JabJab

Yesterday was a busy day, as always. We started off the day with class again and then walked down to try to go to the market again (like we have tried to go the past few days). But, once again, we never made our way there because lunch took a little longer than expected. A group of us stopped at “Good Food” along the way to get what they called “roti.” The roti was a bread wrap with chicken and potatoes in it. I’m not going to lie, I’m getting a little tired of eating curried chicken and starches, but it was very delicious paired with a cup of fresh passion fruit juice. The only thing that was a little strange was that the chicken was still on the bone, but it was in the middle of the wrap. So while I was eating I had to take out chicken wings and eat it which was pretty bizarre to me. We didn’t have enough time to go to the market again so we just went back to the Inn and departed to visit a spice manufacturer right down the road.

We walked a few minutes the opposite way from town and were brought into a nice, air-conditioned room (a very rare experience in itself). The same man that had come to talk to us the first day of class, known as Cakes, met us to talk to us about his organic medical product line that he produces here in Grenada. He showed us his most popular item, called Nut-Med, which is a natural substance made of netmeg and other local products used to relieve pain (kind of like icy-hot). He really stressed the importance of the local ingredients in his products and how Grenada is full of herbs and plants that provide natural cures to medical issues. I was a little skeptical at first, but at the end of the session I had someone spray some of the Nut-Med on my lower back which has been bothering me since being here. I could actually feel the muscles in my back relaxing and it was almost like a tingly sensation. I can now say that I am more of a believer that natural ingredients can cure things that are synthetically produced in countries like the US.

To add on to his product line, he also talked about a variety of other natural ingredients that anyone can use to cure things such as strokes, cancers, and gallstones. He told us how just putting a cluster of nutmeg under a stroke victims tongue will help relieve their symptoms; the natural oils released from the nutmeg will clear blockages from the brain. I was blown away by some of the research he was explaining that proved that his natural remedies actually had some merit which is why his products are now available worldwide. I think we were all wondering why natural cures for things like cancers wouldn’t make huge headline news in the US, but he told us that most of the big pharmaceutical companies would never want to hear that natural cures are possible. They would lose a lot of money if they discovered that anyone could have access to these cures. I’m sure there is more to the story than his perspective, but to think that this might have a bit of truth is really disheartening and just sad that we would sacrifice human lives just for profit.

After leaving Cakes, we walked back to the Inn and got ready for the night. We were picked up in the van by Krumah and first brought up to an old plantation to admire some of the scenery of Grenada. We stopped to take in the landscape of a gorgeous lake called Lake Eerie (not to be confused with the one in America) and to admire the ocean from up top. Krumah led us to find some mangos, which were so delicious and fresh. I still find it to be crazy that at any time we can instantly pick fruit right from the tree to eat.

Our next stop was to the Rivers Rum company. Rivers is a type of rum that is unique to Grenada. We have all tried it at one point and it’s known to be extremely strong (about 70% alcohol) but it magically never gives you a hangover (or so they say). Right when we pulled up to the place it smelled very strongly of alcohol. The plant was really not close to many things nearby, but was hundreds of years old. Grenadians take great pride in their Rivers Rum so we were all excited to see how they produced it. We had a tour guide take us around the plant to explain the various processes. They had the oldest working water-run mill there, and we saw how sugar canes were smashed and natural sugar was extracted that helped organically sweeten the rum. He even let us all try a piece of the sugar cane which surprisingly wasn’t as yummy as I would have imagined. There were huge vats of bubbling and fermenting alcohol kept in large, open baths. I was a little surprised to see that they weren’t as clean as a liquor company would be in America, which is probably why they would never be able to sell their rum in the States just based on health codes.

Then we go back in the truck and were driven to another scenic place near the ocean. We took some time to stop and walk along the rocks and take pictures. We stayed there until it started to downpour, a very common thing here. Apparently we are in the rainy season right now so at any given time there will be a heavy downpour for about 5 minutes before it gets sunny again.

