Our St. Patrick's Day

When one thinks of heritage words that come to mind are: inheritance, birthright, custom or tradition. Today our national holiday is a day that we Montserratians cannot help but think of our Irish heritage which dates back to 1630; when the Irish Catholics came from nearby St. Kitts to colonize Montserrat. Other Irish settlers came directly from Ireland and Virgina, USA.

In terms of our heritage we have struggled. In 1768 the slaves tried to free themselves and met with tremendous adversity. The slaves’ efforts to gain freedom will not be forgotten and the spirit of our ancestors still prevails in all Montserratians and as such is the essence and the foundation of our celebration. The parallel is that we the people of Montserrat have today come to terms with the past; as we now struggle with a virulent volcano.

Traditions of our Irish past were preserved in many ways, for example:

1. Places/villages – such as St. Patrick’s, Rileys Corkhill, Kinsale, Farrells, Banks, Sweeney’s,  Estates; Gages Estate, Farrell’s
2. Estates – Galways, Blakes.
3. Names of mountains – Reids Hill, Hodges Hill
4. Shorelines – Carrs Bay, Bransby Point, Trant’s Bay
5. Surnames – Daly, Galaway, Sweeny, Harris, OBrien, Allen, Ryan, Roach, Tuitt, Osborne
6. Food – our national dish; goat water.
7. Names of folk songs
8. In our distinctive passport stamp – the shamrock.
9. In our social graces; for example we still never pass someone on the street without speaking to them.

Today we will make a special effort to literally connect the past to the present by serving Irish dishes: stew yard fowl, duckna, salt fish and johnny bakes, mackerel, goat water, pig feet souse, cassava, stewed pigeon peas and dumplings. We will be visiting homes, writing poetry, reconstructing slave huts as we dance with “an infectious syncopating rhythm.”  We will be drinking bush tea, wearing our National Dress, exhibiting local arts and crafts, engaging in folk rituals and singing with a spirit of self-determination and celebrating our freedoms. St. Patrick’s Day would not be completed without the ritual dances of the Masquarades. “The Masquarades are the richest expression of African folk art.” Today we honor the past in a new idea is being considered, to dedicate this time of year to heroes and Montserratians who have done great and useful service to the country.

We can still abandon us in our hearts yet we choose to live with Montserrat in our natures. We are living, eating and drinking history every day.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day 

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Goat Water

Goat water is the national dish of Montserrat. We make it all year round but especially at Christmas time. I remember how we made it .

Does anyone remember the tin that those long sausages use to come in? We used this tin as a pot and we called it tin-in. There was always a covered shack  it had no walls only posts – that had a few shelves and a table where we would cook.

I can see the tin (tin-in) perched on three rocks outside with the cusha (acacia) wood under each part of the stones. On the side is one of those big pots with its bottom black as the Ace of Spades with some fresh meat from a goat killed a few minutes ago. In the covered area was always a table with thyme (herbs/ubs) seasoning pepper, Season All, onions, cloves, bird pepper (bud pepper), flour and a long iron spoon.

Once the water boils the tin-in, Mama (my maternal grandmother) would throw in the meat with the onion, thyme and salt to boil until the meat is cook. This process would take an hour.

Close by I would smell the bread baking in the rock oven. I would smell the cusha wood burning. It was something about the smell of the burnt wood, the air flow under the tin-in. There was a distinct atmosphere outside; there would always be thin blue smoke and the aroma of the meat cooking appealed to your senses. It made for a mouth watering dish of delicious broth which we called goat water.

I know this is not Christmas and the masquerades are not performing but get me the kettle drum, the sticks, the fife, the whip, the boom pipe, a shack shack (maracas), cart whips and some dancers because I am feeling the spirit and I have the rhythm.

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