The annual Salaka Feast was re-enacted by the Pembroke Folk Performers on Monday as part of the Tobago Heritage Festival at the Pembroke Heritage Park.
For those unacquainted with the feast, it is an annual event and spiritual thanksgiving akin to Orisha.
The Salaka Feast is prominent on the calendar of event in Pembroke and it is a unique part of that community’s heritage. The Salaka Feast has its roots on the sugar plantations after emancipation when labourers came from the islands of smaller islands of the region to contribute to the development of Tobago’s economy.
The Grenadians who came are attributed to have first started the Feast. They also contribute more to the cultural landscape when they introduced keg drums and dances at the Congo Bele and Pique. The stage production was entitled Welcome to My Yard and tells the story about the recognition of the existence of the leaders of the old yards through their offspring as it depicts the feast in its entirety within the context of a village story.
Each leader tries to highlight the importance of his yard and prove which is he best and most important. Conflicts arise and the ancestors reveal that the order of the nations was set ages ago by the ancestors who gave the feast.
The thanksgiving festival consisting of a variety of foods, prepared for both the living and dead. It is believed that the spirits of the ancestors are present during the feast and they are offered saltless food. Various African tribes as the Yoruba, Koromanti, Ibo, Mandingo, Congo, Temne are represented. Invocation allows for possession by the ancestral spirit which in turn offer guidance and blessings are given.
Salaka is a celebration of both thanksgiving and knowledge. Knowledge of origin and identity. During the stage production a question and answer role play was enacted where one of the leaders sought to answer questions pertaining to the relevance of the feast and other rituals attributed to the event. One question was Why Celebrate Salaka. The leader responded by comparing people’s willingness to celebrate Christmas and other events as an act of tradition.
The Salaka Feast begins early in the morning at Pembroke with the summoning of the ancestors using rum and sweetwater that are sprinkled at the crossroads of the sacred grounds. This is accompanied with the sounds created by the blowing of conch shells, prayer and the sweeping of the sacred space with a cocoyea broom that made from the leaf splines of the coconut branch.
Drumming is used a an instrument to communicate with the spirits. Salaka is performed for the growth and reunification of the community.
George Leacock, executive chairman of the Tobago Festivals Commission, said the Pembroke Heritage Park is the only one of kind on the island. He challenged the Pembroke Folk Performers to make greater use of the facility and start by having monthly productions.
Shastri Boodan