Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.
The quintessential role the drum plays in just about every aspect of the sister isles’ custom and culture has now been documented to further remind the natives of its importance and for the sound that it makes, to echo in the ear of those in the region and internationally.
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The information is now smartly documented in a book entitled, “Carriacou, the Power of the Drums,” authored by Mrs. Lorin Alexander.
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Most appropriately, the book was unveiled to the public during the Strings in the City event, as part of the Maroon Festival on Saturday.
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Mrs. Alexander said that she was inspired to pen the book as she recaptured the memories of dancing with her grandmother from the age of three. “She instilled in me the importance of our culture and I started to learn the dance by just looking at the movements of her feet,” said Mrs. Alexander, who is from the Big Drum community of Harvey-Vale.
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As a teenager, she joined the Christine David-founded Carriacou Carib Organization, and when she became a mother, she immediately got her daughter involved in dancing.
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—Mrs. Alexander, who holds a management position at the St George’s branch of the TA Marryshow Community College, said that a couple of years ago, a group from Canada visited the institution.
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During their visit, she pointed out, it dawned on her that there wasn’t any documentation of the culture of the drums. “I was then convinced that it was time for me to commence writing an essay and went further, which ended up in a full book. Without the drums we would not have; Cutting of the dada hair, Tombstone Feast, Saraka, Invoking our ancestors. People need to understand and appreciate how important the drums are in the life of our culture. Without the drums, our customs would be watered-down,” she added.
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According to her, the launch was planned to coincide with the Maroon Festival, as it’s an event that encompasses every aspect of our culture, with the drums as the centerpiece.
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The 70-page book is decorated with some very striking and colorful pictures.
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It is the desire of the educator that the book would land on the nation’s school curriculum.
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“I will be taking a copy to the ministries of education and culture for them to better appreciate the content of the book and what it means, not only to Carriacou and Petite Martinique but the country as a whole. And I hope they would see it as an important supplementary resource for our students. It is written for students from grade five upwards as well as for the locals and tourists. This book can easily find its way to many different target audiences,” said Mrs. Alexander.
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The book, she said, took about a year to be completed. Although this is her first attempt, Mrs. Alexander assured that it would not be her last.
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She has distributed copies to the various schools on the island. The book is available at the Alexis Food Stores, Grenada Tourism Office, Carriacou Historical Society, and online.
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“The sale on Amazon is going well, and I’m very grateful for this,” added Mrs. Alexander. She was in high praise of her colleague at TAMCC, Ms. Andrea McCleod, for supplying most of the photographs for the book.
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