LEFT: Embau Moheni, Jawara Mobota, Aiyegoro Ome and Mr. Nyahuma Obika
TriniView.com Reporters
Event Date: April 04, 2007
Posted: April 07, 2007
The National Action Cultural Committee held a press conference at the NJAC headquarters on Duke Street, Port of Spain on Wednesday 4th April, 2007, to bring to the public's awareness some of the activities that would be taking place this year to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade and to explain the significance of these activities.
Aiyegoro Ome, president of NJAC and chairman of NACC began by stating that NJAC held its first commemorative activity on the 1st of April which was a concert in remembrance of ancestors who struggled against slavery. According to him, it was a very successful event which would be repeated in Tobago at a date to be announced.
Ome also advised the media to look forward to other events that the NACC would be hosting this year, one of which is a ceremonial wake and burial for the departed ancestors: those who died during the middle passage, on the plantations and during battles for their freedom. According to Ome this is necessary because those who died were not properly buried. This activity would be followed by a cultural show dedicated to them about the African spiritual experience.
Executive member of NJAC and attorney-at-law, Jawara Mobota emphasized that the ancestors were not properly buried or not buried at all. Some were dumped overboard or killed on plantations and without observance of burial rites. Mobota stressed that the living, the dead and the ancestors all work for the good of mankind and thus it is important to pay homage to our ancestors and ensure that they are properly put to rest. If not, their unrest could affect our day to day existence. He also explained that the burial and wake are central to African traditions from Egypt to Nigeria.
Mobota claimed that folks brought to the Caribbean and to the Americas were the cream of African society which included philosophers, builders, kings and queens and thus, these people presently are a spiritual force that has not been untapped fully. Some remnants of the 'spiritual force' have been exemplified by persons such as Brian Lara according to the attorney-at-law.
Jawara Mobota also explained that the human being is an entity that is evolving to perfection and the rituals that NACC would perform would assist them in their aim to perfection. He lastly said that he looks forward to the participation of all different religious groups in Trinidad and Tobago and hopes the exercise is copied and continued by the rest of the Caribbean.
Nyahuma Obika, president of the Caribbean Historical Society expressed that as far as the CHS is concerned, this exercise is important in highlighting the experiences of African people throughout the diaspora. He said that the transatlantic slave trade spanned four continents and went on for over five centuries and that one of the downfalls of this process is that we know little of each other. Mr. Obika went on to say that despite the fact a limited amount of us have been able to go to universities, there is still a disconnect between us. Thus, the CHS plans to document the effort of our freedom fighters so that we can share common ground based on this history. This document would thus be extremely important and would bring us face to face with the epic battles that we have had the world over. It would also highlight the fight against the slave trade and slavery which took place on an international level. He lastly stated that it would be a challenge to document all the heroes in the struggle but that it was long overdue and critical as an educational tool. In due course, the public would be informed about the ancestors we would be paying homage to.
Embau Moheni, the chairman of Tobago Cultural Committee, executive member of NJAC and head of the Tobago arm of NJAC intimated that it is important and necessary that Tobago is involved in the exercise. Tobago has had a similar experience to what had happened in Trinidad and the rest of the Caribbean although it has had its own peculiarities that made the situation a bit unique. This does not mean that they would not participate in the Trinidad experience, he remarked, but it is still important for them to tell their own story.
Aiyegoro Ome ended the conference by promising that frequent announcements would be made about these events and made a call for organized drummers to contact them to participate in the occasions. The numbers are 868-627-1625 and 868-623-5470.
NACC's Press Conference in pictures:
www.triniview.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=167313
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