Folk Tales And Superstitions Leaves Tobago Audience Spellbound

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, July 30, 2019: On Thursday July 25, the Tablepiece Recreation Ground in Les Coteaux came alive with the Folk Tales and Superstitions segment of the 2019 Tobago Heritage Festival.

Folk Tales and Superstitions is a major highlight of the Festival. Locals and visitors alike have come to look forward to the segment’s dramatic stage productions with eager anticipation. The event’s re-telling of our cultural traditions, often with a modern twist or contemporary storyline, have earned a well deserved reputation as a must-see experience.

This year’s presentation, entitled ‘From heaven to hell and back… breaking the cycle’ was brilliantly performed by the Les Coteaux Close Connection Cultural Club’s talented cast. They combined skill, humour and sensitivity to tell the story of two generations of a family struggling to cope with the physical and psychological impact of domestic violence. The production should be commended for the pains they took to show the varying impacts of violence on both the children and adults of the household and for highlighting the fact that both men and women can be victims.

Of course, no Folk Tales and Superstitions presentation would be complete without a little obeah, which played a prominent role in the family’s attempts to break the cycle of violence in their household. But while the cycle was indeed broken by the end of the presentation, it was not through the power of obeah, but rather through open communication and the council of a spiritual leader.

Presentations like Folk Tales and Superstitions do much to reinforce the oral tradition of storytelling, passed down through generations of Trinbagonians. For the past thirteen years, the segment has been the product of a collaborative effort between Republic Bank, the Tobago Festivals Commission and the Les Coteaux Close Connection Club.

Speaking at the event, Cheryl Harrilal, Area Manager, Republic Bank Limited Tobago, said the stories shared at Folktales and Superstitions “are reminders of who we are and the fact that we as a people are infinitely talented and uniquely gifted”. Ms Harrilal extended special thanks to Les Coteaux community for the work they continue to do to keep our cultural heritage alive.