ON A little slice of paradise, spotted with guava trees and almost completely surrounded by water, 'Fi Wi Sinting' proved to be an entertaining and educational collection of many 'sintings'.
The all-day festival at Nature's Way, Buff Bay, Portland on Sunday was enjoying its 14th year of existence and presented a combination of folk and modern cultural expressions in a relaxing setting.
According to the show's producer, Sista P, the 2004 show received the largest crowd since she began staging the event in the hills of Content near Hope Bay, Portland. She noted that she was very thankful for the growing interest which the increased turnout showed.
Amina Blackwood Meeks' storytelling was the epitome of the marriage between the folk and the modern. Shunning the stage for a stand of guava trees, Blackwood Meeks used much of the story-telling tradition, but spiced the stories with current references.
MEEKS' STORYTELLING
She regaled the audience which crowded around her, a few of them even climbing up into the trees so they could get a better view, with three stories. With most of the children gathered at her feet, and the adults forming the outer perimeter, Meeks told of how all the stories became Anancy stories, the creation of mankind, and why the sky is so far away.
Rather than just telling the stories, Blackwood Meeks filled her telling with information about stories. She started off by pointing out that Anancy was originally the god of wisdom in Ghana, how he changed with the abuse of colonisation, the value of telling stories and the ways to begin and end a story.
'Fi Wi Sinting' adequately captured what a festival ought to be like. At no time was there with only one thing happening. While a mento band played under one stand of guava trees, a few trees down was a another set of drummers. It was also a time for reason with varying discussion groups and demonstrations for alternative lifestyles.
Jonkunnu players danced through out the day, meandering from one end to the next. Sometimes they were crowded by the patrons, who formed a ring around them, and at others they were a scarier version of the Pied Piper as children followed behind them merrily only to run screaming when one of the players rushed at them.
Towards late afternoon, the event had a more structured concert segment, though varying drummers continued to play at different areas of the venue.
L'Acadco provided three very interesting performances. First, they provided a fabulous drumming session. "What I don't understand is if yuh love dem so much how yuh stan'up so still?" queried host Connie Bell when the drumming had ended. The question was relevant because despite the enthusiastic applause which followed the performance, few members of the audience had even rocked during the drumming.
L'Acadco then presented a dance piece, and helped to bring the day to a close with a demonstration of maco jumbe (stilt walking) just before a raft of thanks to the ancestors was sent out to sea.
The day also featured an entertaining round of folk songs by the students of the EXED Com-munity College, drumming from the Nayamka Drummers, a fashion show featuring clothing by Kamit Revisited, and belly dancing.
