A Personal Account:
I remember that night quite vividly. It was during the late 1950s in the Morne Diablo area, South Trinidad. My aunt had just given birth, and I was standing outside their home, listening to the pandemonium inside. From where I stood, I could hear the chaotic noises, but I didn’t see anything directly. I was told that my uncle, normally a strong man, was frozen in fear in the corner when he saw the newborn child. Vashti, the mother, was said to be slipping in and out of consciousness.
Inside, Ms. Ingrid, the ‘chaamine’, was struggling to control the situation. She told me later that she tried in vain to hold down the child, but it scratched her fiercely and scurried under the bed. During a brief moment of silence, when the child had stopped screaming and growling, it was said to target the father with insults. With a disturbingly deep, unsettling voice it shouted: "Boysie! Wey yuh mudda? Watch yuh, yuh moorkh!" From outside, I could hear the cries, the screaming, the moving furniture.
Ms. Ingrid said that earlier, as soon as the child was delivered, it asked her in ‘a big man’s voice’ what she was doing there. She said she never expected the raakhas to be that strong, that the “kala jaadu that griping Vashti was too much.”
Ms. Ingrid described the creature as looking like a slippery, black ‘crapaud,’ with teeth like a dog. We were told to go ‘up de road’, away from the house. I heard later that when they eventually mustered the courage to look under the bed, the ‘thing’ was gone.
The trauma of that night left my aunt mute for nearly two years, and my uncle, unable to cope with the stress, fell into alcoholism, which ultimately led to his death. Ms. Ingrid herself was never the same after that night. To be honest, nothing was right after that, especially with Auntie Vash—no amount of puja, or visits from priests and pundits could bring her back to her old self. She eventually passed away in 2004. To this day, the memory of that night haunts me—the eerie cries, the growls, the stories from Ms Ingrid, it was really something else yes.”
- D. Bheepat
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"The Raakhas"
The tale of the “Raakhas” is a chilling legend that likely evolved with the East Indian indentured labourers who came to the Caribbean and was propagated by their descendants. This folklore may have been influenced by the “Rakshasa” of Indian mythology—demonic or ‘goblin-like’ beings known for their shape-shifting abilities, immense strength, and in some instances, an insatiable appetite for human flesh.
In Trinidad, a Raakhas/Raa-khas is a sinister newborn creature, often resembling a young rat, monkey, or frog, with a complexion as dark as night. It bears a high, sloping forehead, and its menacing grin reveals four protruding teeth—two on the upper jaw and two on the lower. Its long fingernails, toenails, and hair add to its eerie appearance, and it may even possess a tail. Upon birth, the raakhas immediately attempts to flee, leaping through windows and scaling rooftops, all the while shrieking the names of its parents as a chilling omen of impending doom.
The chaamine (midwife) faces a grim task: to kill the raakhas by strangling it or crushing its chest with a grinding stone (sil) the moment it is born. If the creature survives, it becomes a relentless predator, seeking to end the lives of its parents and others by clawing at their flesh and piercing their necks with its razor-sharp teeth.
The child never lives beyond a few days; it either perishes naturally or is mercilessly destroyed by human hands. A child is cursed to become a raakhas as a result of its mother's dark karma.
Have you ever heard of this tale?
Further Reading:
- Mahabir, K., & Khan, A. (2010). Indian Caribbean folklore spirits. Chakra Publishing House.
- Pattanaik, D. (2003). Indian mythology: Tales, symbols, and rituals from the heart of the subcontinent. Inner Traditions.
- https://www.nalis.gov.tt/.../Indian-Caribbean-Folklore
(Source: San Fernando North Community Library, July 20, 2024)

KIM JOHNSON
THE tributes have been paid on the death of my maternal uncle Prof David Picou, who died on May 4. He was one of the great Caribbean men, whose research into malnutrition saved millions of children’s lives in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Asia, when starvation was rife. As my daughters’ obstetricians once told me, he was one of the region’s greatest scientists.
And that’s fine and well-deserved, but it doesn’t give an idea of the man, who was no stuffy scientific nerd, all work and no play.
No one mentioned, for instance, that Uncle David loved Carnival passionately, like many Chinese-Trinis. At his home was a collection of paintings of pan and mas, and copperwork by Ken Morris from his costumes.
When he lived in Jamaica, after about 20 years, he began returning to Trinidad for every Carnival to play mas, starting with Peter Minshall’s Paradise Lost, until he moved back here. For that first band, he was part of the group that made a plaster of Paris mould for Peter Samuel – who had a damaged spine – so his Serpent in the Garden of Eden costume could be strapped on without hurting the masquerader.
So the masman that was Prof Picou was never isolated from the academic. In 1981, for instance, there was a conference on Carnival at The UWI, and one presenter did not show up. I was working as a research assistant at The UWI at the time and I invited Uncle David to fill the spot. He did so, and spontaneously presented one of the most insightful analyses of the aesthetic considerations involved in designing a king-of-the-bands costume.

