A traditional smoke ceremony marked the start of the 240th Santa Rosa Festival on Saturday in Arima.

The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community marked the start of the 240th Santa Rosa Festival with its traditional smoke ceremony on Saturday.

Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez said the festival, which dates back to 1786, is the oldest continuously celebrated event in Trinidad and Tobago’s history.

He explained the significance of the ritual.

“The smoke ceremony is one of the traditional ways that our indigenous ancestors, and even the descendants today, gather to communicate with the creator God, we as Indigenous peoples worship that God, who is spirit, he said I am spirit and worship me in spirit and in truth.”

A cannon blast also precedes the ritual and is enacted more than once during the month of August.

“The cannon blast that occurs on the first of August, is from the corn shed that was blown, on the day of the first and at different intervals during August, when Governor Hollis visited Arima on a Santa Rosa festival many many years ago, he decided that the corn shall outlive the purpose in summoning the people together, and he gave as a gift to the indigenous people together, and he gave as a gift to the Indigenous people the Cannon, and so today we continue to enact this ritual, on the 1st of August.”

The earth, the water, the fire, the breath and the spirit are five important elements needed to provide offerings to nature and connect to God.

The celebration of the Feast Day will be held on Sunday, August 23rd, with a Mass at the Santa Rosa Catholic Church, followed by a procession through the streets of Arima.