“Wheatake 46” Market Day

“Wheatake 46” Market Day

Today I will take you on a little trip to Market Square (Sir Olva Georges Plaza) in Road Town during the first half of the twentieth century. It was the most popular place in the British Virgin Islands, where B. V. Islanders demonstrated their culture of inclusiveness by encoraging one another to be empathetic by demonstrating empathy and acts of inclusion. Those acts of empathy and inclusion catapult them into something that was meaning for themselves and others. On Market Day which was Saturday people from across the Territory met in Road Town to sell their produce, seek medical attention, buy needed commodities from the merchants on Main Steet and meet and greet their friends and relatives. The scenes of infectious love and joy were overwhelming. They were also joined by residents from the eastern end of St John, just across Drakes Channel, who came to purchase commodities and cement friendships. There the butcher stall, the fish boat, the confectioner, the hat maker, the gardener, the agriculturist, the tailor, the cobbler, the rich, the poor, the boyfriend, the girlfriend, the priest, the minister, the doctor, the nurse, the white, the black, the mullatto, the native, the visitor and others met. Their relationships had the capacity to change lives, open doors, and build bridges. On that day in about six hours all those things happened. B. V. Islanders demonstrated their inclusiveness. They shared their brokenness and exchanged remedial ideas. There they planned for the 1853 riots and the 1949 March. There they witnessed their pastor and priest in the rumshop taking a booze with the boys and they wondered how God's messenger could be a "sacco boy." They saw the Commissioner and they whispered "look at he ner he tink he better than we" laughed it off and
forget about it. The stories of the day's interactions would form part of the daily narratives back in the villages during weeks ahead. Life was simple but enjoyable, people trusted one another cared for one another and shared what they had with one another. A family would butcher an animal and share the meat with their neighbours. They met at the well and shared their joys and sorrows and did the same at church.
Wíth the advent of immigation during the second half of the century that culture of inclusiveness began to change and today in the first quarter of the twenty first century the culture is more diverse and less inclusive. Many of us are still trying to navigate this present situation guided by a twentieth century compus and we get off course. Others have dispised the values of the agrarian society from whence we came and they end up on the reef of life.
The challenge we face has its roots in Matthew 9:17: What happens when you put new wine in old bottles? We need to be adequately equipped to manage the affairs of life efficiently and faithfully. It is time to stop putting square pegs in round holes. Those who have ears to hear let them hear.

 

Dr. Charles H. Wheatley