Mock Hanging part of 2024 BOSVG Theatre Arts Festival

Social order in society has always been important, and one tool used by the elders of yesteryear to keep order back in the day was a “mock hanging”.

For persons unfamiliar with the term “mock hanging”, an example will be presented this year during the 2024 National Performing Arts Festival, organised by the Department of Culture and sponsored by Bank of St Vincent and the Grenadines (BOSVG).

The festival kicks off on Sunday, November 10, 2024 under the theme “Envision the art of creating-Grounding with our elders”, and the mock hanging presentation will take be done on Saturday, November 23, 2024.

Speaking during the launch of the Festival on October 18, cultural icon David “Darkie” Williams explained that a mock hanging was a traditional activity once used in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) to create order in society.

“Many people today ask the question, what was the purpose of having things like mock hanging and so on?

“I could give you a long explanation, or I can give you a brief explanation as to why traditions like mock hangings and other traditions are important to the day to day living of a past generation,” Williams those attending the launch at the conference room of the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC).

Williams said these hangings were performed as deterrents to “evil doing”, bad behaviour, and crimes like incest and bestiality.

“The society frowned on that, but if they (perpetrators) didn’t know it is happening then the frown would be meaningless. They frowned on it by doing things like hangings, and in hanging a person it might not deter him because he would have already committed his act but it would deter me and you because of the ridicule that is involved in the process of performing a mock hanging or we use to call them ‘henging’…” Williams explained.

He said this was being brought to the 2024 festival as he believes a lot of people under 30 years old do not know that this practice existed and the purpose of it.

During a mock hanging, a real crime committed by a villager is first reported to a committee and the mock policemen investigate and bring a case against the culprit who is given a false name. A mock preliminary trial is held and witnessed by the community, sometimes at a community hall which was used as a court house. The public was invited to witness the trial which was done as a regular court case with a judge or magistrate, lawyers, witnesses and police, all of whom carry false names. These names were usually chosen to create laughter.

“At this preliminary hearing, the witnesses give their statements in quite amusing fashion while the cross questioning provokes more laughter. The first sitting might go on for two nights. The case is then referred to the High Court. At the High Court, there is a jury made up of about 12 members. There are five policemen to call the accused, and four at the door of the hall mainly to collect admission fees. There are about five witnesses in this case. This is to ensure that the evidence against the accused is incriminating enough to bring him guilty,” a post on the website of the Ministry of Culture explains.

A mock hanging has defence lawyers and those for the crown, and the accused is always found guilty and is sentenced by the judge to be hanged.

A moonlight night was always chosen for the hanging. Two effigies are then built. One, depicting the condemned man, and the other depicting the victim of his molestation.

“The effigy of the condemned man is built in such a way that by one tug of the rope, the head would be instantly detached from the rest of the body…after the hanging, the body of the effigy is then burned to ash,” the Ministry’s website states

“So, we will be making a presentation based on the process of the mock hanging, and we will actually do a hanging, so the best I can do is say come to Peace Memorial Hall and see what is there,” Williams urged.

The mock hanging will be done on the playing field behind the Peace Memorial Hall at Richmond Hill, while the prologue would be done at the Peace Memorial Hall building.