Pembroke - Salaka Feast
This event recreates the yearly thanksgiving festival to African ancestors for guidance and favours granted during the past year.
The event starts with an early morning meeting at the crossroads where the ancestors are summoned with the sprinkling of rum and sweet water, the blowing of conch shells, the sweeping of sacred ground with the cocoyea broom and prayer. The villagers gather and dress in the clothing and colours of the Nations or Tribes (Yoruba, Koromanti, Ibo, Mandingo, Congo, Temne). The Salaka Feast witnesses the parade of the nations, the purification of the area with libations being offered to the spirits and then the dances of celebration. The voices of the drums remind us of the power of the instrument and also of their significance as a tool to communicate with the spirit realm. In the performance of the Salaka, we witness a healing and reunification of the community. Bonds that were weakened are now strengthened, while newer bonds are formed. A procession begins which ends at the Pembroke Heritage Park, where singing and dancing takes place. The food is prepared in the traditional way: roasting a whole pig in the ground and baking in the dirt oven etc. Later in the evening the stage production depicts the feast in its entirety within the context of a village story. |