be underestimated. She was the right hand of the chief (Ricardo Bharath) and she always took the needs of her people before her own. She was an excellent mother and wife,’ she said.”

Regional Amerindians for Cassar’s funeral

Trinidad & Tobago Newsday, July 24, 2018, by Carol Matroo

“Her casket will be open for public viewing at the Arima Town Hall on Friday from 10 am to 12 noon and a funeral service will be at the Santa Rosa RC Church. A full Amerindian ritual service will be conducted at the Santa Rosa Cemetery ‘where her body would be offered back to the elements from which she came.’ Indigenous members from Guyana and Surname are expected to attend”.

Carib Queen’s funeral on Friday

Daily Express, July 23, 2018

“Viewing of the body will take place at the Arima Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 12 noon where a condolence book will be available. After this there will be a procession through the streets of Arima and then to the Santa Rosa Catholic Church on Woodford Street for the funeral service. Following the interment at the Catholic Cemetery, guests will gather at the Santa Rosa First Peoples Centre at Paul Mitchell Street, Arima. Nightly wakes will be held today and on Tuesday at Koon Koon Street, Malabar, Arima from 7p.m. to 12 p.m. On Wednesday, the wake will be held at the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community headquarters at Paul Mitchell street”.

T&T mourns passing of Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar

Caribbean National Weekly, July 22, 2018

“Carib Chief Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez has described her passing as a great loss to the Community, especially coming on the eve of the Santa Rosa De Lima Festival on August 26, the 223rd Anniversary of the festival. ‘She was indeed a Queen, for our time’”.

Updated on July 29, 2018

15 July 2013

First People wants Govt to relocate Parliament.

First People wants Govt to relocate Parliament.
By COREY CONNELLY | Trinidad & Tobago's Newsday Sunday, July 14 2013

Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar, second from left, and President of the Santa Rosa First Peoples' Indigenous Community, Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez, second from right, along with other members of the First People descendants, leave the Red House in Port-of-Spain, after performing a Purablaka ceremony to 'appease' the spirits of their ancestors, yesterday.
Author: ROGER JACOB

Members of the Santa Rosa First Peoples’ Indigenous Community have asked the Government to consider relocating the seat of Parliament in Port-of-Spain as a mark of reverence to the remains of their ancestral spirits, says Carib Chief Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez.

However, he said if this is not possible, some attempt should be made during the current re- construction exercise to preserve the remains of the First People’s ancestors, at the site of the Red House, for descendants as well as members of the international community.

Bharath-Hernandez expressed hope that the Red House could further be developed as a heritage site “for the remains that are found there.

“The bones must be dealt with in a special way,” he said.

Bharath-Hernandez was among a group of First Peoples’ descendants who performed what he called a “Purablaka” spiritual ceremony at the Red House, yesterday, “in the name of the departed.”

He said the one-hour long ceremony marked the first phase of a two-part ritual, which is expected to be performed “more extensively” by a Shaman of High Priest of the community in October.

Bharath-Hernandez said the person is likely to be sourced from the mainlands of Venezuela or Suriname.

Acknowledging that the Government has been more sensitive to matters involving the indigenous peoples, the Carib Chief said, however, that the process of drawing greater national attention to their plight was “going slowly.”

“It is not going at a pace we would like and deserve some more meaningful attention,” he said.

Bharath-Hernandez said the Government has already given the First Peoples’ a 25-acre plot of land, along the Blanchisseuse Road, Arima, for the development of an indigenous Amerindian village.

Saying that the land was being surveyed, Bharath-Hernandez said issues relating to comprehensive development plan and cost of the project, still needed to be addressed.

“We do not want handouts from the Government,” he said.

“What we want is an industry so that the people can benefit from it. Not a little bit here and there.”

When completed, Bharath-Hernandez said, the village will contain a cassava and craft factories. Tours are also expected to be conducted at the site.

“All activities will be geared towards sustainable development,” he added.

Asked about the response of the community’s descendants to the First People’s, Bharath- Hernandez said: “It is not as solid as we would like it to be, but once they have something they could identify (Amerindian village) we expect that we would get returns. People feel more empowered when they can identify with something.”

02 September 2012

Carib Queen to descendants: Get involved.

Carib Queen to descendants: Get involved.
Trinidad Express Newspapers | Sep 2, 2012 at 10:54 PM ECT

Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar is pleading with young people of Amerindian descent to get involved in the work and traditions of the Indigenous Community.

