Easter is the biggest holiday of the year in Belize

Easter is the biggest holiday in Belize. Everyone wants to go to the beach! Our village, Hopkins, is a Garifuna village. Garifuna is the name given to those who are descendants of West Africans and Arawaks Stories are told of ships from West Africa filled with people who were bound to become slaves heading toward the Caribbean. Their ships wrecked near the island of St. Vincent, which allowed them to escape slavery. The survivors made their way to the island and inter-married with the Arawaks. Together they blended their cultures and created a new language and people called Garifuna.

UNESCO declared the Garifuna language a “masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity” in 2001, along with Garifuna music and dance. The Garifuna closely identify with their food and music. It is an important part of who they are and their culture. Their music style is known for its distinct drumming. The smaller drum is called the primero and the large one is called the segunda. The primero leads and the segunda follows. Drums are hand-made from local woods and tuned individually, covered with deer skin, and the drummer beats his until it becomes leather.

The traditional music is called piranda and punta. The late Andy Palacio is considered the “Elvis of Belize,” as he experienced world-wide acclaimed success in response to his music. His album, Watina, whom many consider his masterpiece, was originally recorded at Sandy Beach Women’s’ Cooperative in Hopkins. Palacio died in 2008 at age 47.

To continue in Palacio’s tradition, the Garifuna Collective keep the piranda music alive. Most of the members of the collective are from Hopkins and have their individual recording contracts as well. One drummer, WaWa, went to JazzFest in New Orleans and played more sets than other musician.

Many Belizeans return to Hopkins Easter. More than 200,000 Garifuna live in the U.S. (as opposed to 15,000 in Belize.) And when they return to Belize, they want to go to the beach! And to Hopkins.

In preparing for Easter, families do extra tidying for their extended family like sweeping their sand yards. It’s common to sew new curtains. The men put a new roof on the palapa on the church grounds. Families purchase an extra case of stout. Like music, the Garifuna closely identify with their food and drink, and they make sure to prepare all the favorites for family members coming in for the Easter holiday, including fish, chicken, cassava, bananas, plantains coconut milk and rice. The national dish of Belize is stew chicken, rice and beans-different from beans and rice. (Rice and beans is mixed together and beans and rice is stewed beans served separately from rice.) The cooks use large pots in their outdoor kitchens. Cassava is a labor-intensive process.

The village is quiet as everyone prepares for Easter and the arrival of guests coming to celebrate. During Easter, Hopkins swells in size and rooms are sometimes booked years in advance.

When Good Friday service concludes, the congregation takes the mile long march toward the cemetery. The street is closed. Families have put out little shrines of candles and flowers in front of their home. The priest says a prayer at each one. The men taking turns carrying the large cross in the scorching sun.  Hours pass. Then, everyone goes home and naps in preparation of the non-stop partying for the next four days. 

When the government lifts the alcohol ban at 6pm, it’s almost as if someone said “go!” Drumming and dancing begin. It’s continues with little sleep. At 9pm on Saturday Piranda Fest begins. The featured band take the stage at 5am. When the sun begins to rise, there is a hush over the crowd. By 7am, everyone makes their way for breakfast and naps. Church service begins at 10am. The Easter festival on the church grounds begin with the service is over at 11am. Sometimes there is a parade. The drumming begins again and continues through the night. On Easter Monday, the party is moved to the next village a few miles away—Sittee River. On Tuesday the village collapse with exhaustion. Folks begin heading back to their homes in Belize, while others catch flights back to the U.S. Around Thursday, folks get back to their daily routines.