Keeping a Culture Alive Through Drumming and Dancing

The weekend of November 11-12 of 2011 was not an ordinary weekend in Punta Gorda, Belize.  The 6^th Battle of the Drums, hosted in said town, brought people from all over Belize –and even from Honduras and Guatemala – to witness the biggest Garifuna competition in all Central America.

The Battle of the Drums was created October 2006 out of a desire to revive and promote various aspects of the Garifuna culture in Punta Gorda Town particularly.  Such cultural aspects include the Garifuna drumming, singing, and dance – the categories in which the participating groups are scored.

What’s interesting about the Battle of the Drums is that it is not just a competition, it is a very rich cultural even that reunites all Garinagu, locals, and even tourist, in what can be considered as the pre-event of the Garifuna Settlement Celebration on the 19^th of November.

Day One – The Food Feast

Badau - A stew with plantains, fish, conch, and lobster.

The first day of the Battle of the Drums is all about the food. It showcases Garifuna Cuisine fused with contemporary cooking styles, dishes and menus.

I admit the Garifuna Cuisine is low on my gastronomic list as I don’t eat seafood and nearly all Garifuna dishes are prepared with fish, conch, or lobster.  But, was I just going to stand there and eat nothing?!  Nuh-uh.  I made the point of at least trying a bit of every dish they served: Badau, Lobster and Conch Fritters, Darasa, Sohol, Bola, and a few more.  I know, those names sound as strange as I though they would taste, but to my surprise, many of them did taste delicious! (my favorites being the Lobster Fritters and Sohol).

Bola - Made out of bread and molasses

Part of the night’s entertainment included local Garifuna singers and bands, including the legendary Paul Nabor –The King of Paranda– and Nuru Ellis, who I consider like the Garifuna Ricky Martin.  (See clips of both singers in the video)

Paul Nabor - The King of Paranda

Day Two – The Battle

The second night is when the actual battle is performed.  This year, eight groups from Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala battled each other to “prove” who’s the best at performing their true cultural rituals.

Round one - Lebeha Drummers from Hopkins, Belize (left) against Grupo Huchelo from Baja Mar, Honduras (right)

During the first round, two groups step on the stage at the same time.  While one group performs the Paranda drumming and dances the Punta, the other group watches – and viceversa.

Now, the second round is the most interesting.  This time only one group is on stage performing for a maximum of 6 minutes (one thing you should know, a Garifuna song can go for over 30 minutes!).  The performance has two parts: first is the Chumba, where a group member dances with movements that represent daily life activities (rowing, harvesting, pain, praying, etc); then goes the Wanaragua dance, also known as John Canoe (Jonkunu) dance, where a masked dancer representing a “white man” challenges the band of drummers with a series of fast movements.

Drummers playing the "primero" and "segundo" drums.

Lebeha Drummers Wanaragua Dancer against the competing group.

What’s interesting in the relationship between the Garifuna dance and music is that the rhythm follows the dancer, not the other way as in most dance styles.

The biggest challenge in the second round is the Wanaragua dance, since the Wanaragua dancer is from a competing group, not the one drumming on stage.  So, the dancer will make everything possible to make his movements hard to follow by the drummers and singers.  The video below is of this year’s winning group.  This is the Chumba and Wanaragua of Lebeha Drummers from Hopkins, Belize.

To me this was my favorite part of the competition since there is where you see the beauty, synchronicity, and passion that the Garifuna culture still holds.

The bar has been raised for next years contestants.

Lebeha Drummers Wanaragua dancer, Lionel Thompson - Winner of best Wanaragua dancer