While Belle Vue and Babonneau are the two main host communities for Kwéyòl Heritage month, the Folk Research Centre (FRC) has reminded that activities throughout the month of October are being held in various parts of the island.
One such event was Festen Jwé, a traditional games festival organised by the Monchy Kwéyòl Committee. The event, which is now in its second year, was held on October 12. Based on the success again this year, organisers are hoping that with continued support it will remain a part of Kwéyòl Heritage Month or even extend into other activities during the year.
Festen Jwé was held on the Monchy Playing Field and featured games such as wawi, tiki tok, marbles, skipping rope, rounders, and top spinning. Young and old also enjoyed pushing their “Kabouwe,” rolling “sek” and the playing of ring games on the day.
The family fun day featured the teaching of some of the games and was quite an interactive experience for those in attendance.
The public relations officer of the committee Christa St. Ange told St. Lucia Times that her group was pleased by the turnout and participation.
“The Monchy Kwéyòl Committee was created last year and this activity is one of those that kind of embodies what we wanted to do when we started out. It brings Monchy together. When you hear Monchy you think of one place, but it is actually different sub sections of one community, so it brought people from La Borne, Riviere Mitan and Desrameaux together,” St. Ange explained.
According to St. Ange it was a beautiful experience seeing community members rekindle and show appreciation and love for the games they remember growing up.
“For example we had the jumping rope using the actual vines from the tree and to see the older women who remembered how to do it, putting the young girls to shame,” St. Ange says with a chuckle.
The committee’s co-chair Lillian Alexander, an advocate for the Kweyol language and the teaching of traditional games, facilitated a workshop on one of the games, wawi — an ancient African pit and pebbles strategy game.
“We got several people who were able to learn it and just seeing the joy sparkling in their eyes, in understanding the game and gaining that community spirit was amazing,” St. Ange revealed.
The day she said was an enjoyable family day, with games, eats and drinks and good music leading into the evening.
“I believe the intention of our committee is to have this annually and maybe more than once a year. We are planning to have various workshops and “listwa” days as well, to bring out our stories and our history and just bringing people together so that we can gather and document those things. We want to ensure that these traditional games are sustainable, and it’s something that continues to grow over the years.”
Activities for Kwéyòl Heritage Month continue with one of the major events organised by the FRC, La Wen Kwéyòl, taking place at the National Cultural Centre October 18.
