Garifuna Settlement Day celebrated in Dangriga

Garifuna parade

Wednesday, November 19, 2014. AARON HUMES Reporting: This morning under overcast skies, hundreds of Belizeans gathered at the riverside in Dangriga town to officially welcome the reenactment of the first arrival of the Garinagu to Belize in 1802 on a day that has come to be known as Garifuna Settlement Day.

The reenactment

Following the docking of the three boats on the North Stann Creek River, the Garinagu and Belizeans of other ethnicity proudly paraded to the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church for the official Mass of Thanksgiving which was celebrated in Garifuna.

Garifuna parade to the church

Following the Mass of Thanksgiving, an official ceremony celebrating Garifuna Settlement Day will be held at the Alejo Beni Park.

Official ceremonies are usually rotated among the four major Garifuna population centers, namely Dangriga, Punta Gorda, Belmopan and Belize City.

History records that the first group of Garinagu led by Alejo Beni landed on our shores in 1802 with the first settlers arriving in 1832.

But it was not until Thomas Vincent Ramos led the efforts to have the day officially recognized that Belizeans had an opportunity to salute the accomplishments of the Garinagu people.

Reenactment in Dangriga

Arrival of the reenactment

Garifuna Settlement Day in Dangriga

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