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Old
Sugar Mills
The
Island never was a major exporter of sugar, when over the centuries
many other Caribbean Islands did. There were some sugar estates established.
The ruins of one can been seen on the main road, just past the Hamstead
River at Calibishie. You can wonder through the old stone buildings.
To day there is a large coconut plantation and some of the local farmers
burn copra here. Copra is used to make coconut oil for soaps and other
things.
The river here is also a great place to take a dip to cool off.
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Looking into the
old sugar mill boiler |
Checking the bird
life from the Hamstead River |
Be
sure to ask you host about area guides
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Time-Worn Hands of a
90-Year-Old Calibishie Resident
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Brief History
of Calibishie
This is a village on the north coast of Dominica protected from the
ocean by the longest barrier reef on the island. In the Arawakan language
spoken by the Kalinago/Caribs, the name of this village means: Cali
= net, bishie/shibi = reef. Therefore: "a net of reefs". Settlement
layout consists of houses along a flat sandy coastal strip between the
rivers of Layvyè Salè and Layvyè Dou. It extends
to a series of ridges inland with names such as Savanne Paille, Cret
Coco, Calibishie Ridge, Baptiste Ridge, Jim, Point Baptiste Ridge and
Dubique.
Pre-Columbian and later Carib settlements existed in the area known
as "The Bay" and at Point Baptiste where one hundred Caribs
are recorded as being resident as late as the 1760s. A major natural
feature is the off shore rocks known as Port D'Enfè, the Gate
of Hell, or Mayanbaccali in Carib. After the Carib period, the present
village grew from an area of free peasant farmers that developed between
the boundaries of Hampstead Estate to the west and Hodges Estate to
the east. Family names such as Warrington, Joseph, George, Cyrille,
Nixon, and Celestine have long been associated with the area. A map
showing 'Calibishri'. Made by British map-maker Thomas Jeffreys c1765.
The beautiful village of Calibishie is situated along the seashore protected
by the only barrier reef in Dominica. This mile-long coral reef takes
the force of the sea swells from the Atlantic Ocean and provides a
quiet lagoon within which fishermen can tie up their boats and homes
along the sea side can be protected from the full impact of the ocean.
Some of the other natural features of Calibishie are the red clay rocks,
which cover the headlands around the bay and the distinctive islets
called Port D'Enfer which stand like a gateway to the ocean beyond.
The views across the channel to the French Island of The Saintes, Guadeloupe
and Mariegalante also add to the beauty of the area.Grand Baptiste Bay
near Calibishie.
Oil on board by Lennox Honychurch
The village of Calibishie has its origins in the earliest human settlement
of Dominica when the pre-columbian people made this place their home
many hundreds of years ago. In fact the very name of the village itself
is from the Carib language just like the neighbouring areas of Bellibou
and Batibou.
Here in this village the indigenous people built their canoes and their
big Karbay or Taboui houses on the sandy flat where the village stands
today.
It was an excellent place for them to live: The reefs provided them
with conch (lambi) and lobsters as well as cong and other fish. There
were small streams for water and land on the ridges behind for growing
their manioc to make kassav and farine, as some people in Calibishie
still do today. The forest behind the village provided them with a wealth
of material for their everyday lives, from medicinal plants to wood
for their houses.
All of this changed after the first French settlers arrived from Guadeloupe
as the Caribs moved away from the area towards Salibya. But as late
as 1765 there were some one hundred Caribs living at Calibishie. The
French gave the village names such as Savanne Paille, Crete Coco, and
Riviere Salee.
The Frenchmen left their names here also at places such as Pointe Baptise
and Dubique.
Red Rocks
near Calibishie.
Ink and watercolour,
Lennox Honychurch
When the British took over the island of Dominica in 1763 they established
the large neighbouring estates of Hampstead and Hodges and the West
African people who were brought to work these estates eventually settled
here and began to establish the village as we know it today. The fishermen
and small farmers were the backbone of the community and we must always
respect the memory of these ancestors in providing the foundation of
your present community. There are many older people in this community
who can provide a detailed oral history of your village and I want to
encourage your young people to go out and write down the memories of
your older folk so that everyone may learn from their experiences and
knowledge. It would be a useful exercise to do.
They will tell you about the days when the road to Portsmouth was only
covered in Macadam; when they had to walk all the way to Hampstead Methodist
Church to go to school and that to get to Roseau they had to go
to Portsmouth and then catch a boat to take them down the west coast
to the capital. They will tell you about the contributions of people
such as Giraud Nixon, Hayes Bryant, Elma Napier, Osborne Theodore and
Sylvester Joseph and of the several other schoolteachers, parliamentarians
and distinguished farmers and fishermen who have all helped to build
this community. It is through this understanding of your past that you
can build for the future. |
