by Suelin Low Chew Tung
Last month, Feleisha Sushane Taylor Harris from Antigua and Barbuda — by way of Jamaica — and Abigail Jeremiah from Grenada produced an authentic Caribbean experience at Central China Normal University’s 2023 Cultural Festival, Wuhan, Hubei Province.
On 1 June, via WeChat, Taylor Harris and I discussed what 2 determined young Caribbean women achieved at the cultural festival. Working within time, budget and workforce limitations and against other national groups with over 20 members, this 2-woman team produced a good sampling of Caribbean carnival based on the region’s cultures and the 3 island nations. The power of determined Caribbean women cannot be discounted.
Taylor Harris has been in China for almost 4 years, pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economic Trade. She arrived in Wuhan just as Covid-19 hit, and she said she is happy to be here still as China reopened and the light has been let back in.
She and Jeremiah created a stunning J’ouvert morning carnival experience for fellow students and the public in Wuhan. “We wanted to create a fusion of the Caribbean experience, to give a taste of the melting pot of the Caribbean,” Taylor Harris said. She appreciated the opportunity to showcase Caribbean culture and the connection of carnival celebrations to enslavement.
Taylor Harris’ concept to showcase regional heritage, was because she observed that many Chinese people were unaware of the history of slavery in the region, and either think Caribbean people are American because of our geographic proximity to the US mainland or that they are African.
She constantly educates that though Caribbean people have roots in Africa, the Caribbean identity is different as we have survived the horrors of enslavement. Carnival is a celebration of that emancipation. “It was needed to be able to explain our way of life, the whole dynamic of us. I found it very important that it needed to be displayed in a correct way,” she said.
Their carnival event included installations, food, music and street performance. Life-size cutouts of the region’s famous people like Bob Marley, Vivian Richards, and the Antiguan Prime Minister and his family in traditional outfits provided good learning and photo opportunities.
Harris showcased Caribbean food culture with Antiguan Ducana (similar to a Grenadian conkie or Trinidad payme), sweet potato, green banana, breadfruit, curry chicken stew, jerk chicken, rice and peas, salt fish and yam. Grenada was well represented by its national dish, Oil Down, made with breadfruit from a Wuhan vendor with a tree in his yard, plus spice bags filled with nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaf and clove. All this food needed liquid to wash it down, and the ladies supplied a small bar: sorrel, tambran (tamarind), ginger ale, coconut juice, carrot juice, and rum punch made with island rums.
Soca songs relevant to history and carnival were carefully curated: Antigua Nice by El-A-Kru; Yaksta’s Oil Eh Dung (Oil It Down), and Machel Montano’s Famalay. Closing the performance, coloured flares spotlighted Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. Carnival performers included Walking Stick, Maka/Moko Jumbie and her handmade costume and float showcasing Caricom community and member flags. A Grenada Jab Jab was also on display.
She was stunned when several Caribbean visitors accepted her request for help on the event day, donning yellow T-shirts and becoming part of the procession, providing onlookers with the atmosphere of a Caribbean carnival festival. “They jumped in to help. The Caribbean visitors helped make a beautiful Caribbean experience in the end,” she said.
Taylor Harris opined she is always happy to have platforms to showcase the region’s dynamism and encourages people to travel to the region, “because tourism is our main industry, and we need to increase people just knowing about the Caribbean as a whole.” She said, “It was really, really amazing, and I’m very proud and very patriotic to the fact that I pulled it off, because there were only 2 Caribbean persons in my school. I am very proud of the after-effects that it had.”
Grenada’s Jeremiah said, “Our group represents the togetherness of our people “one people one Caribbean, one country.”
Their hard work paid off. Taylor Harris and Jeremiah were awarded Best Display, and Chinese magazines and media, and individual social media featured their event. Harris said, “The Caribbean is such a diverse and beautiful place, and even though I am a student, in my own small way, I can be an ambassador for the region. Wi likkle but wi tallawah!” (We are small, but we are strong!)
Suelin is visiting Beijing, hosted by China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC), to report on China with a Grenadian view.