After staying at the beach for awhile we were transported to the Tamboo Bamboo session. At one point in Grenada’s history drums were actually outlawed because they were associated with crime. So, much like how the Americans found a way around Prohibition, the Grenadian’s way of dealing with the situation had to do with taking large stalks of bamboo and slamming them against the ground to sound like drums. We drove up a large hill into someone’s back yard and were greeted by a group of young and old Grenadians who had different sized bamboo sticks. There was even the founder there who was a woman around 90 years old, still playing! We watched them perform a few songs for the crowd while other people in the neighborhood joined in to watch as well. I was so impressed by the sound that the bamboo stalks made against the ground; they actually sounded like drums. It was so creative and the rhythms sounded very similar to ones we heard at Tivoli.

After a few songs we stopped to ask questions and a little girl came over to say hello to me. She grabbed Karla and I by the hands and led us to a pack of children off to the side. Karla and I decided to form a little dance circle with all of the kids, inviting them to go into the circle to dance. It’s funny how even small children pick up the dance culture so quickly here. They were not shy at all to get in the middle and were absolutely adorable (except for the one who kept slapping me). I think that it was really the first time we interacted with the locals to a really large extent. Girls that were older came and talked to us as well, so it was exciting to dance and laugh with Grenadians in a more laid-back and impromptu setting.

As we left, a few of the girls were really sad to see us go and the boys ran after our truck, clinging on to the back for awhile. Eventually they let go and we made our way to the evening “lime” or “happy hour” in Grenadian lingo. We actually returned to the site, Moon Light City, where the reggae concert was at a week ago. It was a nice time to relax and just dance to the music with everyone in our group. We also got to meet a few locals who taught us a few moves (although I have to say, my dancing is getting pretty awesome by this point). It was a great social event that wrapped up our long and busy day.

Today we had more class and then Cassie and I decided to go on a little adventure during lunch. A few people had expressed interest in going river tubing while we are in Grenville, so I took the initiative to try to plan the trip for our group. We had heard that it was only five minutes down the street, so we started walking the direction we thought it was; however, we quickly realized that we would have to ask for directions. Two women told us that we would need to take a bus to get there so we just agreed and followed what they said. We got on a bus and were dropped off five minutes down the road to a little shack with a small sign indicating that it was river tubing. I talked with the guy for a little, and long story short I was able to successfully plan a river tubing trip for tomorrow morning! We even figured out how to catch the bus back, which I was pretty proud of, and I happily sat next to five crates of mangos the whole time.

Once we returned, Urias came to visit us to share some of his story-telling skills. We all sat in a circle and he began the session with a few exercises like telephone and making up a story as you go along. It was a really fun way to get into the experience and then he dove right into the story-telling itself. We all were captivated by the way that he was speaking. I realized that it’s been awhile since someone told me a story in that way. It brought me back to my childhood. Urias explained that he wanted to try to keep the oral tradition alive with his story-telling, but children in Grenada these days would much rather sit and watch TV. It’s very sad to think that even in a country like Grenada which seems to have a very strong culture, the children are still getting lazy and becoming less interested in cultural tradition. We’ve actually heard this from a number of people on the island.

After the story telling session we changed and met the van to travel to the JabJab session. I don’t think any of us were really aware of what exactly JabJab was so we went into it with an open mind. Once we were off the bus we realized we were again in the middle of a village where a few older men were in the process of rubbing black paint onto one another. We stood as a group and watched in curiosity at these men who were starting to sport ridiculous props like live snakes and bottles lit on fire. The whole community was around watching us, some even taking videos of us as if we were the tourist attraction. It made me feel uncomfortable at times and made me think twice about what it might be like for them when we take pictures of them without their consent. Once the men were all in costume and completely black in paint, they paraded around the street with drums and conch shells, singing and chanting. They stopped for awhile and danced a bit and soon after they began to tell raunchy jokes in their songs.

To see a video of their performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJOIHMd_pXQ&feature=youtu.be

We learned that the JabJab group is one masquerade group that dresses in black paint as a symbol of resistance to slave owners. They felt like if they were to be discriminated against based on their skin then they might as well go all the way and become black as night. Groups like this were used to start rebellion in times when there was discrimination, so the concept of the group was deeply rooted in history. At the end of their performance they let some of us try out the drums and make up our own jokes to be part of their act if we wanted. All in all it was a very unique experience that provided just a little more insight into Grenadian culture and history.