The Caurita Stone and Trinidad's Caribs

First published as:
Caurita Stone a Carib legacy

By Heather-Dawn Herrera

In the Trinidad Express, 14 July 2011

Since 1995 when the existence of the Caurita Stone was first publicised in our local newspapers, there has been much speculation as to the origins and meanings of the etchings on its surface. Back then, the stone was known as the "Mystery Stone of Caurita".

Today, the site, in the hills of the Maracas Valley where the stone is located, is the main destination of hikers and descendants of Amerindian ancestry.

Ricardo Bharath Hernandez, chief of the Santa Rosa Carib community, and Cristo Adonis, shaman for the community, led us on a trip up to Caurita, which included members of the National Heritage Council Rawle Mitchell and Niketa Yearwood.

Adonis, well acquainted with the natural vegetation of the area, pointed out several plants that usually go unnoticed by the untrained eye. The roots and leaves of most of these plants are composed of important medicinal ingredients for various illnesses and diseases. Adonis identified many of these precious plants amid the understorey of the forest.

As the trail wound through estates of cocoa, coffee and mixed species of forest, a bubbly stream criss-crossed the way several times. Immortelle trees provided sanctuary for oropendolas, busy as always with the duty of building nests and caring for their young. A large ficus tree welcomed a bay-headed tanager onto its shady bough.

It was just below the area of a large bamboo stool that Adonis revealed how he first found the stone.

"I was in these hills searching for the stone. My little son was with me at the time. When we reached this bamboo stool, an agouti dashed up the ridge ahead. My son said, 'Where the agouti run is where the stone is.' We headed up this ridge, following the direction of the agouti, and found the stone alongside the track."

Eager now to reach the stone, our party headed up the ridge, and just as Adonis had described, there it was, sitting prominently at the side of the trail.

The height and width of the stone is roughly six feet by eight feet, and drawings have been etched into the top half of its exposed surface at the front. These drawings show faintly between the growing mosses that carpet the stone. Mitchell promptly got to work cleaning the stone, so the depictions on the surface could be seen clearly.

Members of the Santa Rosa Carib community view this stone as having special spiritual significance and regard it as part of their natural heritage. Some of the etchings identified depict a chief, other people in ceremonial wear and a deer.

The chief and the shaman present gave offerings to the four porters or gateways: El Tucuche to the north, El Cerro del Aripo to the east, San Fernando Hill to the south and a mountain in Venezuela's Paria peninsula to the west.

It is agreed among Amerindian communities in Trinidad that etchings on the stone bear spiritual significance. The site of the Caurita Stone is now regarded as an important part of the ongoing quest for knowledge and understanding of Amerindian ancestral occupation and life on this island.

Sites such as this bear testimony that our First Nation did set the path for our present way of life and so, as an integral part of our anthem, do represent an important part of our heritage for the future.

The Chief's Prayers

Today is both the start of the month of Santa Rosa for the Carib Community in Arima, Trinidad & Tobago, as well as African Emancipation Day. Sometimes the two events are jointly celebrated on top of Calvary Hill in Arima, where the events begin at 6:00am with the blasting of the cannon. As that cannon is blasted, this post is scheduled to go up. Usually a smoke ceremony is held by the Caribs, and this is a collection of some of the prayers used by Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez. Best wishes to the Carib Community and Happy Emancipation Day!

LOKONO PRAYER

Adaiahiili Tamushi Anshika ba

O Great Spirit God give us your

Maiauhii daiba wai koma anshihi

Peace so we can love as you love us

Amarita mun sakwa daiba

Make us healthy so

Wai koma kamunka usahu kahiihii

We can have a good life

Wa chin achi waianchicha

We praise you O Lord

AMERICAN INDIAN PRAYER

Oh, Great Spirit

Whose voice I hear in the winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world,

hear me, I am small and weak,

I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold

the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things you have

made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make me wise so that I may understand the things

you have taught my people.

Let me learn the lessons you have

hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,

but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.

Make me always ready to come to you

with clean hands and straight eyes.

So when life fades, as the fading sunset,

my Spirit may come to you without shame.

(translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887)

published in Native American Prayers - by the Episcopal Church.

http://guanaguanaresingsat.blogspot.com/2011/07/santa-rosa-carib-community-of-arima.html

LOKONO-ENGLISH PRAYER

We send our prayers to the Great Spirit

Adaiahiili Tamushi

Whose manifestation we see in the spirit of the hawk,

Whose spirit we see in the mighty wind,

Whose spirit manifests through the sacred fire,

Who gives sustenance through the waters,

Who is ever-present in the forests,

And who gives us the provisions of the earth.

And through Santa Rosa,

We ask that he may receive our prayers,

As we pray for forgiveness,

As we pray in thanksgiving,

As we pray for continued blessings

For our Community,

For our Borough,

For our nation,

And for our world.

Amen.

---

Here are some more prayers in the various Indigenous languages of the Caribbean:

THE LORD’S PRAYER IN THE MAINLAND CARIB LANGUAGE

Kioumoue tetaniem oubecouyum:

santiketàla eyeti:

membouilla biouboutou malibatali:

Mingatte-catou-thoattica ayeoula tibouic monba cachi tibuic-bali oubecou.

Huere-bali im-eboue bimàle louago lica hueyou icoigne:

roya-catou-kia-banum huenocaten huiouine cachi roya-ouabàli nhìuine innocatitium ouaone.

Aca menépeton-ouahattica toróman tachaouonnê-tebouroni:

irheu chibacaiketa-baoua touaria toulibani-hanhan-catou.

THE HAIL MARY IN THE CARIB LANGUAGE

Mábuiga María

Buíntibu labu gracis

Búmañei

Abúreme biníuatibu

Jádan sun

UUríña biníuatiguiyé

Tin bágaim Jesus.

Sándu María lúguchu

Búnguiu

Ayumuraguabá uáu

Gafigontíua

Uguñetó, lídan

Ora uóuve. Ítara la.

THE LORD’S PRAYER IN THE WARAO LANGUAGE

Karima, najamutuata jakutai,

Jiwai yatomanetekunarai.

Jirujuna rujanu rijana.

Najamutuata jiaobojona eku abaya.

Raina eku monukajase jiaobojona eku abakunarai.

Kanajoro ama saba jakutai taisi kamoau.

Kaisiko asiraja nonajakutai taisi kuare barinaka kaobojona bereaoko.

Taisi monuka kaobojona asirajasi kuare barinaka bere.

Kayakara minaka jau.

Tiarone asiraja arotuma amojekumo kejeronu.

Iji are Airamo tane rujakitane ja.

Iji are jijara taeraja.

Iji are Airamowitu.

Amén.

Amerindian Heritage Festival in Trinidad: Argument Erupts in Public between Two Groups

First published in The Trinidad Express

By Rickie Ramdass

15 October 2010

 

An argument between two groups over which one represented indigenous people erupted in Arima yesterday.

Representatives of the two groups argued during the Amerindian Heritage Festival celebrations that they were the original representative body of indigenous people in this country with the other being fakes.

The groups—The Santa Rosa Carib Community and The Partners for First People Development—had gathered at the park to perform a smoke ceremony in celebration of the victory of Nepuyo warrior Hyarima over Spanish invaders in this country in 1637.

Kendel Reyes, one of the members of the Partners for First People Development, accused the other group of denying indigenous people of non-Catholic belief entry into the group.

"Our group is about all people who have indigenous blood regardless of how you look or your religious persuasion. The Santa Rosa Carib Community is a Catholic mission and their present chief and president Ricardo Bharath (Hernandez) has decreeded that if you are not Catholic you cannot be a member of the Santa Rosa Carib Community.

"The Government (in 1980), through its wisdom or non-wisdom has seen it fit to recognise only the Santa Rosa mission as the representative body of peoples with indigenous blood. But the Santa Rosa Community does not represent all people with indigenous blood but only those who belong to the Catholic faith," he said.

He said it was also the tradition of the indigenous people to perform their ceremonies before 6 a.m., and this was not being done by the opposing group. His group, he said, had performed the smoke ceremony to the spirits at 5.30 a.m., while 7 a.m., was given by the other group as the time to perform the ceremony.