At first Uncle David came home under his own steam, but after a while he arranged every The UWI faculty of medicine meeting to be held in Trinidad in the Carnival season so that academics from around the world would get a taste of what he loved as much as his medical research.
He would rigorously make attendees work without a break till about 2 pm. Then he’d say, “Ok, work done for the day – time to lime.” And he’d pour drinks. At night they’d all go to a calypso tent.
He always played a section leader in the band in a large, ornate costume, which he’d take back to Jamaica. Those days there was a family joke that Uncle David’s sole topic of conversation was either the Carnival just passed, or the next one coming in six months’ time. And when he had people over to his home in University Close in Mona, and the rum started to flow, and the calypso was blasting on the stereo, he’d put on his costumes – as many as he could wear at the same time – and begin to dance. In The Sea he played a manta ray, with 15-foot wings, and he’d put it on to dance, spinning around, knocking over lamps and vases, crash! Smash!
Once he fell off the truck on Carnival Monday and fractured two ribs. He was a doctor, so he knew what had happened. So what? He just bandaged it up and continued playing mas.
He was a deeply social man; he loved to entertain, and he cooked like a pro. At the slightest excuse he’d invite people to his house and whip up an amazing four-course meal of Chinese food. Sometimes I’ve thought that his research into malnutrition made him acutely aware of the blessing that was a good meal.
Every year in Mona he held an enormous Old Year’s Night party that lasted until lunch on New Year’s Day. I’d not gone to Jamaica yet, but I remember it because he’d get my parents to send up, with some BeeWee captain, pastelles, black pudding and souse for the fete.
Then, after he returned home to live, around 1979, I think, he was one of the founders of his old school, Queen's Royal College’s, Men Who Cook fundraisers. Certainly, with his friend Prof Max Richards, he created the Max and Friends fundraiser fete for The UWI.
Once, after Richards had become president of Trinidad and Tobago, Uncle David was in New York and invited him to where he was staying for a lime. As a visiting head of state, the US Secret Service had two bodyguards accompany Richards, and they stood outside the building shivering – it was winter.Uncle David went down and invited them to come inside and join the lime. He persuaded them they’d better do their duty in sight of the president.

I could go on and on, because he also had a mischievous sense of humour and could regale you with amazing scenes from his life as a researcher. But I won’t. I’ll just end with one anecdote from when he was head of the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit in Mona.
At the time he worked with many working-class women who were overburdened with many, many children they couldn’t take care of. He’d prescribe contraceptives so they wouldn’t continue getting pregnant. One came to him complaining that the contraceptives weren’t working and she was pregnant once again, for the eighth or ninth time.
“You made sure to take one of the tablets every day?” he asked the lady.
“Yes doctor,” she replied. “Every day I make sure and push one up."
(source: Newsday, May 14, 2024)

As any typical Trini child my mother believed in certain traditonal practices associated with the advent of a new year. She ensured that all laundry was done and a thorough cleaning of the home be done on New Years Eve followed by burning of incense throughout the house. This was her way of conducting a spiritual cleansing of the home to get rid of negativity and any evil forces.
On New Years Day we were not allowed to sweep the house since she had grown up to believe that you would sweep away the good luck the new year ushered in. Also if you did laundry on New Years Day you will be washing away the life of a family member in the new year.
My father on the other hand believed that your wallet must always have money in it when the old year ended. This he said was to l ensure that you will always have money in your wallet throughout the New Year. These are but a view of the superstitious beliefs I remembered growing up.
What superstitious beliefs do you remember that is associated with New Years Eve or as we say in Trinbago Old Years Day. ?
It would be interesting to hear the beliefs from different parts of the world since we have members who live in many countries other than T&T so please use this opportunity to share your beliefs.
Painting courtesy Rudolph Bissessarsingh (Source: Virtual Museum of Trinidad & Tobago, Dec 28 2023)

From a professional-sounding perspective, Nicholas Walker calls himself a conservationist and nature enthusiast.
But in casual conversation, he is “just a man who likes the bush.”
From fields to forests, the former national footballer is now on a mission to get more people interested in this country’s flora and fauna.
Walker, 33, was raised in St Ann’s, Port of Spain, in a large family. He told Sunday Newsday he has always been surrounded by and in love with nature.
“(As a child) I was exactly like I am now – probably worse. We grew up doing bush things, we had a farm and those kinds of things.”
His childhood heroes were the legendary English broadcaster and biologist Sir David Attenborough and late Australian conservationist Steve Irwin. His eyes would be glued to the TV any time Animal Planet or Discovery Channel were on.
He attended St Margaret’s Boys’ Anglican Primary School, then St Mary’s College. He then did a bachelor’s degree in sports management at the Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, US, graduating in 2014.
It was there the defender played college football and later played professionally for MLS (Major League Soccer) team FC Dallas, among others. He has also played for TT’s national under-20 football team.


