Day 43 - Garifuna is great

28th February, 2009

After leaving the island paradise of Tobacco Kaye, we headed back to the mainland to the town of Dangriga, where we met Munch and friends a few days previous. We went to pick up Herbie from Munch's Grandma's house when we were invited to hang with his friends in their yard. We met some interesting Garifuna characters, including an older chap who was one of the members of the Original Turtle Shell Band, and a host of other musicians and local folk. We found out where to get things done in town, and learned of a musical performance the following evening.

Having such a foot in the door with these people it made sense to stick around and experience as much as this culture as we could. That afternoon we ventured to a place where the drums used in Garifuna music are made by the legendary drum maker Austin Rodriguez. He had a workshop in a small corner of town, carving the cylindrical shaped drums from Mahogany. These days they use a chainsaw, and so can make several sized drums from a single trunk segment, but in times-past the process was achieved using a hammer, chisel, fire and elbow geese! Holes are made in top & bottom for the string that is used to tighten an animal skin placed around a vine till tuned. The process was fascinating to watch, and the people friendly and willing to tell their history. We shared the experience with a lovely American couple we stayed with on the island with whom we also shared the boat ride back.

The drum maker carving the rough shape from mahogany with a chainsaw.

That evening Lukas played football with the locals again, while I just watched due to injuries sustained playing on the thin sand back on the island.

The following morning we had arranged through Munch to visit a local lady, Naomi, who made the traditional Cassava bread using techniques bought over by the people from Africa originally many generations ago. Little has changed in the technique which consisted of peeling the and washing roots (with which I helped), these are then ground down by electric pulper (the only modern influence) and stuffed into a large snake-like weave tube.

Me helping with the peeling & washing of the roots. Hard work!

The tube is hung from a tree and weighted down, allowing the moisture from with to strain, and collect in a bucket below (the product of which can be used to make porridge). Once strained it is removed and dried, before being baked on a large hotplate on a log-burning clay stove. The process was fascinating to watch.

Naomi baking the bread over the clay slove

In the afternoon we took Herbie to get repaired (after I reversed her into a shin-high wall several weeks earlier) at a local car yard. They seemed to mostly work on large trucks, but the body work required was simple; just the bumper support arm needed straightening out again. Herbie is much happier for it :) She gets a lot of attention here in Belize - the only Beetle we've seen on the roads here; everyone waves as we pass through towns and small children shout "Herbie". We've even had people try to buy it off us!

Herbie's bumper getting a well deserved mend from the friendly guys at the repair yard.

In the evening we had our invite to the local football team fundraiser performance by Rastaban and the other aged legends of Garifuna drum music in town. We arrived early and were invited into the back room of the Roxy Bar (owned & run by a guy named Stumpy) Here we chilled with the artists before the performance, chatting and getting to know them better. We got to see them preparing the instruments, including the drums (of different sizes for differing tone), maracas made from a fruit & beads, and the turtle shells (actual turtle shells hung from rope around the neck and struck with sticks to create tone). The performance was great, a real honour to see!

Two drums (lead & bass), maracas and turtles shells.