Guyanese were fully clothed during their emancipation festivities
As the society continues to debate the “feathers and flesh” that were on display at the recently concluded emancipation festivities, some officials have signalled that the BVI could learn from the Guyanese, who were fully clothed during their Emancipation celebrations.
The officials who lauded Guyana’s celebrations were part of the recent trade mission to that country. While there, they were caught in Guyana’s emancipation celebration and are now stating that those festivities were wholesome and worthy of imitation by anyone wishing to commemorate the true meaning of emancipation.
CEO of BVI Finance, Elise Donovan, who described herself as a pan-Africanist, stated that she admired the African-inspired apparel that the Guyanese donned for the celebrations.
“To the crowd of people and families all attired in regal African wear to celebrate emancipation from slavery, I was so proud and so inspired,” Donovan stated.
Guyana is a country with diverse ethnicities, with people from various aboriginal groups, as well as those with Indian and African backgrounds. Despite the rich diversity, Junior Minister for Agriculture & Fisheries Karl Dawson said he was proud to see persons from the different ethnicities celebrating the emancipation festivities, which honours Africans who fought for slavery to end.
“My knowledge of the history and demographic of Guyana is that it is made up of Africans, Indians and there’s also persons who descended from the Amerindians. And when I saw persons of all races and backgrounds celebrating the emancipation of Africans (who were enslaved), and decked out in African apparel, that was one of the most moving things for me to show that unity is possible,” Dawson expressed.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Financial Services, Trade and Labour, Petrona Davies, who was also part of the delegation to Guyana, said while nothing is wrong with the carnival elements of BVI’s emancipation festival, more can be done to reinforce the true meaning of the celebrations in the territory.
Some sections of the society have been shunning the skimpy outfits and conduct of revellers who attended the BVI’s emancipation celebrations. At the same time, others are holding that people should be free to dress and gyrate as they wish, as freedom is the essential theme of the yearly emancipation festivities.
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No one condones lawlessness anywhere for festival but one must ask which part of the celebration they saw because it wasn’t the entire one most witnessed in Guyana even moreso at the other events.
Beautiful and elegant, these Daughters of the soil. Blessings!
I need FLESH to celebrate my emancipation from slavery.
IT WASN’T THE INDIGENOUS BVISLANDERS….IT WERE THOSE WITH OUTSIDE PARENTAGE
Were you there? There is generally no vulgarity in emancipation celebrations in Guyana. We have another festival in February called Mashramani. Where what u expected to see takes place.
Dese ppl should run ayo for the terrible treatment of dem nationals…y’all known for not treating caribbean national nice in the BVi…Now y’all wanna be in ppl Caribbean Country…I surprise these ppl don’t run ayo…but then again they probably don’t know how y’all be treating the down island pppl…
Omg this is a day out of the celebration, that’s not the parade!!! Before u post false info… google it please… Google Guyana carnival then Google Guyana emancipation day …. And carnival parade they dress just like us or worst
Of course you can learn a lot from my GT family. Along with decency, you can learn civility, kindness, oneness. Learn about our educational system that is worthy of emulation. By the way our waters are pure so our fish is not poisonous. We will be willing to populate your schools with first grade teachers trained not by a community college but straight from the university of Guyana as you want to embarrassed caricom. You can send your students to us so we can trained them for you of course for a nominal fee. We can sell you fish, agricultural produce. As a matter of fact we are so smart we can find a way to sell you 10,000 square miles of land. And no we not selling you, we will take over the 2×4 for one hundred years, improve your economy, build your roads, sell you cheap gas. So you see what we are will to do for you in the spirit of caricom.
You mean the ones that sleep with their cousins and have children for their sisters’ husband? LOL
How many of the BVIslanders have reported to rape their own children, molest any child or are pedophiles. Domestic violence is prevalent, yes, but which one of them chopping or batting people head off their neck?
Neither one is better than the other, but in truth if you want to rate class, don’t throw stone when you live in a glass house.
Elise, you D**B!!!
There needs to be a pride parade too.By the way the last indigenous bvislanders were ship to Hispaniola by the Spanish to work the mines or raided and taken back to Dominica by the Kalinago.Anybody else is a migrant willing or not.
Help me understand, so because they were fully clad for emancipation means that they should get BVI Visas?
Rubbish!
PLEASE GUYANA CARNIVAL IN MAY PLEASE STOP THE TROLLING
Brod!
In my humble opinion, the BVI needs to separate Emancipation Festival from Carnival.
Maybe the solution is hosting two events opposed to merging both.
Not relevant or sufficient enough to your decision. People are not that naiive to accept this explanation. This is a BVI Territory and the mere members of the House of Assembly didn’t have a voice on this decision much less the Security Council, the Governor, the Chief Immigration Officer or the People. If more and more Guyanese citizens are being deported for criminal misconduct, why open the gates to let more in without thorough vetting.
In Guyana, Emancipation, Mashramani and carnival are three different celebrations at different times in the year. What the BVI delegates saw is not really represented in the article. Emancipation is acknowledged by a national holiday. The day before the holiday 90% of Guyanese dress like African royalty. Men women and children. Entire staff at the banks are in African attire staff at big companies….on the actual day, every restaurant serves African dishes. It really is spectacular to see. Especially since people from the entire Caribbean think Guyana have a race proble. I really wish people would be more opened minded about Guyana and give it the respect due.
To the person who wish Guyanese would dish out ill treatment to other nationals, specifically BVIl nationals. No, Guyanese are the most welcoming and friendly people and true Guyanese don’t behave like that.
Happy to hear the delegates had a successful trip.
I think you are mixing up the mash celebration with emancipation.
huh, you forget everyone is almost related to each other here. how come when you see a school child you never hear about man that caused the pregnancy. you need to go find out who they are and how many rape cases are not made public.
They didn’t had to go Guyana to see this, if one remembers the bvi 60th festival when the Guyanese association had a troupe here everyone in the troupe was fully clothed. come next year for 70th they might take part too and you will see how decent they dressed.
Guyana carnival is in February FYI. Its called Mashramani
The Guyanese are fully clothed during emancipation all because they had different political ideology during the 50-60’s era which was socialist base, a politics that serve it’s need and not what had be push on us, plain democracy is bourgeoisie serving, the interest of few rich, and rich be ause politics is there industry for stealing and looting.
Y’all sickening wid yo s**t.
You missed the hold jist….but carry on.
How is this possible? We sre supposed to be displaying our Culture!!!!
A Page out of Guyana’s Textbook. Showing some respect for our Emancipation Celebrations by having the nakedness at a separate carnival.
They out of step, but they are decent and elegant.