Saturday: Yurumei

We were up at the crack of dawn today to travel from Hopkins to Dangriga to witness the ‘Yurumei’, the reenactment of the Garifuna arriving in Belize, following their expulsion from St Vincent in 1832.  It was quite something, hearing the chanting on the boats as they drew in as the sun was coming up.

This was followed by a (lengthy) church service at Sacred Heart in Dangriga.  The service began with a process of Garifuna into the church - the chanting and drums were totally mesmerizing.  The church service was almost entirely in Arawak which was quite the experience.  That notwithstanding, it was totally vibrant, colourful and rich  - I’ve added an extra which doesn’t really do it justice