HISTORY OF THE HILLS (Drums of Yoruba Town)

Slavery brought to the shores of this island, Yoruba men and women from Ghana, Nigeria, Benin and Togo. After emancipation, a large number of these ex-slaves moved to the areas that surrounded Port of Spain. What we know today as Laventille, Morvant, Belmont and Gonsalves were once one community called "Yoruba Village" or "Yoruba Town".

Finally, free from the plantations, in a place they could consider home, the Yoruba people practiced and maintained their traditions as much as they could. Among the traditions they refused to let go was their flare for drumming. To the Yoruba, the drum was a sacred instrument. It was used as a form of prayer, a call of exultation, a call for help and a call of celebration.

During times of slavery, the drums were used to invoke the spirits of their ancestors. It was one of the few connections the slaves  still had to mother Africa. When the rigors and inhumanity of slavery forced spirits low, the beating of the drums herald in hope. After emancipation, during the colonial days, the drums carried the ex-slaves through the hardships of colonial oppression and held a supreme post in their celebrations.

Fearing the drum, the rulers of the day passed laws banning the beating of drums. Nevertheless, the people of "Yoruba Town" kept the tradition of drumming alive and ensured that it was passed on from generation to generation.

Laventille ensured that this tradition of drumming endured by nurturing a multitude of drummers and groups in its hills. In this spirit, each year, the community hosts the Yoruba Drum Festival, one of the major highlights leading up to Emancipation Day.

Sadly, today, apart from the drums, the only evidence of  Yoruba Town's existence, is the Yoruba Square located near Besson Street, just opposite Deliverance Temple.

The next time you happen to pass by Yoruba Square, remember that it is a testament of Yoruba Town and the strength of its  people, who were able to keep their tradition of drumming alive, even to this day, against insurmountable odds.