The rainforest, hunters and Tobago’s folklore

Dr Rita Pemberton

Tobago’s rainforest, which is recorded as the oldest protected forest reserve in the hemisphere, was established on April 13, 1876 to attract rain on the island. Its establishment reflects the concerns raised by scientists that the rapid and complete clearing of land in the colonies to establish plantations will result in lowered productivity and reduced profits to investors. It took a campaign that lasted for over 11 years before the members of the British parliament became convinced of the argument put forward by the scientists, and their support was stimulated by developments in Barbados.

The profits generated by this sugar colony sweetened the appetite of both the investors and the imperial government and, as a result, the entire island was cleared for the establishment of sugar plantations. However, evidence of the island’s declining productivity which was attributed to the complete removal of the island’s forest cover for sugar cultivation, lent support to the arguments of the scientists, and raised concerns among members of the imperial administration.

The biologists sent warnings that the productivity and profitability of the colonies would be seriously affected by forest denudation because of the relationship between forests and climate. As a result, the British government sought to ensure that the complete removal of forests as occurred in Barbados, was not repeated in the new colonies. Hence the passage of the law to establish a forest reserve in Tobago, one of its newest acquisitions.

The Main Ridge Forest Reserve has featured as a stimulus to the development of conservation in the British Empire and was seen as a cause celebre for conservationists. Tobago’s Forest Reserve has played an important role in the island’s history and development, not the least of which is related to the protection of the main water source of the island.

When the island’s sugar industry declined, the rainforest ultimately became the apex of the island’s tourism drive. The reserve, which was declared a national heritage, has been the main factor which earned Tobago the world’s leading ecotourism destination by the World Travel Awards from 2003 to 2006 and most recently has been the centre of the Man and the Biosphere designation in Northeast Tobago from UNESCO.

The forest reserve is revered for its unique biodiversity with its diverse ecosystems. Its continental fauna in an island setting constitutes a part of its attraction and its bird species, 31 per cent of which is endemic, is a magnet for bird lovers and researchers. For locals, especially residents of the communities on its borders, the reserve serves as a hunter’s paradise and in the process, a source of the island’s folklore.

Hunting, which was a pastime of the Tobago’s landed gentry during the colonial era, became an important alternative to estate employment after emancipation and provided the means to earn additional income to supplement the low wages that were paid to estate workers. The reserve is home to several animals and birds which are considered wild meat delicacies on the island. These include agouti, manicou, tattoo, Cocrico and parrots.

Hunters, usually in groups, set out with their dogs on which they depend to pick up the scent of the animals and lead them to their catch. Since hunting is a nocturnal activity, it is essential that hunters carry a device to provide light to find their way into the dark forest and with which to locate the animals by their eyes; one eye is a snake, two eyes is a tattoo.

In the days of yore it was the bullifay, which was the gadget which provided light but in more modern times it has been replaced with the torchlight. Essential equipment is carried in the knapsack or haversack, which includes matches, a knife, digging implements such as a small pickaxe called a mattock, a luchette, a lime and rum.

Reflecting their devotion to the spiritualism, the first act of the hunters is to summon the support of the ancestors, which is done at the base of the huge forest tree called the bouldish tree, the hunters’ symbol of spirituality. An invitation to the ancestral spirits to provide a bountiful hunt and a safe return is given with the refrain:

All good families come and have a drink,

East, west, north and south,

And clear our eyes.

Then, the rum is thrown at the base of the tree.

The matches were used to relight the bullifay and to smoke out the agouti from their tree hole shelters.

The lime is used to make a cross on the forehead of the dogs when they are being misled by the unfriendly forest spirits. There are particular areas in the forest which are associated with the spirit presence which can make the hunting trip hazardous. One of the main hazard’s hunters face is getting lost in the forest so they must be able to find the traces that were used to enter in order to find their way out of the forest.

The Main Ridge area abounds with rivers so it is necessary to traverse river crossings before, during and at the end of the hunt. The crossing of Bottom River is provided by three stones which are usually very visible but, according to some hunters, there have been instances when, at the end of the hunt, these cannot be located, and hunters cannot find their way out of the forest.

Unexplained sounds are common hunter experiences. In the area called drum-a-day, the thunder of drums reverberates in the forest with no indication of its source. Hearing unexplained laughter in the bush is also a common experience. The sound of scandalous laughter can be heard accompanying false scents which are received by the dogs causing them to move in circles and hunters to be lost in the forests, for days in some instances.

False scents are given to the dogs which lead them to holes which prove to house snakes rather than the expected tattoos. Images of people crossing the track and sightings of manicou on trees that disappear, and the accompanying mocking laughter suggest evil spirits at work.

Pickney River Water is a bottomless pond in the river about which hunters must beware. At Frenchman’s River Dam, the mirage of white-clad figures in the path, to which the dogs do not respond, and which seem to be preventing the group from crossing, have been seen by hunters.

Hunters have their own peculiar belief systems which guide their actions. They believe that if a snake crosses their path on the way to or during the hunt, it was an ill omen, a blight which is a signal to abandon the hunt and return home.

It is also an accepted truth by the hunters that if the dogs refuse to cross a drain or enter a particular area, it was a signal from the ancestors that they should abandon the hunt. Many hunters believe that there are mystery tombs at the top of Pigeon Hill, a place where few have ventured.

The experiences of hunters in the dark world of the forests give credence to their beliefs that, in addition to the wildlife, the forests are inhabited by spirits, some of which are the protective ancestral spirits and unfriendly jumbies which would mock, mislead and harm the hunters. These beliefs and the practices with which they are associated support and add to the island’s folklore.