The Warao community is gearing up for a week of activities from October 13 to 19, aimed at preserving the history of early settlers.
The vibrant community, still present in areas such as Arima, Central, and San Fernando, is joining forces through their San Fernando and Siparia committees to host events that embody the principles of the Warao people. The organisers of this event include Head of the Warao Community Shaman Rauold Simon, interim secretary Rochelle Antoine, and calypsonian/artist elder Nerukhi Ato Osei, who is the event coordinator.
Activities will take place in the San Fernando North Community Centre auditorium.
The week-long event will feature workshops, crafts, locally produced foods, music, herbal medicines, and insights into the history of the Warao people. Shaman Simon emphasised the importance of timing for these events in light of current global issues.
“We are looking at environmental protection; the ancestors asked us to change the environment; what it used to be is being destroyed. We are looking at the lack of respect for the rivers and trees. We would have an environmentalist make a presentation,” he stated.
“The Warao language had become extinct. We are rebuilding the culture; this has been destroyed and it was taken away from us. So we are seeking to bring it back. If we have people doing the right things, we would have a balance, and that would eliminate many of the problems we have today.”
The group aims to highlight the origins of the Warao people, who originally hail from Venezuela, and to position themselves as catalysts for environmental and social change.
Antoine elaborated on this mission, saying, “It is not to force people to appreciate the Indigenous people, but what cultures bring, a wider knowledge to the forefront, and appreciate everything indigenous.”
Cassiqua Donna Bermudez Bovell, the head of the Warao South Trinidad region and UN Ambassador of Peace, will be a guest speaker at the event. Environmentalist Katrina Khan-Roberts will launch two books, The Meeting and Anaparima/Mermaids, as further contributing to the celebration of Warao culture and their ongoing efforts to revive indigenous traditions.