Pudding Debate Divide Isand Nation

It is not the Cricket or politics that triggers the most burning debate in Antigua and Barbuda.

They are the ingredients of a beloved national dish.

The question of whether “Ducana”, a ball of sweet potato and coconut, must or should not contain raisins has divided local residents for decades.

The spicy pudding is one of the many food widely eaten in the Caribbean country that has its origin in Africa and has survived until today.

And its inclusion in a national inventory of cultural heritage that is currently being created seems to rekindle the jocular dispute.

The traditional ancient and Barbuda food is just an aspect of the current work to preserve the different characteristics of the twin islands for posterity.

The inventory will also include its unique dialect, Bush medicine, games, crafts, architecture and boat construction techniques.

The gigantic company, financed by the United Nations Cultural Agency, UNESCO, follows the concerns that key elements of the country’s cultural identity are being lost, explains the leader of the Dr. Handra Medica project.

“There is no longer the traditional transmission of knowledge of older people to younger people,” he tells the BBC.

“Without that, we begin to lose the meaning of who we are. External influences can dilute indigenous culture and people fear that what is peculiar will lose ancient.”

More than two dozen especially trained data collection have had the task of interviewing residents of each parish, collecting stories, photos and information. The results will be meticulously entered in a public access database.

The local author Joy Lawrence needed little breath to participate.

The books of the former school teacher are largely focused on the Creole/English dialect of the country that weaves in many African words of the ancient ancestors.

English can be the main language, but Patois, spoken at accelerated speed, is omnipresent and is routinely used to show kinship and camaraderie.

“When the British brought Africans here, they could not speak English and the British could not speak African languages. Because the Africans came from everywhere and spoke different languages, they could not even talk between them for the most part,” says Mrs. .

“To communicate, the Africans borrowed some vocabulary of the British and incorporated their own pronunciation and syntax to form something Pidgin. During generations, structure and grammar were perfected and developed.”

A couple of generations ago, the ancient dialect made fun and the children were forbidden to talk to him in school. There are still some who look at him by the nose today, Mrs. Lawrence mocks.

“Our ancestors worked hard to coin that language,” he says. “It is our first language; how can we not preserve what is ours? It is not a written language and we spend it in some way, but it has a rhythm and I am proud of it.”

The dialect is characterized by an “word economy” and scarce pronouns, continues.

“We do not lose the time to say ‘nothing at all’; we only say ‘tarl’. Instead of ‘come here’, we say ‘Cuyah’. And we never tell him or he; it is always her or him.”

In places like school and church, the dialect is used for “emphasis, clarity and reinforcement.” “Because we think about him,” adds Mrs. Lawrence.

Disagreements about the “correct” way of doing something is a reason for the decline of some cultural practices, Dr. Medica believes.

Variable methods of agitation “Fungee”, a cornmeal paste that also comes from the mother continent, and precisely what to add to it is another issue of friendly disputes.

“There is the idea that this is how it is done and should always be done. Sometimes younger people are disabled by not doing it” well. “

“In the workshops, we saw the ‘War of Fungee’. The ancients say that Okra should have, while the Barbudanes add peas, which caused them to gasp in a state of shock,” Dr. Medica smiles.

Novella Payne, who produces a variety of teas, sauces and condiments under his “Granma Aki” brand, learned everything he knows about his mother and grandmother, but adds his “own turn” to traditional recipes.

“The seasoning is what distinguishes old foods: garlic, onion, thyme and seasoned peppers,” he explains.

Many of Mrs. Payne’s creations have local medicinal plants, used for a long time to treat everything, from cough and fever to eruptions and nausea. So Course, Lemongrass, Noni and Moringa appear regularly in their syrups and juices.

“Our food is delicious, nutritious and should be kept because it is part of our culture and inheritance,” he adds.

The project recently began in the Sister Isle of Antigua, Barbuda, where Dwight Benjamin strives to keep the art of traditional broom manufacturing alive.

Mr. Benjamin uses palm leaves, which must be dried for two days, to create the bristles before weaving them in a stick made from a bay tree.

The techniques were transmitted by his grandfather and Benjamin, a profession of profession, is one of the few people he is still doing and selling the brooms.

He says they remain in great demand among Barbuda residents.

“It may be partial, but I find them more effective than the brooms bought in the store: you feel the difference when you use them. They also cover more land,” he says.

“It is no longer practiced widely, but it is something that we must appreciate and document. I hope my son picks it up.”

For Dr. Medica, the project still has a deeper importance.

“When we talk about culture in the Caribbean islands, we tend to forget the commitment to our colonial past and the impact of that. We are told that our history began when the Africans were brought here, projecting this notion that we arrived as empty vessels with There is no memory, “she says.

“The best thing about this work is the enormous evidence of African cultural retention. As a people, we can claim:” These are us. “

“In the dialect, when someone treats you unfairly, we tell me ‘smaddy (someone) too,” he adds. “And that is all this project; it is a personality claim.”