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When doing this topic I could not help to remember this book from my Form Five days. 'The Wine of Astonishment' by Earl Lovelace a well accomplished Caribbean author. It shows the story of the struggle of a Spiritual Baptist community, from the passing of the Prohibition Ordinance in 1917 until the lifting of the ban in 1951. It is told by one of the members of the church Eva. The wife of Bee the leader of the spiritual Baptiste church of Bonasse.
This book truly encompasses the struggle of the african people trying to regain some sort of their african ancestral belief and culture. Its shows their struggle against the law through struggling with the police lead by Corporal Prince, betrayal mainly shown by Ivan Morton who upon coming a council man and gaining power and wealth leaves his people and forgets their struggle, Bolo the warrior turned menace represents rebelliousness within the society. As warrior, he is both admired and feared, but when he is the only one to stand up to the police and proclaim the rights of the people, the people refuse to support him and fail to stand up for their rights, he turns to terrorizing them in a method as to make them realize they must be willing to stand up in order to be free. While Bolo the leader stand as the leader trying to keep his church, family and in extension his community together through these troubling times.
this book really open ]my eyes as to the struggle the Spiritual Baptiste Religion faces as to becoming a major religion in the Caribbean.

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Shouta Baptist Celebration
Eid ul Fitr Celebration
Pagwa Celebration
Easter Celebration
What do they have in Common?
These and other religious celebration are all celebrated within the Caribbean region within our demographic society.
These various religious festivals are celebrated year with some such as Christmas and Divali are celebrated and enjoyed by those not of the faith. Year round programs and other activities are done to raise awareness of various holidays, they are also taught in school as to teach further cultural awareness. One major aspect that all this is done without fear of persecution or disrespect based on one religious belief. Parades, vigils and marches are done without protection and are a annual occurrence.
This further shows that the Caribbean has become understanding and respectful of each other's belief's and systems.

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To be honest at first I saw no importance of Caribbean Civilization, it held nothing relevant to the degree which I was studying and thus saw it as a nuisance, but from the first class I saw that I was hugely mistaken this course showed me that I had no idea of the depth of Caribbean history and how all that has allowed to live in unity.
The topics of gender equality and Religion which is the main topic of my portfolio showed that I lacked a lot of knowledge of the origins of these issues and the struggles that came with them at first.
The lectures were very educational with clear messages from the lecturers, with the addition of songs at the start and end often had me  on edge to which song would me selected for me to dance and sing along to, These videos also showed as a useful tool in the final lecture of Caribbean Cultural Identity.
The tutorials were useful as we were given face to face interaction with lecturers and peer which led to some memorable discussions and arguments.
The book Beyond Massa showed to as a indispensable wealth of knowledge especially as its topics were very useful in further understanding  and as extra reading for the lecture Beyond The Rivers Of Babylon. and has easily made it to my library of African Literature as its take on the plantation system was well done.
From this course I have learned that the Caribbean and its people those who were brought and the original inhabitants have been through many trials and tribulations some of which have personally left me speechless and shocked,but in the end our solidarity as a people for freedom ans creating a paradise were we could all live in harmony, no matter creed, race, age or religious belief.

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The picture above is of a Part of a 1992 series honoring the Inter-Religious Organization, the Baha’i stamp sat alongside stamps commemorating Trinidad and Tobago’s major religions: Christianity, Baptists, Islam, Hinduism.

This organization and stamp shows how far we have come as a people, but seeing this picture had me asking this question as well:

Although religion is now a major part of our culture has it always been this way?

Throughout the semester and extra reading I learned quite a bit, the introduction of religion within the Caribbean region began in the 15th century. The first major religion within the Caribbean was the Roman Catholic religion which has remain a dominant religion especially here in Trinidad & Tobago, this came along with the time of Christopher Columbus. Due to our geographical location, the Caribbean countries were not part of the western world and the Amerindian who were discovered were believed to be barbaric and pagan. With the rush for wealth the plantation system began where the local population was put under enslavement. This was the time were religion was truly in traduced to the population with the main group of missionaries being the Roman Catholic, as well as non-conformist’s groups such as Baptist, Methodist etc.

But the coming of these religions were problematic at first. Although there were many missionaries etc., who were sent to save the ‘lost souls’ and even speak out and against the harsh system of slavery many instead chose to fall victim to the secular movement, which was the obtaining of wealth. Another issue was the fact that most missionaries who were given the opportunity to enter the Caribbean were given that permission by the planter, who at that time had the greatest power of the Caribbean region. With this came further division as there were different approaches taken by the missionary’s as there were those who wanted to save ‘lost souls’. While others favored the agenda of the planters. Which lead to the preaching obedience and non-defiance which lead to a docile workforce to keep the social structure.

With end of slavery the release of Africans and the beginning of indentureship saw the entrance of other religions such as Islam, and Hinduism two other major religions of the Caribbean.

At the end I came to the conclusion that religion especially in terms of Christianity was not always beneficial as there the darker side of it is seen and its effects on the enslaved Africans were detrimental as they were pushed away from freedom and into slavery, but with the changes in time there was a changeover from these disturbing scriptures to one of peace and love. This doctrine which is shared amongst all major religions has allowed to find peace and unity despite difference in religious belief.

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What is religion? It is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.

Why did I choose Religion and its effect on Caribbean Identity? Throughout this course, I have further learned that the Caribbean is well known for its diverse culture as a multitude of creeds and races have had the ability to live together in peace and tranquility. During this the aspect of religion as part of  our culture easily grabbed my attention from the first reasons why it was used to now being a major part of cultural identity and unity of the Caribbean people.

This has pushed me to do a portfolio with a major focus on religion