Hernandez however, accused the Partners for First People Development of perpetuating that there was a division in his group in order to gain control of it.

"As far as I am aware, there is no division in the Santa Rosa Carib Community. The Santa Rosa Carib Community existed since the 1700s. There is a small group of people who came on the scene just a few years ago and they are trying to make a division because they want control of the Santa Rosa Carib Community, and they will say all sort of things and do all sorts of thing to give the impression that there is a divide, but as far as I am concerned, there is no division."

Hernandez said a person's religion was not relevant if they chose to join the group. He said members of the group would meet every last Sunday of each month to attend meetings and if anyone with indigenous blood wished to join they could do so.

Also, please see Max Forte's 2002 interview:

INTERVIEW with Roger Belix, on Partners for First Peoples Development in Trinidad and Tobago 

Ricardo Bharath Hernandez, Chief of the Santa Rosa Carib Community, Speaking in Arima in 2008

Ricardo Bharath Hernandez is shown below speaking during the occasion of the eighth Amerindian Heritage Day, 14 October 2008, in Arima, Trinidad, and the week of events surrounding it. The speech took place in the Arima Borough Council. He welcomed several indigenous delegations, especially from Dominica, Suriname, and the United Confederation of Taino People. The Carib Community prepared a flyer/pamphlet, "Hyarima, Relentless Warrior," for the event.

Ricardo Bharath lists a series of demands/goals for helping to protect Amerindian heritage:

• A once only public holiday to honour Amerindian history, which as the chief explains, represents a change of goals for the Carib Community, which previously had explicitly not sought a holiday--he feels that such a holiday would allow for nation-wide cultural events, expositions, parades, a rally, and reaching out all sectors of the nation, in order to "sensitize" and give "national visibility," gain greater recognition of the Carib Community, and aid it in attaining its vision; it is the only way for the government to make a major statement to the whole nation, and everyone would know why they have this holiday;
• Chief Bharath refers to Suriname in noting that on the UN's International Day for Indigenous Peoples, that country has a public holiday;
• Speaking on the "model Amerindian village," he calls for reflection on the past; he says the Carib Community is not asking for "compensation," but support for helping to develop themselves and preserve their unique history;
• Chief Bharath thanks successive governments that have supported the Carib Community in many different ways, but does not want to rely on handouts, and does not wish to simply produce "cultural events" (dance, talks, etc.) that result in nothing tangible and lasting;
• He emphasizes that the Carib Community does not seek to segregate itself, that it has always welcomed others with open arms, and as a testament to that fact it is a very "mixed" community;
• He speaks of the First and Second UN Decades for the World's Indigenous Peoples, lasting to 2014, as an opportunity for government to do more to assist the local indigenous community--he notes that on 12 September 2007, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago voted in the UN General Assembly for the adoption of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which includes recognition and land appropriations, Chief Bharath uses this as a reminder to government;
• Chief Bharath ends on a note of a common, Caribbean indigenous struggle.

Ricardo Bharath on the Carib Queen, Land, Survival

Carib Queen could not witness land hand over

Published: Sun, 2011-05-01 in The Guardian

Michelle Loubon

[Senator Pennelope Beckles presented the eulogy at the late Santa Rosa Carib queen Valentina Medina’s funeral.]

President of the Carib Community Ricardo Bharath regrets that the late Carib queen Valentina Medina was not in a position to attend the handing-over ceremony of the land promised to the Carib community at Blanchisseuse Old Road, Arima. He also lamented that the community has not made more strides in the country because of a community leadership crisis since they were viewed as a minority group. Medina served the Santa Rosa Carib community in her capacity as queen for 11 years until her death from cancer recently. Bharath made the comment during a celebration of thanksgiving for her life at Santa Rosa RC Church, Arima, on Friday last. Among those in attendance at the church service were acting Prime Minister Winston Dookeran, Arima MP Rodger Samuel, Arima Mayor Ghassan Youseph and Senator Pennelope Beckles who offered the eulogy. Msgr Christian Pereira was chief celebrant.

