ETHNIC/TRIBAL FASHION

My eyes opened up to ethnic/tribal fashion on the day of my private Middle Eastern wedding ceremony (many years ago). The groom & I dressed at his sister's home. I brought a jeans pants & t-shirt to marry. I was very young & did not know what to expect from a cultural/traditional marriage. Anyway,  my groom wore a long hand-sewn dress over his pants & his cousin sponsored me the Arab ethnic wear; a beautiful bronze/gold colour head band & Middle Eastern styled dress. Below is an image of similar traditional Arabic wedding dress that I wore on my "big" day & what a traditional Syrian groom looks like on his wedding day. These clothing are common to wear in the cities & villages in Syria. 

               

ETHNIC ORIGIN

The concept of ethnic origin is an attempt to classify people, not according to their current nationality, but according to commonalities in their social background. For example somebody living in a monocultural environment, speaking English for example and clearly a member of an English-speaking cultural milieu, may be descended from immigrants speaking some other language and still participate in some of aspects their culture.

Ethnic origin implies one or more of the following.

• shared origins or social background;
• shared culture and traditions that are distinctive, maintained between generations, and lead to a sense of identity and group;
• a common language
• a common religious tradition.

Traditional Portuguese ethnic wear.....the tradition of my mother's father

poor Gypsy family  wearing their traditional clothing.

My Portuguese Indian mother on her wedding day. My father wearing  his traditional  (Senegalese) ethnic  African  headband . 

my 9 year old mother wearing a hand made Indian cotton dress made by her mother.   

 Danny in red wearing  traditional Syrian (Arabic) wear. Me wearing traditional East Indian wear . Lily in Indian wear.




Native (Taino) ethnic wear

Traditional ethnic costumes of Jews

Even though these "black" clothing are more religious than  ethnic, "black" clothing is becoming popular among new ethnic groups. Perhaps history repeating itself or other  influence.

          MEXICAN              

 

Traditional Somalian wear


The Huichol 




The following links will give you updates & information on ethnic groups. 

http://worldethnicgroups.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_group

THE FINE ARTS OF HEALING

Edward Bowen was born in Port of Spain in 1963. At the age of seven he went to school in England and later, in 1981, entered Croydon College of Design and Technology, graduating in Fine Art and Printmaking in 1985. At his art studio in Sans Soucci, Trinidad, I've been spending my some of my weekends looking at his art in progress, reading "meditation" books I find anywhere in the studio, listening to the sound of the sea, birds & trees and, most importantly, tasting his adventurous meals in a hammock. Jack is the Vincentian born estate care taker who lives on the Bowen plantation. He takes old wooden furniture to repair & reinvent them. Even though Jack is a builder/caretaker/farmer since the days of Eddie Bowen's father, he realizes that art is a part of healing through his loneliness. Ferro De Silva lives walking distance from the Bowen Estate. He is an eighty nine year old farmer & is well known throughout the north coast as the "herb" man. Whenever I spend my occasional weekends in Sans Soucci, Mr De Silva tells me about his childhood memoirs of St Vincent, his working experience in Trinidad, picking apples in Canada, the ducks he is rearing & the mysterious wonders of herbal medicine. For him, the art of healing is herbal medicine. For many others, books, "Prayers", fasting, alms giving, music & art are just few among many other choices. 

EDDIE BOWEN'S ART




The above image is very symbolic to me because the "hill" in that image has a church on it in reality. The following link is a published article I wrote about a healing/anointing service that I experienced by exorcism Priest, Fr. Graham in Sans Soucci. For me, this service is considered an art of healing . 

http://www.catholicnews-tt.net/joomla/index.php?view=article&catid=36:parish-news&id=302:par150309&option=com_content&Itemid=93

Eddie Bowen's art




The following is a video of St Vincent in the 1940's where my "partner," the "herb" man grew up
must have been plenty healing for him to move to Trinidad as he & his family escaped poverty. 

A Market scene in St Vincent, 1940's. 

VIVA EL COQUI

Viva el Coquí

 By Anna Levi

For many a year ago,

Hot water and salt tampered with your pride.

Coquí tribes reigned human consciousness;

an everlasting language for brethren to remember.

In Trinidad, where weary frogs knock on slippery front steps,

We offer salt and hot water to say thanks for the luck.

In Cupey,

We rear the Coquí like pampered echoed babies; at least not to forget.

I’ll beg of you one favour;

Burn white candles and don’t bother yourself,

Coquí comes only at night in Cupey but,

Not when salt and hot water is near.

OM SHANTY OM

Indian Om Symbol

MANTRA FOR PEACE

The word 'peace' can be translated through thousands of images or symbols, formal, tribal and dialect languages throughout the world. In Trinidad and Tobago, the history of the  East Indians long Journey to the West Indies and the history of the  Africans and the Middle Passage have linked culture, race, identity and peace. Our very own Ras Shorty I has creolized the Indian version of the Hindu prayer (Mantra), "Om Shanti Om" with his surviving song, "Om Shanti Om." The following link gives you a deeper insight to the true meaning of the mantra.

http://archives.amritapuri.org/bharat/mantra/shanti.php

WORLD PEACE SYMBOLS

A number of peace symbols have been used in various cultures and contexts, one of the most ancient being the olive branch. The symbol of the dove and olive branch was used by early Christians and was later adopted as a secular symbol. It was popularized by Pablo Picasso in 1949 and became widely used in the post-war peace movement.

The V hand signal is a hand gesture that was once used for VICTORY in World War 11, then used at the Anti-Vietnam demonstration as a peace sign and now it is used as an insult in Ireland, UK, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

American actor Steve McQueen flashing the V sign for a mugshot, after being arrested for drunk driving.

Singer Robbie Williams using a V sign with palm facing signer as an insult

The broken rifle symbol is used by War Resisters' International (WRI) and its affiliates but predates the foundation of WRI in 1921.



The white poppy is an artificial flower used as a symbol of peace, worn as an alternative to, or complement to, the red remembrance poppy for Remembrance Day or Anzac Day.


Peace FlagThe international peace flag in the colours of the rainbow was first used in Italy on a 1961 peace march from Perugia to Assisi organised by the pacifist and social philosopher Aldo Capitini (1899–1968). Inspired by the peace flags used on British peace marches, Capitini got some women of Perugia hurriedly to sew together coloured strips of material.The march has been repeated many times since 1961, the most recent in 2010.

OTHER PEACE SYMBOLS INCLUDES FIRE AND PAPER CRANES (JAPAN), WORDS SUCH AS "SHALOM" (HEBREW), "SALAAM" (ARABIC), "OM" (INDIA) AND HOLDING PALMS TOGETHER WITH A RESPECTFUL BOW (RASTAFARIANS, EAST INDIAN WOMEN AND EVEN AMERINDIANS). EVEN THE RED CROSS SYMBOL WAS USED AS A SIGN OF PEACE DURING THE WAR ERA. TO DATE, SOCIAL MEDIA USERS HAVE USED THESE TRADITIONAL FORMS OF PEACE BY RECREATING/REINVENTING IT & DISTRIBUTING INITIATIVES /PETITIONS/DRIVES TO INFORM THE WORLD AND TO GAIN WORLD SUPPORT.