Gales Point Manatee – Rich in Culture and Tradition
Nestled in southern Belize District is the Creole village of Gales Point Manatee. The small fishing and farming community is on a peninsula in Southern Lagoon and has a population of about three hundred persons. The first annual Manatee Day was held over the weekend. The two-day event was a celebration of food, culture, a way of life for the community – all with the hope of boosting tourism in the area. News Five’s Duane Moody reports in this week’s Kolcha Tuesday feature.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Have you ever been to Gales Point Manatee? History speaks of the peninsula in southern Belize as being the home of sailing races and traditional Creole foods and music, as well as dances like the sambai. There is a rich cultural heritage contained in this small village of approximately three hundred.
Jason Altschaft
Jason Altschaft, Chairman, Gales Point Village
“That has been what has preserved the culture because it’s been us. It’s just been us back here lonely; we have to entertain and have a good time with ourselves and we keep that culture alive for that same reason. Manatee day is really about the culture. You are going to get a lot of foods that you don’t get anywhere. Right now it is mango time, cashew time, cashew chicken. There are a lot of desserts – small – two-dollar, three-dollar items, but there are things like tablet, stretch mi guts – a lot of local foods, wanglas.”
It is flanked on one side by the Caribbean Sea and the other by a lagoon. But why Gales Point Manatee you say? Well, the area boasts a healthy manatee population. Growing up in the community gave birth to the “Manatee man” Jamal Galvez. He is the Program Coordinator for the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute.
Jamal Galvez
Jamal Galvez, Program Coordinator, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute
“The village is named after the species specifically for a reason. Right here weh we deh, manatees inhabit this entire waterway. This is one of the most important habitats for manatees – not just dah Belize, but ina di region. So dah neva wah guess that this place name after the species and the people here embrace that. They love that. So when you call me manatee man, I like that when you call people manatee people I proud of that. Dah like saying you dah Belizean; we dah from manatee.”
Subsistence farming and hunting are also livelihoods in Gales Point Manatee. But fishing and sailing are among some of the traditions associated with this Creole village that was established back in the 1600s. It now forms part of the tourism product in the area. Sailing the “King Dola” is a technique that is being passed down through generations.
Kevin Andrewin
Kevin Andrewin, Chairman, Gales Point Wildlife Sanctuary
“It’s a historical community. A community that you can fidn the fire sambai; you can find something that you call the king dola. But before you learn about the king dola, you have to know about the side keel. And this side keel and king dola is here from the sixteenth century come down. Side keel and king dola; this is a side keel that I have in my hand here. You have to learn to put in the keel. Then when you learn to build a side keel, then you learn to build a king dola and sale a side keel. And if you learn a side keel, you will know about king dola because you’ll know how to balance. To preserve our culture, we have Emmett teaching about the drum; John Moore and myself teaching about the king dola because king dola is special. The big rig and the small right; today we have small rig race because what we do, we mix up with the youth – the elders and the youth today, it’s a combination because they are the future.”
The first ever Manatee Day is intended to boost economic activity in the village and increase tourism.
Rodwell Ferguson
Rodwell Ferguson, Area Representative, Stann Creek West
“Majority of people in Belize City are originally from Gales Point so they come to support the activities. And low and behold, I am hearing rumours that when the redistricting is over Gales Point is going to be a part of Stann Creek West. Gales Point have a lot of potential; it’s a little peninsula. And once you see water, the people want to come. But at the same time, if you are going to sit down with them and develop Gales Point, it have to be in a way that the local people get the benefits.”
Jason Altschaft
“We just came together, let’s do a two-day event. We need to bring some life and this is really gonna start to bring some economy and start some people so they can start doing their small businesses, maybe they’ll grow into restaurants now. These are the baby steps that we got to make to climb that ladder.”
Jamal Galvez
“Now with the road being paved, we want to share this village in a sustainable way so that people can come here and see manatees, bring income to the community and we could share this community wth people as well.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