Bharath said: “There is some disappointment she was never able to see the actual handover of the land. We are not asking for a gift.” Interviewed on Wednesday, Bharath said: “If only she could have seen the model village, that would have contributed to the sustenance of the community. “I am saddened by her passing and disappointed she never had that opportunity.” Bharath indicated the site would offer craft, a museum with indigenous forms of agriculture and offer information on cassava (manioc) processing. “It would be a living village. Many students would be able to get a hands-on experience,” he said. Bharath added: “I feel the government needs to step up but somehow things are moving too slow. Something should be done for the last remnant of the first peoples.” Quizzed on the elevation of a new queen, Bharath said: “After the burial (last Friday) a meeting would be called and her successor named.”

Challenges

Bharath said before the community came under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, they were represented by a chief. “But being placed in a Catholic Mission, they came under the control of the priest.” He lamented culture and traditions have begun to die. Meanwhile, women are emerging with leadership qualities. “Santa Rosa Festival was named for the first Carib queen.” Medina was the fifth Carib queen, from 1785, in what was known as the Santa Rosa Mission. Making reference to the community being viewed as a minority, Bharath added: “We are seen as incapable of making decisions. The change is gradual.” He called for mutual respect so they could move forward.

Trinidad Caribs Looking for New Queen

Caribs look for new queen
Published: Thu, 2011-04-28 in The Guardian
Brent Zephyrine

The process of selecting a new queen of the indigenous Carib community “will be a challenge” if adequate financial provisions are not allocated to the successor of the late Valentina Medina. So said president of the Carib community, Ricardo Hernandez Bharath, in an interview yesterday. Medina, 77, who had been ailing with cancer for three years, succumbed last Saturday, having served ten years as queen of the Carib community in Santa Rosa. Bharath said the queen, whose office was for life, acted as the official representative for the Carib community and made appearances at various events, fulfilled the duty of community consultant and functions as the chief public relations liaison for both visitors and students.

He said at present, the post did not come with a stipend and believed that something ought to be done to provide some relief in that regard. “If you want to give of that office a kind of respect and dignity, I believe that some sort of assistance from some government department must be afforded to that person,” Bharath said. He added that “it would be a challenge to appoint” a successor if stipends were not provided since it was necessary to assist the queen “in her day-to-day engagements, in preparation to attend functions and receive visitors” among other particulars. “We assist her with a little when we get our annual subventions,” he said.

“Apart from that, we depend on contributions from visitors, school children, the sale of art and craft and the little indigenous foods we do but it is not consistent, nor is it enough.” Asked to outline the procedure for the election of a new queen, Bharath said where the “queen did not name a successor,” the community would meet and nominate candidates who they felt were best suited to carry out her functions. “If there is just one nomination (which is unopposed) and it is accepted, that person will be made queen and where there is more than one nomination, then an election will take place and the majority will stand,” he said. Bharath said the requirements for the new queen “will need to be a bit more advanced” when compared to the past and more emphasis would need to be placed on “the qualities of the person.”

“In the past, you just had to look for someone knowledgeable of the Carib traditions, devoted to the Santa Rosa festival and committed to living a good life but today, it will require someone who can interact with the public,” he said. Medina’s funeral service will take place tomorrow from 2 pm at the Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church, Woodford Street, Arima. Her body will lie in state at the Arima Town Hall from noon to 1.15 pm, after which there will be a procession through the streets of Arima. Medina will be laid to rest at the Santa Rosa Cemetery where Bharath will perform a special burial ceremony. Monsignor Christian Perreira of the Catholic Church will preside over the funeral service.

U.S. Marines in Arima, Trinidad

U.S. Marine Sea Stallion flies low over Barataria on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008

The Mayor of Arima, Adrian Cabralis, and presumably the Deputy Mayor as well (Ricardo Bharath, who is also the head of the Santa Rosa Carib Community) played host to a contingent of U.S. Marines who are in Trinidad for "Operation Continuing Promise" (CP 2008). This mission comes with little in the way of an advance public announcement, most Trinidadians being very surprised to see two U.S. Marine Sea Stallions flying low and scouting areas along the East-West Corridor on Sunday morning. The government of Patrick Manning is aligned with the Bush regime in the U.S., and this "humanitarian exercise" in an island strategically located a mere seven miles from the Venezuelan coast comes as Venezuela prepares to host joint naval exercises with Russia in a matter of days.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning (left) and George W. Bush, June 2007

