By Kenicia francis
The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda held another event for their Unlocking the Museum series over the weekend.
The series is aimed at highlighting various cultural and historical concepts of Antiguan heritage.
Dr Reg Murphy, President of the Archaeological and Historical Society explained that “the idea is to discuss Antigua. What is our culture, what does it mean to be an Antiguan? What are our stories, where do we come from?”
This particular event showcased and discussed the topic of Benna music.
Benna is one of the earliest musical genres produced in the country, tracing back to slavery.
“This isn’t a popular topic. I remember being told ‘don’t sing no Benna in the house on Sunday.’ Most young people don’t even know what Benna is. Today it’s just a name,” Murphy said.
“This is about saving our culture. It’s also the beginning of our mapping of our intangible cultural heritage. We are Antiguans, let’s be proud of who we are. Don’t just see it as the past, because the past is the future.”
Patrice Simon, the Executive Director for the Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourist Association, was also in attendance with her 12-year-old son Trent.
“The only thing for me is I wanted a bit more music, but the discussions, the conversations, everything has been great. As an Antiguan growing up, I didn’t embrace the culture as much as I should have. Once I had children, I wanted to make sure they had that opportunity. So, my interest in having my son here is to let him see his culture, to listen to the stories, and for him to have an appreciation for it as he’s growing up,” she shared.
Meanwhile, Trent added: “The biggest thing I learned today is Benna music is the starter of calypso in Antigua. I would have liked them to go more in depth with original pieces of Benna and compare them to pieces of early calypso to see how Benna has grown over the years.
“We need to learn Antiguan culture more because we’re losing it. As more immigrants come in, we merge with their culture, so we know more about theirs than ours. It’s so beneficial to embrace theirs, but our culture should be more important to us than anybody’s.”
In closing, Simon told Observer, “Let’s support activities like this when we see them. You always hear the phrase, ‘we live where other people vacation’ but we don’t appreciate it as often as we need to. So, let’s learn as much as we can and really appreciate all that Antigua and Barbuda is.”
Trent added, “To people my age, we should be a little more adventurous and not stay inside as much as we do and go explore our island.”