#Nona Aquan

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Nona Aquan, Carib Trinidadian

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Indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago, Photos belong to the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community @santarosafirstpeoplescommunity on Facebook.

The Caribs of Arima are descended from the original Amerindian inhabitants of Trinidad; Amerindians from the former encomiendas of Tacarigua and Arauca (Arouca) were resettled to Arima between 1784 and 1786. The SRCC was incorporated in 1973 to preserve the culture of the Caribs of Arima and maintain their role in the annual Santa Rosa Festival (dedicated to Santa Rosa de Lima, the first Catholic saint canonised in the New World).

“The Santa Rosa Amerindian Community is the only organized area of Amerindian Survival in Trinidad and Tobago. They were formally recognized as representative of the Indigenous Amerindians of the twin-island state by the National Government in 1980. “Their Historical continuity is remarkable. As a community they have existed since the early Spanish period, and before that archaeological and proto-historical data indicate almost 5000 years of settlement in the island. This extraordinary continuity despite the extraordinary ruptures of Spanish Conquest and Colonization is the fundamental factor in their continuing and powerful indigenous self-identification. “The Community consists of at least 400 members of which probably only 80 are active in this everyday life. It is urban and based in Arima. All members are identified on the basis of lineage and residence. The Lineage component is the most significant marker of belonging and elders in the Community have remarkable genealogical memory. Certain family names are associated with those of Amerindian ancestry – Boneo, Campo, Calderon, Castillo, Hernandez, Martinez, Peña. “The Community is essentially egalitarian in its decision-making. It has always had a Council of Elders who are seen as bearers of traditional knowledge. The Council is led by the Carib Queen, presently Valentina Medina, and a President, Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez. “The most important event in the life of the community is the annual celebration of the Feast of Santa Rosa de Lima, the Patronal Feast of the Parish. This event is central to the Community’s sense of historical continuity and unique ethnic construction. It has been celebrated since the establishment of the mission in 1786 and in fact has the distinction of being the oldest, continuously celebrated feast in the island’s history. It has its direct antecedents in the celebrations of the Patronal Feasts of the Nepuyo encomiendas which were amalgamated at the Arima Mission. These celebrations allowed indigenous spiritual and cultural elements to survive in an almost pristine form within overtly Catholic Spanish mode. It therefore exerts a strong normative influence on the community.”

1.  New Carib Queen Nona López Aquan.

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New Carib Queen Nona Lopez Calderon Galera Moreno Aquan, on Visit to San...