When James Fenimore
Coooper penned “The Last of the Mohicans”, he said this:
“…there was no
recess of the woods so dark, nor any secret place so lovely, that it might
claim exemption from the inroads of those who had pledged their blood…to uphold
the cold and selfish policy of the distant monarchs of Europe..”
While he was writing of the exploit by Europeans of north american Indians,
his words could equally apply to the history of the Kalinago Indians of
Dominica. They are the last surviving descendants of the native peoples that
made their way from South American up the island chain of the Caribbean,
settling in islands as far north as the Bahamas. In our travels throughout the
islands over the years, we heard time and time again about these original inhabitants, typically referred to as the Caribs. Until we got
to Dominica, we assumed they were a long
extinct sect. We were wrong.
Christopher Columbus and his 17 ships made his 1494 second
voyage to the new world, and he and his crews were the first whites to lay eyes
on Dominica. They never touched its soil due to the rocky bottom of the
shoreline. Later Spanish expeditions
did, however, and immediately laid waste to the population they encountered.
Those they did not kill with flu and small pox, they killed for their refusal
to allow exploitation.
These "Caribs" were in fact the Kalinago, and they did not go easily into the night. They were
warfaring and territorial and while some assimilated, most
refused and rebelled violently. Spain decided that obliteration was appropriate.
They massacred hundreds on a site whose
town is to this day known as Massacre.
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| A mural on a building in the town of Massacre ,depicting the event |
The Spanish and later French invaders could
not eliminate the Kalinago, however, because the remaining Kalinago had retreated to the verdant rain forested
mountains where their would-be exploiters dared not venture and where they continued
to perpetuate their unique culture.
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| Inside the Kalinago territory |
Finally, in 1904, England, who by then had control of
Dominica, gave to the Kalinago their own territory, consisting of 3700 acres on
the west coast. Today, it is home to the last 3000 of these native peoples, who
continue to foster their heritage, including building boats of remarkable
workmanship. We had the good fortune of
accompanying our guide, Charlie, into the heartland of the Kalinago, where we
learned of their history and shared a taste of their rich bounty.
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| The Kalinago infuse their rum with...everything around them |