Speaking with the media at the 226th Anniversary of the Carib festival of Santa Rosa De Lima yesterday, Cassar said her main focus at this time is to sensitise young people who are of Amerindian blood to be a part of the community.

"We are pleading for them to come and join with us, because as seniors we will not be here forever and we need to pass on the traditions onto the younger folks."

Cassar said she also wants to see the indigenous people playing a more active role in the government.

"We have the ear of the government but we need to do a little more," she said.

She also called for unity among the three groups that make up descendants of Amerindians which she said have already reached a mutual understanding.

"We have been meeting with the two other groups one off the southwestern peninsula and the other in Arima in the past and have reached a memorandum of understanding and that has not been signed on yet but they are a part of us.

"And they are going to be celebrating with us on a united front at the Amerindian Heritage Festival on October 14," Cassar added.

07 August 2011

Preserve heritage sites. New Carib Queen:

Preserve heritage sites. New Carib Queen:
By Louis B Homer
Trinidad Express Newspapers | Aug 7, 2011 at 11:42 PM ECT

As newly-elected Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar took up office on Saturday, she immediately called for the preservation of all special Amerindian sites in Trinidad.

In her maiden speech as head of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Carib Community, Cassar said: "I am emboldened to engage the attention of the authorities and the national community on the preservation of Corita, a petroglyphics stone at Maracas St Joseph, site of the old church at Caura Valley, Banwarie site in south Trinidad, and La Venezuela Statue on Old Santa Cruz Road."

She said the positive contributions made by their forefathers to the development of these areas have been largely ignored, and the history of Trinidad and Tobago has been no different.

Cassar said her first step would be the realisation of a heritage village which is critical to the preservation of Carib culture, spiritual traditions, and the social and economic development of young people.

She said Government has agreed to grant the community 25 acres of land on Blanchisseuse Road.

"My first duty will be to pursue discussions with the Cabinet-appointed committee to complete the paper work to officially hand over the land to the community next year."

She said the village will be used as a catalyst to generate employment, provide food security and the understanding of indigenous food and craft, create an environment for the education of children, create a museum to showcase the diversity of the nation, and to develop activities in eco- tourism and sustainable business activities.

Cassar, a descendant from a full Carib bloodline from Guyana, was inaugurated as the new Carib Queen at a colourful ceremony during Holy Mass at Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church, Arima, in the presence of members of the Carib community and officials from the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism and various organisations.

Minister Winston Peters was represented at the historic ceremony by Permanent Secretary Jennifer Jones.

Following her anointment by Monsignor Allan Ventour, parish priest of Arima, the community's new banner was blessed and Cassar was presented to the congregation, with loud acclamation from members of the community, as their fifth Queen of the Carib Community of Santa Rosa.

Her predecessor, Valentina Medina, died recently after serving as queen for 11 years.

02 July 2011

Jennifer Cassar is new Carib Queen.

Jennifer Cassar is new Carib Queen.
By Kimberly Castillo | Trinidad Express Newspapers | Jul 2, 2011 at 11:54 PM ECT

AUGUST 6 will signal a new chapter in the history of the Carib community.

On that day, Jennifer Cassar, 59, will walk out of the Santa Rosa RC Church in full Carib regalia, as the new Carib Queen.

The event is expected to draw supporters and members of the indigenous community bearing the traditional halekebe (crocheted poncho).

Cassar will take her place among her predecessors including Dolores MacDavid, Maria Werges, Justa Werges and Valentina Medina.

Her inauguration next month will be the first time in more than a decade that the community has elected a titular head.

For 11 years Medina served as Carib Queen until she succumbed to breast cancer in April at the age of 78.

Carib queens are elected based on their maturity and their vast knowledge of Carib history, practices, customs, way of life and oral traditions.

To say that Cassar is knowledgeable of her heritage would be a big understatement.

Since she was a child, Cassar was groomed in the indigenous customs, so much so that today she is like a walking encyclopedia on indigenous history.

"Although my mother was around, I also grew up with my grandparents and they lived a strict Carib way of life, this involved all aspects of Carib life. My grandmother was involved heavily in the Santa Rosa festival, I had to be part of the the procession with her. I made a commitment before she died that the lifestyle she had, I would emulate. I have to carry the mantle of my ancestors," said Cassar as she sat in the Carib Centre at Arima, surrounded by life-sized wooded sculptures, palm fronds and hand-woven baskets.