But when his grandmother, Gloria Walker, fell ill, he decided to return home in 2018. She died two months after he got back.
Admittedly, just before his return, he felt like he was “losing the connection to (his) roots.”
He recalled his grandmother continually encouraging him.
“She was my rock (and) the greatest matriarch you’d ever meet. She not only raised seven children but 20-30-something grandchildren, and without an education. Seeing that type of love was an inspiration.”
So Walker returned to his happy place – nature.
He said he got the opportunity to travel the world thanks to football, and “by doing that, I realised that TT has so many of the things (flora and fauna) you can see abroad.
“It might be a different colour, but we have it.”
He then felt mandated to urge others to “show some appreciation and encourage them (to explore TT) a bit more.”
That, he concluded, is his purpose.
“It’s the thing that came easy to me.
“I think a lot of people have this idea that they need to chase after their purpose. For me, your purpose is the thing that comes easy to you.”
The passion behind this purpose eventually led to his nature tour business, TTrodOn Tours And Experiences/Exploring TT.
“I started taking friends and it moved from my friends to their family and friends.
“I remember (tours) would be like $20 back then.”
Living up to his surname, his preferred method of transport is walking – which he does barefoot.
In fact, he once walked from Port of Spain to Maracas, and from Port of Spain to Grande Riviere, a fishing community along the northeastern coast.
He now makes YouTube videos of places he hikes or explores with his friends Zakirayya Ali, Saifaudeen Mohammed and Sabrina Ali. In the videos, he gives fun facts about every animal or ecosystem he comes across in effort to educate.
In what he described as “a chance of a lifetime,” he got the opportunity to assist the crew of the BBC docuseries Liz Bonnin's Wild Caribbean in November. The team was here to see the white-fronted capuchin monkey. Bonnin said there are only 50 mature adults left of this species in the world, and they're all in TT.
Bonnin lived here for some time as she was born to a TT mother and her father, originally from Martinique, also lived here.
Walker had visited the area they were exploring – Bush Bush Forest/Wildlife Sanctuary – a week earlier and posted videos about it.
“So a week later, my friend’s mom was like, ‘Aye, these people from the BBC coming.’ Don’t ask me how (she knew) but she said it would be a good opportunity to go see what they do, that I could help them carry equipment…”
So he went.
But after several hours of trying, they still had not found the animal.
“And at one point, I just took it upon myself and said I’d take the camera crew alone to the spot where we found our monkey.”
He said the monkey is very skittish, so the large team would have lowered the chances of its coming out.
“So I could hear a male making a call, and I started whistling back. He was coming closer, to see who is this other male (capuchin) in his territory.
“You could see him coming through the branches, and he came straight to the camera, realised, ‘Wait, this is not a monkey,’ then took off.”
He said a cameraman ran after the monkey, which paused for a drink of water, allowing him to get the perfect photo.
“That experience just solidified my purpose in this space. When it comes to nature in TT, this is what I am supposed to be doing. I am trying to encourage (TT nationals) to learn their home and I think if you do, you can respect it a little more and appreciate it a little more.
“You’d realise in my videos – you don’t really see people. I want to show TT’s nature, and the vibrance of what we have right here.”
He recently came across the Suriname toad, which he said had not been recorded as seen in TT for at least 32 years, as well as the critically endangered golden tree frog.
Sunday Newsday did a mini hike with Walker at the Bamboo Cathedral in Chaguaramas, which he insisted was not a hike but “a small stroll.”
It was there he and the team saw a group of tufted capuchins, among smaller critters.
But Walker credits a lot of his knowledge to the friends he goes on adventures with.
“Yes, I know trees, I know animals, but I learnt from them. I always have to give credit where it is due. They actually have degrees in these things.”
He also does wildlife photography and is known for taking impressive close-up shots of snakes.
“If you sit in nature long enough, stories will start to unfold.”
A dream of his has always been to work with Caribbean Airlines to have his work featured in some way.
He said three weeks ago, the company “messaged (him) out of nowhere” saying they liked his work and wanted to send him to Dominica to do something similar.
“Dominica has been the only place in the world I’ve wanted to go since I was 16, and I still had not been. It was an amazing experience and there was so much to see.”
Although he has seen many animals, he is yet to see a (mapepire zanana) bushmaster (
Lachesis) snake – the largest venomous snake in the Americas – and an ocelot, but hopes he can achieve that soon.
“Nature, in itself, just gives to us, and we are supposed to protect it.” (Source: Newsday Dec 16, 2023)