Vincentians honour Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer

Vincentians turned out in their numbers last week to pay tribute to this country’s lone national hero Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer.{{more}}

The annual affair saw local and international dignitaries gather at the obelisk at Dorsetshire Hill last Thursday, March 14, National Heroes Day, to pay their respects to Chatoyer, who died in the area on that date, 218 years ago, during a battle with British soldiers.

The event was marked with a number of moving cultural presentations, including the singing of the Heritage Month theme song “March”, performed by calypsonian Glenroy “Sulle” Caesar, and a skit by the Kalinago Youth Movement Dancers, which depicted the final battle of the slain leader.

The Dorsetshire Hill Primary School, which put on a memorable poem last year, performed similarly this year with their presentation of “Sons and Daughters of Chatoyer.”

The school was presented with a portrait of the paramount chief by Minister of Tourism, Sports and Culture Cecil McKie. Mckie was one of five persons speaking at the ceremony, which included: president of the Garifuna Heritage Foundation David “Darkie” Williams, Altasha Anderson of the National Youth Council, St Claire Leacock, on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition, and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.

The Prime Minister was among delegates who laid wreaths at the foot of the obelisk, preceded by the Governor General’s Deputy, Dame Monica Dacon, and followed by Leacock, McKie, Anderson, Chairman of the National Heroes Advisory Committee Rene Baptiste, Commissioner of Police Keith Miller, as well as representatives from the Diplomatic Corps from Taiwan, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, among others.

The ceremony was followed by celebrations in various parts of the island, most notably in Greiggs and Fancy.