MARRIAGE ANYONE?
By:Gregory Ducasse
Published June 2004

West Indians are extremely passionate and ceremonial about their foods. Whether you hail from the Greater or Lesser Antilles, we West Indians are acutely serious about our foods. We also give grave concern as to how it’s prepared, displayed and presented. The realm of marriage is given tremendous importance. Normally when we speak of marriage, we are referring to the joining of a man and woman in Holy Matrimony.

Many times in marriage, the joining of the individual man and woman, creates a better and more refined product. The same ideology can be mentioned about West Indian foods. Many of our foods are married together to create a more succulent taste, individually they taste fine, but collectively they taste superb. Would you want to eat flying fish, without cuckoo? Probably not and I wouldn’t want to have ackee without the salt fish, would you? Mackerel needs to have some green bananas, for a finger licking taste. Imagine fried dumplings, with no salt fish to put in the middle. At the beach or in the privacy of your own house, escoviech fish is wonderful, but a piece of bammy or festival would be perfect to go with this. Bun is loved by many, but it’s incomplete without the cheese and a patty slides nicely in the middle of a cocoa bread.

So, what will it be? Marriage Anyone?

Tek care yu hear, till nex time.

Bwoy wat a ting a Yard di odda day, what a excitement pan di lan, wen, di Queen a culture, Miss Lou, cum back after shi dey a Canada fi 16 year. Shi neva really leff, har heart and mind did still dey a Yard and wid di Yardie people dem. Shi cum as guest from PJ fi tek part inna di Emancipation and Independence festivities. Yes child, one big ting a Yard, nuff people cum out inna dem fandangles, dress to puss foot, fi ketch one glimse a Miss Lou. Shi a gwann long time yunno, from way before mi born, yu can believe sey shi a 83 now, what away time fly Sah. A holeep a tings she do fi Yard, di Yardies and di West Indies in general. Shi have so much tings behind har name, DR, OJ, Hon, by time yu dun introduce har at one event, everyting done. Mi memba, Ring Ding wid shi and Majorie Wilder, how dem do skit and talk bout Brodda Anancy, Brodda Cow and Brodda dog. Di pickney dem face, light up like Christmus Tree, dem did luv it man, dem neva waan leff. YU caan figet di nuff show and pantomine shi do wid Mass Ran, what a pair dem dey two did mek, cumeen like everyting dem sey mek yu laugh. Shi did de pan radio to, a do ‘Miss Lou Views’, everybady always tune een fi lissen dat, shi always talk bout politics, Brodda Anancy and de likkle pickney dem. Shi did always hav a special luv fi di pickney dem, shi luv dem bad man. Shi did also do nuff skit and show wid Mass Eric Coverly, Mass Coverly compliment har nuff, dem did mek a good team. Yu did know sey dem did married fi 48 years, what a long time dat and dem did have a good marriage to. Miss Lou teach wi di importance a wi local heritage and culture, dat wi mussy proud a wi patios language and no shame fi talky anywey. Shi neva care whether yu a blackman, coolieman, chinyman or whiteman, she juss did waan tell yu bout Brodda Anancy and Jack Mandora. Di whole a Yard and di West Indies, sey nuff big up to Miss Lou and nuff tanks to di holeep a year a entertainment and laughter shi gi wi. Although shi de a Canada now, har heart and mind, neva did leff Yard.

Tek care yu hear, until nex time,