The Islands of the Bahamas via Androsia Batik

With so much to do and so much to see in the Bahamas, its hard just picking one island to visit or one thing to do. Sometimes if your timing is right and you’re in the right place you’ll get a chance to delight in a musical ensemble so dazzling, so earth shattering that it will make you start to dance on the spot.

Its unfamiliar instruments, quirky sounds and the perfectly synchronized tempo of the musicians will start the blood flowing.

Some of you may have had the opportunity to witness this phenomenon and some of you may have only have heard the rumors. Today I’m going to tell you how it all came about and where it will all be taking place in less than two weeks.

The sweet tempo, pulsating beat and the well practiced tunes I refer to are synonymously known as Rake n scrape in the Bahamas. To some this may sound like a foreign concept, only to be understood by the locals, but in fact it can be appreciated by all.

It is unclear as to the exact origin of the term Rake ‘n’ Scrape, but many claim it originated in Cat Island.

Cat island laziness via Ok-Betong

Location

Cat Island is approximately 48 miles long and averages between one and four miles in width. It is located southeast of Eleuthera and northeast of Long Island, over 300 miles from Miami.

The island is home to the highest point in the Bahamas Mount Alvernia which is 206 feet above sea level. Unlike other Caribbean islands which boasts of hills and mountains; the Bahamas for the most part does not have many high rising peaks.

Rumor Behind the Name
Rumor has it that Cat Island was named after pirate Arthur Catt, who used to frequent the island; his treasure is said to be hidden somewhere on the island to this day, can somebody say “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Believe it or not two of the films installments Pirates of the Caribbean II and III were filmed in the Bahamas. Uncanny coincidence, I think not!! While they didn’t use Cat island for any of there epic scenes, the History of the Bahamas was a great influence as to their choice.

Economy

The islands wealth used to stem from cotton farming but today slash and burn agriculture forms the backbone of the Cat Islands livelihood, second only to Tourism.

One of their major harvests, consist of collecting the cascarilla bark, which is shipped to Italy, to be used as a major ingredient for medicine, fragrances and Campari one of my favorites.

The island only has about 1,700 inhabitants which lends to its secluded and quiet nature.

Rake n Scrape

Origins of the music

Slaves all over the Western Hemisphere were able to create instruments with whatever was available to them. With these instruments they would mimic sounds that they were accustomed in their homeland. The saw, for instance creates sounds that can be compared to like instruments such as the Nigerian wood block guiro and the cabasa without the nuances in pitch. The wobbly sound created by the bending, hitting, and scraping of the saw introduces harmonic textures that cannot be explained but must be heard.

Note that the saw, a very important element in rake ‘n’ scrape music keeps the rhythm together as it wobbles up and down. The saw is played by scraping an object, usually an old knife blade, along the saw’s teeth. Today, Rake ‘n’ Scrape music is almost identical to ‘rip saw’ music of the Turks and Caicos Islands (a territory off the southernmost island of The Bahamas), which chose to remain under British rule when the Bahamas sought independence in 1973.

Beginning in the 1920’ through 1940′s, there was an intermingling of the two cultures as contract workers from both regions moved back and forth, following the ebb and flow of work. As a result cultures began to mesh and one of the shared traditional art forms that evolved was the music of rake ‘n’ scrape.

The music is more popular in the Out Islands of the Bahamas. Some may say this is due to the lack of more expensive instruments but is also attributed to a desire by the locals to to preserve their deeply rooted heritage.

In the Bahamas, Cat Island is the only place to celebrate rake and scrape on a large scale, and when I say large I mean an all out party that the islands of the Bahamas are known for.

Warming up the saw

Ophie and the Boys: Partaaayy!!

When

The Rake & Scrape Festival is the signature event for Cat Island which is held ever year during the Labor Day holiday, which falls the first Friday in June.  This year will commemorate the festival’s 12^th time throwing the event. The event which takes place at the Arthurs Town airport site, will feature a Gospel concert, the famous Battle of the Rake & Scrape Bands, live entertainment with local Bahamian artists, quadrille dancing and lots of great Bahamian food and drinks.

Check out the videos below and see how the excitement heats up. Can anybody guess where I’ll be for my next island hopping good time??

Picture resources:
Androsia Batik
Ok betong