This exercise represents part of a new thrust on the part of the U.S. military to develop its troops' cultural familiarity with zones of potential military action, so that they are better accustomed to the language, terrain, climate, and broad cultural makeup of the theaters in which they are deployed. This comes as part of the U.S. military's new enchantment with "culture" and the exercise of "soft power," a means of avoiding the costly and messy outcomes of unleashing massive firepower without first enmeshing itself in local networks. Similar efforts are planned as part of the U.S.' new "Africa Command" (AFRICOM), launched this month as well. In addition, the Caribbean region is seeing the reconstitution of the U.S.' Fourth Fleet, a move seen as a threat by a number of governments in the hemisphere, including those of Brazil and Venezuela.

Captain Walt Towns, of the United States Navy and commanding officer of the USS Kearsarge, tries his hand on the steel pan at a welcoming ceremony for the ship and its contingent at the Arima Town Hall, Arima, on Monday, October 27, 2008.

With its obssession with the "global war on terror," and the sheer butchery visited on civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq on the part of American invaders and occupiers, it is disheartening -- to say the least -- to see Arima, and the Carib leader, play host to such forces without a hint of protest, or even simple questioning. It is also disappointing to see those in power turn culture into a playful showcase, forgetting the long role of culture as resistance to colonialism and imperialism. It makes one wonder about the name of the ruling party too -- the People's National Movement: Which people? What "nation" do you serve? What "movement"? And one must wonder why a nation in the middle of a petroleum and natural gas export boom, erecting one new skyscraper after another, suddenly needs a few Marines to come and treat local foot fungus and fill cavities.

Wake up.

For more see:

US ship to provide medical help
NEWSDAY, Tuesday, October 28 2008

US Marines in TT
NEWSDAY, Sunday, October 26 2008

News about Trinidad's Caribs and the State

In an article in Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday, "Carib leader snubs COP" (by Irene Medina, Wednesday, June 13, 2007), the following extract is worthy of note. It concerns the work of a government-appointed Amerindian Projects Committee, which was formally (re)instituted in September of 2006:

a Cabinet-appointed committee to look into issues affecting indigenous people, submitted its first draft report to the Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affair Joan Yuille-Williams for Cabinet’s consideration. The Committee, which is being chaired by Museum Curator Val Lewis is also looking into the issues of a public holiday for the Carib community next year and the issuance of a parcel of land. Lewis told Newsday: “We have made a number of recommendations that would improve the Carib communities generally throughout the country. Some of these include documenting the story of the Amerindians, immediate steps to protect archaeological sites and protection of medicinal herbs.” Lewis said talks have already been held with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) to identify the Caribs by name in the next census and that concerns were raised about the use of the Carib name as a product brand. He said three members of the Carib Community were on this committee and some major developments may be coming for the group.

Several elements of this story are noteworthy, some of which I have underlined in the passage above. The first has to do with the fact that the government appointed a museum curator to head the committee, which reflects the usual positioning of indigenous issues in Trinidad within the framework of history, archaeology, and the display of relics of a folk culture. This is not-so-subtle way for the government to suggest that indigeneity in Trinidad is shrouded in pastness, is not part of contemporary experience, and is to be managed by non-indigenous experts of the distant Amerindian past. The good news is that this is an orthodox position: for readers who may not be familiar with the writings of French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, orthodox views are articulated in defense of a position, precisely because that position is under question and open to contestation. In the absence of questioning, where domination proceeds unchallenged, there is no need to convert everyday assumptions into hardened ideology. That the existence of this orthodoxy--Caribs are relics of the past--has come into being reveals an unsteady state, and what is typical of unsteady states is moments of confusion and contradiction in official positions.

Thus, as if to contradict relegating Caribs to the dusty covers of history books, the article above tells us that now the Central Statistical Office may be planning to include a "Carib" category on the next census, something that seems to follow on the heels of an article published in this blog before the news above was made public (see: "Does Trinidad Recognize its Indigenous People?"). This is good news, and the effect of this inclusion may help to revolutionize the ways that Trinidadians self-identify.

