Ins & Outs of Grenada

24  HISTORY INS& Photo courtesy Grenada National Trust A Journey Across Grenada’s Cultural & Historical Landscape The Story of Like an ancient parchment overwritten with time, the Grenadian landscape is strewn with the remnants of the various peoples who have inhabited these small islands. For almost two millennia, they have written, rewritten, altered and reshaped each other’s imprints on the environment. Today, the Grenadian landscape is a tapestry of cultures and peoples who have struggled, fought for and against, rebelled, oppressed, exploited, survived, and triumphed. They have preserved cultural memories of far-off places, danced to ancestral rhythms, prepared foods that have nourished for generations, told stories of folk spirits that roamed the nocturnal landscape, and scribbled mysterious mythologies on rock faces. All of this has been somehow creolized over the centuries to create the “Isle of Spice” that we celebrate with its rich cultural heritage. As visitors explore Grenada, the places they visit, the activities they enjoy and the people they meet are living, breathing testament to this cultural heritage. It all began, of course, with indigenous peoples from South America who inhabited Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique for the longest period of our cultural history. Though often overlooked, today we recognise the importance of the islands’ indigenous past that dates back to around 300 Current Era (CE), with ceramics and pottery found at over 90 sites so far. These artefacts (many of which are housed at the National Museum) reveal stories of migrations of diverse peoples, plants and animals, of foods and their preparations, of the making of tools, and the cultures of these first Grenadians. Their legacy is most present in our agriculture, especially our vegetable gardens, with crops like cassava, sweet potato, arrowroot, and (Indian) yam, and fruits like guava, mammee apple, sapodilla, and soursop. The indigenous lifeways are dotted across the landscape, including petroglyphs or “Carib Stones” adorned with chiseled faces of humans and animals, and symbols which can be seen on rocks at Waltham, By John Angus Martin Petroglyphs at Mt Rich, St Patrick, circa 500-1000 CE. Associated with the Arawaks, although popularly called ‘Carib Stones’ after Grenada’s most recent indigenous inhabitants. Grenada