Diwali -- Festival of Lights

Following a very stressful month of boat repairs and maintenance, we decided it was time to get back in the grove of being intrepid travelers. Last year our friends on Escape Velocity highly recommended the Diwali Festival of Lights celebration held on Oct. 23rd.  We were ready for a break and this sounded like a great adventure.

Trinidad tour guide extraordinaire Jesse James of Member’s Only MaxiTaxi picked up a group of about 100 cruisers at the boatyards, and in a caravan of buses we headed about one hour south of Chaguaramas towards the Hindu village of Felicity to take part in their Diwali Festival.  Along the way Jesse filled us in on the significance of Diwali.

Around 1845, after blacks won their independence from slavery, large numbers of Indians were brought in to work the sugar cane fields. Today, Trinidad has a fairly large population of Indians, many of whom live in the southern end of the island.

We learned that Diwali, one of the major celebrations for Hindu’s worldwide, is a combination of Halloween, Fourth of July, and Christmas. Our Diwali experience began at the local Hindu temple and school in the village of Felicity, named after one of the Hindu Gods.  Posted along the wall were essays on the meaning of Diwali written by local school children. I was quite taken by the well crafted descriptions, with each child focusing on a different aspect of Diwali.

To paraphrase Shwria Madoo, a 5th form student:  Diwali originates from the Sanskrit word Deepavali, which when translated simply means “row of lights.” Diwali is celebrated in the month of Karmic on the darkest night of the year. Diwali signifies light over darkness and good overcoming evil. One legend about Diwali is the emergence of Mother Lakshmi when the Devas (minor Gods) and the Asuras (Demons) were in a race to obtain Amrit and were told to churn the ocean. Mother Lakshmi governs all of the forms of wealth, success, and the paths to all forms of prosperity. The bursting of fireworks signifies to the Gods that people are elated. It scares away the spirits. Light signifies a welcome to prosperity.

Salini Dooro, another 5th form student adds:  On Diwali night the villagers light the village with deeyas (small ceramic dishes filled with coconut oil and a wick). They also put deeyas on the bent bamboos. People of other countries walk the streets. There is lots of traffic, there are also beautiful parades. We like the color fireworks. They look beautiful. It is the best time of the year for my family and I. I love to take pictures. I will like the whole world to come my village, Felicity,and experience our Diwali. I enjoy lighting beautiful fireworks. I think our Diwali is the best in the whole world. I love Diwali.

I also learned from a BBC radio show that day that many Indians make major purchases on Diwali, as it portends wealth and prosperity for the coming years. It is also a giving celebration, where people hand out sweets and bags of fruits and pastries to passers-by.

Some of the Hindu Gods lining the interior of the temple.

A large group of cruisers prepare for the ceremony at the Hindu Temple in Felicity.

We removed our hats and shoes and were ushered into the temple which featured large ceramic renditions of the various Hindu Gods, including the village God, Felicity (which means happiness). The baba (Hindu priest) gave us a welcome to the village and a little history of the Diwali celebration. He then tried to introduce the temple dance troupe, but looking at the door and not seeing them, he then fell back into an even more detailed description of Diwali. This happened several times, since, as it turned out, the dancers were held up in the horrendously snarled traffic around the town. The baba handled it well, however, with a dose of humor. Finally the dancers arrived and preformed, along with the temple drum band. I always marvel at the beautiful and intricately designed garments the Indian women wear during celebrations.

The sit down Diwali dinner at the Temple featured typical Diwali foods.

Clockwise from left:  Roti, sweet mango, chickpeas, and pureed pumpkin.

I was hungry so I decided to eat in the traditional Hindu way, only mildly embarrassed  when the utensils arrived.

Following the welcome we were invited to sit down to a typical Diwali dinner, including a delicious mango dish, pureed chickpeas, pureed pumpkin, and a few other things we didn’t recognize. It was served with roti bread on a large banana leaf and was incredibly delicious. Clean up was easy as we just threw the banana leaves in the garbage bin.

Main street of Felicity. This was very early in the evening. Later the roads and sidewalks were jammed with festival goers.

The traditional deeya, filled with coconut oil.

Diwali is a family event. Everywhere whole families were out tending to their rows of deeyas.

There is always one house that has to outdo all the others. This guy is expecting lots of prosperity in the coming year.

Individual neighborhoods had hoops of lights, banners, and rows of lit deeyas.

We then wandered down the main street, which was bumper to bumper with cars driving from around the island to view the Diwali lights in Felicity. It was much like Americans driving around looking at Christmas lights. Large bamboo hoops crossed over the streets adorned with banners and Christmas- style lights; individual neighborhoods had their own “Welcome” hoop light displays.  We walked down several side streets with everyone sitting out in their front yards or attending to their Diwali lights. Several people approached us with small gifts of food.

It was wonderful to share such a meaningful and peaceful celebration with the local Hindus. As usual, we were made to feel welcome and not treated as typical tourists.  It’s just the Trini way.

On the way home at about 10:00 pm we realized the celebration was just beginning as traffic jams stretched for miles with Trinidadians (not just Hindus) driving to see the light displays and attend celebrations.