Turtle Time: A Cultural Celebration

By Christopher Tobutt

The Cayman Turtle Centre hosted a vibrant Culture Day on October 12, 2024, called “Turtle Time: A Cultural Celebration”

There was Local food and refreshing coconut cocktails with the “Cayman Caboose,” tucked into the front of one of the ‘Cayman Street’ cottages. There was plenty of traditional food and drink on offer, including delicious conch stew and Swanky – Cayman’s traditional drink made from brown sugar and water, with lemon or lime and a touch of tamarind.

When it came to traditional crafts, Billy Banker was busy demonstrating the art of traditional ropemaking – with a hand-turned machine that winds the strands of rope, made from silver thatch palm leaves, together. Smiling children helped him make the tough rope which used to be Cayman’s main export, with thousands of miles of rope being made every year, until nylon rope replaced it in the early 1960s and other ways of making a living came along. The rope was prized by seafarers for its toughness and resilience to salty water. 

Wray Banker was also there – showing traditional games such as Wori – an ancient game originating in West Africa and carried on throught the Caribbean. There is a board, with pits or holes carved out of it and wooden pieces or seeds. It is actually one of the oldest games in the world, going back more than 3000 years, and was brought to the Caribbean via the slave trade.

Wray was also showing some of he Miss Global contestants – who were visiting local landmarks prior their Grand Finale the following day, how to blow a conch shell – sounding it with a long resounding note.

Deal Ebanks was there too – also an expert conch blower – who was, along with his daughter,  demonstrating his wooden spinning tops – gigs – that used to entertain Cayman’s children for hours before the days of iPods, pads, and phones.

There was steel pan music too, and some of the Miss Global International contestants – Miss Cuba and Miss Guyana – were showing everyone how to dance

When it comes to thatch weaving, Rose May Ebanks demonstrated the craft of making beautiful baskets, bags, and bonnets to delighted visitors. But there was also kite-making. Yes, Caymanians used to make and fly their own kites in the days before computers television, and other stuff.

They used to build ships here too – beautiful and elegant schooners such as the Cimboco. So it was no surprise that right outside the Turtle Centre’s Schooner Bar and grill there was a display of catboats – the schooners’ much smaller cousins, which used to be Cayman’s taxis, fishing boats, and pickup trucks, servicing each community, back in the day when good roads were scarce.

Two visitors for Connecticut were delighted to be there: “We absolutely love this place and everything that is happening today,” they said.