Keep, cherish and develop our “Nine Mornings”

EVEN AS WE continue to adjust to the post-election scenario, Christmas is upon us. Though that religious festival did not originate with us in these parts, such is its global scope that it has enveloped all regions of the world, the Caribbean being exception. Within this heavenly region we in St Vincent and the Grenadines have made our mark with our unique contribution, our Nine Mornings festival. It begins today, December 16, with, interestingly, our innovative addition to the celebration, the Nine Nights Festival.

Although there is not yet a definitive consensus on the origin of the Nine Mornings, it is generally agreed that it has its roots in the dark days of slavery of the African people here. There is a trend of belief that slaves were required to accompany their enslavers as they attended early morning services at the established churches of the slave owners- the Roman Catholic and English Catholic (Anglican) branches. However, not permitted to attend, they found different activities in which to engage to while away the time, hence becoming the unwitting inventors of Nine Mornings.

Whatever the origins, the fact is that this pre-Christmas tradition continued after Emancipation and became an entrenched, though unofficial part of the local Christmas tradition.

It developed according to local circumstances in both rural and urban (if that term could be applied to Kingstown) areas. In the capital city for instance, in addition to the walks in the early morning atmosphere, a strong tradition of sea bathing also flourished. This was aided by the fact that Kingstown of those days, and right up to the late sixties/early seventies, had an extensive beach front with areas such as in front of the Police Headquarters and in front of the former Anglican school being favoured bathing spots.

The blend of house-to-house serenading, pleasant early morning walks and games got another addition in the sixties with the

introduction of nine mornings fetes featuring musical bands centred around the talented McIntosh musical family.We here extend our condolences on the reported death abroad of one of the most talented and famous of this extraordinary family, saxophonist Syl Mcintosh. Not only did these fetes become a feature of the developing Nine Mornings but in themselves they became an attraction for Vincentians living in other Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago.

For a variety of reasons, a decline in Nine Mornings activities, in Kingstown in particular, began to occur though coincidentally, its popularity in the rural areas continued to grow. Several initiatives were made by local cultural artistes and proponents such as “Bassy” Alexander, Robert “Patches” King and the late Ferrand “Randy D” Dopwell to give new life to the festival, but the attitude of the then Labour Party government of the 70s was not particularly conducive to such cultural development.

It is to the credit of these pioneers, younger cultural artistes, and rural community activists that our unique Festival has revived and taken on a character of its own in the 21st century.

A very recent but positive addition has been the Nine Nights accompaniment, which, based in our historical Botanic Gardens, is pregnant with opportunities for tourism development.

We have a treasure which we must preserve, protect and continue to develop as part of our historical and cultural traditions. We wish the organisers all the best and encourage our people as well as visitors to participate and enjoy the our unique Vincy Nine Mornings Festival.