Carib Queen

The Carib Queen is the leader of the indigenous community in Trinidad and Tobago. The Queen, whose title was established in 1875, is based at the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago. The position is a lifetime appointment.

The use of "Carib" in the title "Carib Queen" is meant to represent all people of indigenous Amerindian descent in Trinidad, rather than referring specifically to ethnic Caribs.

History

The Spanish were the first Europeans to colonise the island of Trinidad, which was already home to the Carib and other indigenous groups. Catholic Catalan Capuchin friars were tasked with converting the Amerindian population to Catholicism. The Caribs and other groups resisted the Spanish, but the population shrunk due to disease and other factors. The Spanish eventually settled all of Trinidad's remaining indigenous population on a reservation at the Spanish mission at Santa Rosa de Arima, now the present-day the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community, in Arima. The indigenous population converted to Catholicism and adopted the Spanish language.

In 1797, the British seized control of Trinidad. The British shuttered the Santa Rosa reservation and mission. However, the Catholic presence remained among the indigenous population. The British also deported indigenous people from their other Caribbean possessions, both ethnic Carib and non-Carib, to Trinidad, where their descendants form the population of today's Santa Rosa First Peoples Community.

During the mid-1800s, Spanish missionaries, who remained on Trinidad during British rule, decided to install a new leader for the Amerindian community. However, the missionaries rejected the idea of a male chieftain for the local Amerindians. Instead, the missionaries allowed them to have a line of female rulers. The community called the new leader "Queen" out of respect.

The first recognised Carib Queen, Delores MacDavid, was installed in 1875, marking the beginning of the position. The last major indigenous leaders had been killed or overthrown in the late 1700s. As the first Carib Queen, MacDavid filled the role of an indigenous cultural leader which had been absent from Trinidad for much of the 1800s. MacDavid, who had no formal education, successful balanced the influence of the Catholic Church with need to preserve traditional Amerindian culture and customs. The Catholic Church in Arima made the Carib Queen the head of the Santa Rosa de Lima Festival, also known simply as the Santa Rosa Festival. MacDavid also held meetings at her home to pass along the history and culture of her people to the younger generations.

Until 2011, all Carib Queens have been homemakers. Jennifer Cassar, the Queen from 2011 to 2018, a civil servant, was the first Queen to hold a secular job outside her role within the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community.

Duties

The Carib Queen functions as leader of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community and the indigenous population of Trinidad and Tobago. The Queen heads the Council of Elders of the Santa Rosa Community.

The Carib Queen holds no official legal status Trinidadian law. Likewise, the title did not hold legal status under British colonial administration. However, the Carib Queen holds high cultural status within the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community and the indigenous community.

One of the Carib Queen's main roles is to handle the planning and preparation for the Santa Rosa Festival, which is held annually every August. The Santa Rosa Festival was first held by Spanish missionaries in the 1700s and remains one of the few indigenous festivals on the island. According to then Queen Jennifer Cassar, who referred to the Santa Rosa Festival in 2011, "We are continuing the celebration which has been ongoing for 200 years. It began in the 1700s. It is one of the few indigenous festivals that have thrived."

The Queen is also tasked with the promotion of Christian values, specifically Roman Catholicism, within the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community.

The Carib Queen is selected or elected based on her knowledge of the Santa Rosa indigenous community, including its history, culture, customs, way of life, and oral traditions. According to tradition, the incumbent Carib Queen has the ability to choose her successor. However, the most recent Queens, Justa Weges (1988–2000), Valentina Medina (2000–2011) and Jennifer Cassar (2011–2018), died in role before naming their own successors. Their successors were elected. An election for the new Carib Queen is scheduled to be held in September 2018 to choose a successor to the late Queen Jennifer Cassar.

In an interview, Queen Valentina Medina, who held the position from 2000 to 2011, Medina summed up her responsibilities as the then-holder of the position, "Each predecessor nominates her successor, who is then affirmed by the Council of Elders and thereupon declared Queen for life...I consider myself as a moral role model, I offer help and advice to members of the tribe who are in trouble, and I make sure our traditions are kept up."

List of Carib Queens

There have been six Carib Queens since the creation of the title in 1875.

References

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Indigenous leaders of the Americas
Noble titles created in 1875
Elective monarchy