A Guyanese-styled Christmas? Whah name suh? Honestly, if someone had told me about a Guyanese Christmas two years ago, before I had an opportunity to leave the comfort of my country for study, I wouldn’t have batted an eyelash much less give them an entire minute to progress their rantings. Two years on, a Guyanese Christmas is something I cannot see myself doing without.
The worth-mentioning thing about the former colonies in the Caribbean is that our individual experiences of slavery, indentureship, colonisation, and then cultural reclamation has created an individuality in how we celebrate holidays like Christmas, which in itself is a universal, but still done in the territories with a unique finesse.
Guyana’s blend is one influenced by the Indigenous people, the Dutch, and the English. Spending a Christmas outside of Guyana almost feels like the highest act of cultural treason to one’s patrimony. It is not to say that other Caribbean territories do not have unique Christmas practices, but Guyanese ought to reflect on what makes their Christmas uniquely Guyanese.
It is not impossible to recreate Pepperpot in Trinidad and Tobago, but it is an almost impossible task to procure a bottle of casareep in the Twin Island Republic. Like black gold, the preservative made of casareep is held only by a few on Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain, who often times reserve their supplies for fellow Guyanese traversing the space.
A sense of pride engulfs the Guyanese national who hears Trinbagonians demand a Guyanese Pepperpot. Not just any Pepperpot made by any person, since there is no exclusivity of the recipe to Guyanese people, Trinbagonians prefer a Guyanese Pepperpot made in full authenticity by none other than a Guyanese national who they most times trust.
Family is a universal theme for Christmas. And with family comes great food. The Dutch-influenced Garlic Pork is a must for some families. But the Pepperpot, don’t mess with the Pepperpot. For those who do not fancy the pork, or even the beef in their Pepperpot, there is chicken-foot Pepperpot, and even fish Pepperpot, as I heard while writing this piece.
Some folks might scoff at the idea of fish soaking in the blackness of a Pepperpot, but the versatility of linking the casareep sauce with any kind of meat is what makes it universal to every Guyanese family, regardless their religious, or other, inclinations.
In the politics of Pepperpot, my heart goes out to the makers of the brew who ward off the prying eyes and wandering hands of both children and adults in the home, whose only objective is to hover like vultures around the unfinished pots. But that’s all part of the Pepperpot experience. A shared engagement of brewers and vultures.
Kena Melville, Vice President of the Guyana Students Association in Trinidad and Tobago (GuySATT) and a History major at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, managed to make it home for a Guyanese Christmas. We asked Kena what makes her Christmas uniquely Guyanese. Here’s what she had to say:
“Family and food comes to mind when I think of a Guyanese Christmas. I have a large family and at Christmas, we all come together and have a huge family-day feast where we grill and prepare other traditional Guyanese dishes. We dance, eat and have a good time. Nothing can truly compare to that. Oh, also waking up on Christmas morning to the smell of Pepperpot and garlic pork in the kitchen.”
It seems you never truly appreciate the uniqueness of the Guyanese Christmas until you run the risk of not experiencing it. Like Guyanese music veteran Slingshot sang in his classic “Christmas in Guyana”, “there’s nothing like me home on Christmas morning!”
By Derwayne Wills