Cassar's appointment was based on more than her knowledge of the indigenous community. President of the Santa Rosa Carib Community, Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez explained that Cassar's cultural activism and her public service made her an obvious choice for Carib Queen.

For more than 20 years, Cassar has been involved in Carnival related activities, and has been the main organiser for the regional Carnival committee of the National Carnival Commission.

It is hard to imagine that this wife and mother of two, who is reserved by nature, is also a coordinator for stick-fighting competitions.

She has also spent 40 years as a public servant.

For the past five years, Cassar has also been a member of the Cabinet-appointed Amerindian project committee and has participated in a seminar on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the Caribbean.

"Cassar has what it takes," said Bharath-Hernandez, to take the Carib community further.

Cassar made it clear that her role would involve more than simply being the face of the Carib community.

Her duty as Carib Queen will include supervising the Santa Rosa Festival, one of the major highlights on the local indigenous calendar.

She will take on the responsibility of cleaning and decorating the church in preparation for the festival.

Cassar will also take the lead in the procession and offer prayers and she is tasked with passing on Carib traditions to members of the community.

There are burning issues which Cassar says need to be addressed as a matter of priority.

"We want to ensure that the land that was promised to us by the last Government comes to fruition, at least during my lifetime, and to ensure that the people of Amerindian descent become actively involved in the Santa Rosa Carib Community, because there are a lot of them out there who do not want to be identified as Carib or indigenous, so we want to create projects to woo young people and also go out there on a campaign to encourage them to come to the community," said Cassar.

One of Medina's unfulfilled wishes was to see a united indigenous community.

Cassar says she is committed to making this a reality as she paid homage to her predecessor: "She was a very pious individual, very devoted to Santa Rosa, she was like a matriarch. Even though I have a lot of experience in many areas, I am a simple person, very approachable and open to any idea anyone may have on how we can take this community forward."

24 April 2011

Carib Queen Medina dies.

Carib Queen Medina dies.
By Renuka Singh
Trinidad Express Newspapers | Story Created: Apr 24, 2011 at 10:55 PM ECT

Carib Queen Valentina Medina passed away yesterday.

After years of battling breast cancer, Medina succumbed to complications of the disease at her Arima home.

At 78, Medina stood as Carib Queen for almost 11 years, her daughter, Loretta Grant, 56, said in a brief telephone interview yesterday.

"As it was Easter, we were either praying for a miracle or for her suffering to end," she said.

"She had suffered enough," she said.

Grant said her mother and grandmother were involved in the Carib Community most of their lives, so her mother's ascension to the royal title was no surprise.

"You had to either be a virgin or someone who was living a clean married life," Grant explained.

Grant said she was not a member of the community, so the line ended with her mother.

She said Medina's doctors warned them that she would take a turn for the worse and asked them to spend time with her.

"That is why when she passed away all her family and close friends were there in the house with her. During her last days, though, very few people from the Carib Community visited her. I know it hurt her and it hurt me too, but the Arima Mayor (Ghassan Youseph) visited the family to pay his respects," she said.

The family is hoping to have the funeral for Medina on Thursday, but Grant said they were still working out the logistics before they could formally fix a date.

Chief of the Santa Rosa Carib Community Ricardo Hernandez-Bharath, who saw Medina just before her passing, said she had served her community well.

"Once the funeral date is announced, we will be able to work out the details but there will definitely be an indigenous service on the day of the funeral," Hernandez-Bharath said in a telephone interview yesterday.

In one month the Carib Council will also meet to discuss the appointment of a new Queen, as Medina did not name her successor, as is the tradition.

The funeral ritual will include a smoke ceremony with special incense and which includes the use of particular herbs woven into fans.

A pink and white flag, one of the flags used during the Santa Rosa Festival and typically used when a female dies, will be draped on Medina's grave, symbolising the continuation of all that she held up in victory during her life.

Political leader of the Congress of the People Winston Dookeran described Medina's death as" a great loss to the members of the Carib Community, and the wider citizenry of our beloved country Trinidad and Tobago".

"Queen Medina, queen for the past 11 years, represented the purity and soul of our First People. She worked assiduously to promote the philosophy and history of the great Carib community. Even though she was soft spoken she always made her passionate views heard. She epitomised the concept of religious and cultural diversity in Trinidad and Tobago, a feature for which she was well known," a release from the party stated.

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