What might seem more problematic is the notion presented in the article above that the government would improve the position of "Carib communities...throught the country": Who will do the identifying? What are the criteria they will use for indentifying these communities as "Carib communities"? What do they mean by community? What if persons who self-identify as Carib are not members of any kind of formal, identifiable structure that could be called a community? Indeed, it is arguable that were it not for the Mission, and the Santa Rosa Festival, there might not have been a Carib community in Arima itself, which is quite far from saying that, therefore, no self-identifying Caribs would have existed in Arima.

Also surprising is the news that a "public holiday" may now be established for the Caribs, something they have not requested. They have requested land, for decades now, and much further in the past as well, and there really is little excuse for not having granted any. What makes the ongoing stalling of a land grant all the more remarkable is that the head of the Carib Community, Ricardo Bharath Hernandez, is a devoted member of the ruling People's National Movement, which has been in power for most of Trinidad's history since Independence (coincidentally, to be commemorated on today's date). The article from which the extract above was taken is in fact primarily about Bharath refusing to attend a "heritage dinner" for indigenous people hosted by the opposition Congress of the People. As stated in the article:

“I would have gone in the interest of indigenous people but I felt it was inappropriate to attend that particular function in this, an election year. I did not want anyone to be unsure about where my allegiance is,” he said. Bharath-Hernandez added he was all for the development and upliftment of the indigenous people, but being a member of the PNM, felt attending wouldhave been a conflict of interest. He said he had written the COP declining the invitation.

One doubts that anyone will question Bharath's allegiance to the PNM. The question is whether the ruling party has shown sufficient reciprocal allegiance to the Caribs.

------

Carib Santa Rosa Festival 2007

Photo of the Carib section of the procession for the August 26, 2007, Santa Rosa Festival in Arima. Holding the banner is Cristo Adonis, and behind him is Ricardo Bharath Hernandez.

For last year's Santa Rosa Festival, I wrote one main essay on what transpired at the event, and I can say I will not be doing an encore. I wanted only to bring attention to some aspects that were salient to me, and once again I was fortunate to have listened to the complete proceedings over the Internet on I95.5 FM.

The proceedings for this year seemed to transpire at a rapid pace, and even the radio coverage was one hour shorter than last year's, with the radio announcer seemingly in a big hurry to get to the next program. The chief celebrant was the Papal Nuncio to the Antilles, which is an interesting choice given the degree of outrage expressed by indigenous persons across the Americas over the Pope's recent remarks that criticized indigenous religious revivals, while praising the purifying role of the Catholic Church. The main theme of this year's event appeared to be "social justice." The radio narrators themselves spoken solemnly, and quoted heavily from the mid-19th century text by L.A.A. De Verteuil, where he spoke of Santa Rosa festivals he had witnessed as a youth. The radio narrators were impressed with the degree of continuity, a comment unfortunately made right after a quote from De Verteuil that on this day the Amerindians would forget their servitude.

What was also striking is the amount of resources and organization invested by the Church in this event: a medical vehicle to follow the procession, police and marshals, water stations for those on the procession, and of course the media coverage itself, the giant flat screen used to convey the mass to those outside of the church, and so forth.

Also of interest to me is that the order of the procession has been changed in recent years. The Carib Community was once third in line, behind the acolytes, and behind the priests and members of the Arima Borough Council. Now only the acolytes lead, followed by the Carib Queen, followed by the Carib Community, then followed by the rest. Why this has changed is an interesting question, and one can speculate that past discussions, and critical comments, sometimes made in the presence of those connected to the church, could have had some impact.

For those interested in hearing the English language portion of Ricardo Bharath's very interesting prayer at the mass, please click here (opens a new window).

The website of the Santa Rosa Carib Community can be accessed by clicking here (also opens a new window).

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Lokono Prayer in Trinidad

A very simple video, a slideshow essentially, composed of audio recorded online from a live webcast via I 95.5 FM (Trinidad) and photographs posted online by an unnamed Trinidadian photographer at http://triniview.com. I am enchanted with this prayer and find the need to share it whenever I can.