Memories of Montserrat
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It is a tradition to set the “Jumbie table” which is a table set for the spirits of our dead ancestors to come and feast on Christmas Eve. There would be dire consequences for anyone who interfered with the food before the spirits had come and gone. So, all day, people were cooking, from the pig head to the foot. The head and the foot were used to make Souse. Most of that always went on the jumbie table because as they say “e no taste too good when e fresh so e would taste better de next day”. The belly was used to make the pudden (Pudding) some of that go on the table too. You fry up the liver, cook some yellow yam, some dasheen, some sweet potato, some cassava bread, home made or special order bread, some cake, especially coconut tart, fry up Pork and ham and all these go on the table. Not one part of the pig is wasted. The table is not complete without some hard cheese and some raw salt fish and of course the drinks such as sorrel, coconut water, rum, wine, perks punch, Gin, Brandy and water.
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About the Book
Dr. Irene S. Prospere has written a beautiful anthology of endemic colloquialisms from the perspective of one versed in the wit and nuances of the island people of Montserrat. Every syllable is heavily laced with the lilt and sharpness of a happy and carefree people, rich with the mixture of Irish brogue and colonial English.
She conjures the sweet memories of her home and of days past, growing up with her siblings, cousins, and friends in her beloved village of Collins Ghaut in St. John’s, Montserrat. Walking barefoot to and from school and getting up before the sun to do all her chores are fond memories of a time long gone. The characters in her stories are family, her mother and father, her brothers Wellington, Daniel, Stanley, Clyde, and Everton and her sisters Mildred, Inez and Elizabeth (affectionately called Babylyn).
Her main purpose in putting pen to paper is to capture all the memories, telling stories she heard of people she used to know and her many treasured friends, so that someday future generations can read Memories of Montserrat and never forget that the most important things in life are not riches or fame but family.
About the Author
Dr. Irene S. Prospere is a social scientist with deep roots in Caribbean culture. She is the author of the bestselling book Jesus, The Ultimate Counselor. She was born and raised on the island of Montserrat.