Divali, or Diwali as it’s often known, is the Hindu Festival of Lights and honours the Hindu Goddess, Mother Lashkmi. Although less than 20% of the population of Trinidad & Tobago is of the Hindu religion, this festival is celebrated widely amongst the entire society. The actual day of the public holiday for Divali generated some controversy in 2018 because it is based on a lunar calculation. Our calendars marked the holiday for the 7th of November but it was celebrated on the 6th here in T&T.
It’s a lovely time. You can drive around after dark to enjoy the spectacular displays of lighted deyas (small clay pots) on bent bamboo arrangements in many communities. Unfortunately, November is in the rainy season so that can affect how successful this is. If you’re lucky enough to have a kind Hindu neighbour, you may get invited to their celebration which would typically involve prayers and lots of delicious Indian vegetarian food – dhal, channa (chickpeas), aloo (potato), pumpkin, and bodi (long green beans) curries, for example, plus roti and ‘buss-up-shut’ as flat breads. You would also be offered a choice of sweet Indian delicacies – kurma, laddu, barfi and more. No alcohol at this time, of course.
Bursting bamboo is a noisy and quite dangerous tradition associated with Divali in Trinidad, and there was lots of it around this year. Here’s the process: Bamboo is cut to serve as a cannon with one end left closed. A hole is made on top of the bamboo, and kerosene is poured inside. This is lit with a flambeau of some sort while blowing on the flame. The resulting explosion from this make-shift big gun reverberates around the valley, with competing bamboo-bursters trying to make the loudest noise possible. Not much fun for animals though! My brother and his friends singed their eyebrows doing this crazy thing in their youth.
Trinidad is very diverse ethnically and religiously. I remember some years ago attending a large Divali party at a private home, to which many non-Hindus were invited. The host explained the various rituals and prayers to us as the ceremony went along. Afterwards we were offered a buffet of mouth-watering Indian food and soft drinks.
Now how’s this for a mix-up? For entertainment at this party, there was a young black girl 
playing Christmas carols on a steel pan. Only in Trinidad! Another example of the way we are religiously tolerant in these twin islands is how natural it is for my Muslim friend to send us all Divali greetings – “Shubh Divali”.
