Divali October 2011

   
Another week has passed and we have made four cultural trips.
Let me set the scene, it is the Hindu Festival of Divali-Light– and for two weeks preparations have been ongoing for the longest night which coincides with the new moon.  First we went to an entertainment evening at which there were Indian clothes ,food, and music.  Accompanying this was some information for visitors on the Hindu Religion how it is the OLDEST in the world and how Hindus should live their lives.  There isn’t one ’GOD’ but quite a few deities which are called on for special occasions (when you are poor, getting married, need some good luck, and so on).  Basically the theme is to live a good life and be nice to those around you and the environment.  So Divali is a celebration of light and it invites the deities into the home to bring prosperity or whatever.
  Our driver Lincoln, helped us to integrate and showed us where the dancing and singing were to take place.  Once in our seats we had a great view of the stage.  The dances were spectacular.  The ancient songs were given a new lease of life by being sung by the current pop stars in town.  To top it all the President of Trinidad & Tobago was welcomed, with his security detail and entourage to give a greeting and pep talk to the audience.  All over the site were people in costume who were performing folk plays and others making music with steel drums.  The current state of emergency meant that we had to leave quite early but it went on ‘til late.  More people were just arriving as we left.

The next event was on the night of Divali and Jesse took us to his local temple and arranged for his ‘priest’ to tell us about the festivities.  We were entertained by the loudest drum players ever.  We were then served with a traditional Divali meal on a banana leaf and it was delicious.  We then walked the streets to view the lights.  The photos in Picasa show little bowls filled with cooking oil and string to make a wick, these lead to the front door to guide the spirits in. The family sit at the gate and offer anyone passing little biscuits, sweets, maybe a drink or a small dish of their food.  We were told to accept anything offered as it would cause offence if we refused.  We were invited into one house for a drink and a bite to eat. The family told us that if it were not for the curfew there would have been firecrackers and fireworks too.  In short it is rather like Christmas lights and firework night rolled into one!