Wake
The following information was taken from Dwight Logan's book 'The Socio - Cultural History of Petite Martinique A fishing island Community'.
On the third, ninth and fortieth night after the death of an individual, a wake becomes the nucleus of activities on the island of Petite Martinique.
A wake takes the form of a prayer meeting. The attendees, mostly women, sit around a table in a house of the deceased. The meeting is chaired by a person called "the chairman" and assisted by another called "the vice-chairman" and begins around 8:00 pm and continues until dawn.
To beging the meeting, there is the recitation or praying of the rosary but instead of the 'Hail Mary' (a Roman Catholic prayer) the following is said, "Oh good JesusFather of Mercy have mercy on the soul of (x) departed" and the response is "and grant him / her rest".
The singing of 'Cantiques' follows it. Cantiques are hymns, which are composed of a combination of patois, English and Latin. Nine cantiques must be sung. After the singing of the cantiques, the chairman would call 'the table' to order. He would then invite those in attendance to stand in order to invite God's presence by singing "Come Holy Ghost".
Using a clockwise movement around the table, the chairman would call on each participant to announce and start a hymn. The singing of an "Anthem" precedes each hymn. An anthem is a popular verse of a song or hymm nor it can be a chorus. It is sung so that the partipants have ample time to find the hymn in the hymnal, which is about to be sung. The men in attendance are provided with tables and chairs in the yard on which they play domino or card games or tell Anansi Stories or even give jokes. There is an intermission at midnigt during which time the people around the tableare served sandwiches and buns with coffee and / or tea. The people in teh yard on the other hand, are served with rum and beers during the entire proceeding.
On the fortieth night, there is an added attraction: the building of a makeshift boat. This is done if the deceased was a captain. The boat comprises a rig with an oil drum representing the body of the boat. Attached to the rig is a lenght of chain, which is allowed to hang from it's center into the inside of the drum. Four men, each holding a section of the rig, extending outwards from teh drum or the boat, move in a circular motion and thus causes the chain to hit against the side of the drum producing a rattling sound. When dawn approaches, the rig and chain are removed from the drum and placed into a wooden rum cask. This is done so that the constant slamming of the rig against the top of the cask will cause it to break into piesces. This symbolises the end ofthe deceased life on the sea. In addition, during the said activity the participating men role-play life on the sea.