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Soirée tradition now a staple in Linden
By Vanessa Braithwaite
Kaieteur News – Soirée is a cultural festival that marks a solemn and reflective occasion of the liberation of decades of slavery that was forced upon our African ancestors. On the eve of emancipation annually, this celebration, which entails live African Congo drumming infused with traditional African folk dances and songs, is carried out in mostly African villages.
A soiree celebration in Hopetown, WCB
Two villages known for this are Hopetown, West Coast of Berbice (WCB) and Bagotville, West Bank Demerara (WBD). Soirées normally follow libation ceremonies.
Linden is one of the most diverse towns in Guyana, as its population is made up of natives of these very villages, who had journeyed to the town, seeking employment in the bauxite industry in the early 1900s. The migration was so massive that, to date, there is a sub-community in Amelia’s Ward, Linden, which is called Hopetown Square. In this ‘Square’ residents, who had migrated from Hopetown, WCB, are all from the same lineage. Everyone is referred to as ‘cousin’ or ‘aunty’ and their close-knit circle makes it more evident that their ancestry line is well connected.
Octogenarian, Martha James is happy for the Linden-based Emancipation soirée
Over the years, old time Lindeners, such as the residents of Hopetown, Amelia’s Ward, have been honouring their roots by returning yearly to their home villages to participate in the traditional celebrations. The Hopetown soirée is a mixture of libation ceremonies to evoke the spirits of the African ancestors, African drumming, chanting and shanto dancing.
The village of Hopetown, WCB was bought by freed slaves in the 1840’s and the soirée tradition dates back since then. Drumming, marching and dancing would start around 18:00hrs on the eve of Emancipation Day in an area of the village called ‘Twenty Two’ and the large crowd would disperse into groups, keeping their separate libation ceremonies. With the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there was no celebration for past two years.
This year, however, there isn’t really any reason to journey to Berbice as there are several soirées to enjoy right in Linden. Lindeners have come to realise that for this tradition to continue and be passed on to the future generations, there is need to transition from journeying back to their former villages to keeping the celebration at home, right in Linden.
For this year’s emancipation celebration, several communities across Linden have planned soirées and some even held their celebration during the past week, such as West Watooka, Half Mile, Raville, while others are gearing for theirs. Silvertown, for instance, will be hosting a grand emancipation pageant, which is seen as another way to get the youths involved.
A flyer promoting a planned soirée in Linden
One organiser, Karen Leacock said she is happy that these celebrations are happening right in Linden, and even happier that she could play a meaningful role to ensure that it is done successfully. “We need to embrace that Linden is now our home and our traditions have to come with us, we cannot keep going back to Berbice every time, we have to teach our youths right here. So we are encouraging everyone to come out and have fun,” she said. The soirée will entail drumming, African dancing, African cuisines will be on sale and folklores and much more will be among the attractions. “Well we know the young people will want to have their ‘now-a-days’ music playing and so, but we have to ensure the traditional things go first,” she said.
Martha James, an octogenarian, who hails from Hopetown, WCB and now resides in Hopetown, Amelia’s Ward, said she is happy that the traditions are now happening in Linden. For years, she journeyed back to Berbice but with the aging process taking its toll on her, the woman said that she is no longer able to make the trip. Her children too are no longer interested in making the annual journey for the soirée as well. As such, they are all elated that moves have been made to keep the celebration in Linden so that future generations can enjoy it and keep the tradition going.
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