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LOCAL Monday 24 June 2024
Aruba celebrates Dera Gay!

(Oranjestad)—Every year on June the Island, respectively. The origin
24th, the Aruban community come story of this religious and cultural
together and celebrates one of festival has several versions. The
our most authentic traditions: Dera religious origin is associated with
Gai*, or Dia di San Juan (St. John’s the birth date of St. John the Bap-
Day). This is a national holiday for tist, while the cultural origin is tied
us, and families and friends usu- to the harvest festival. Although it
ally spend the day visiting several has a religious aspect, Dera Gai
places around the island to de- is predominantly recognized as a
light in traditional cuisine, music, cultural festival featuring music,
games, ambience and the famous dance, and singing. The dominant
Dera Gai Dance. colors are red and yellow. Yellow
symbolizes the flowering kibraha-
Brief history of Dera Gai cha tree, while red represents the
Dera Gai is a celebration with vari- candle that is lit on the eve to an-
ous origins and histories. The cul- nounce the festival of the following
tural festival of San Juan (St. John day. From the pagan point of view, sunset, the celebration of San Juan
the Baptist), known locally as Dera a fire is lit when that year’s harvest starts in different districts with Dera
Gai, dates back to 1862 and is cel- proved to be fruitful. Gai dance, candle dance, and
ebrated every year on June 24th. flag dance. The candle dance is houses. Those who still perform the
According to tradition, the festival performed for protection against dance in the fields or on the ground
This holiday is rife with both pagan begins on June 23rd when peo- illness and bad luck. The most use a calabash. There is also a
and Christian symbolism reflecting ple light cornstalks as a symbolic well-known dance is the Dera Gai, flag dance, where small flags are
the influences of the Arawak na- cleansing to prepare for the new where a dancer, with his eyes cov- placed on the ground and a per-
tives and Spanish missionaries on harvest season. On June 24th, after ered and a stick in his hand, at- son with their eyes covered by a
tempts to kill the “gai” (rooster). cloth searches for the flags. The
Traditionally, a hole was dug in ceremony is accompanied by folk
the ground, and a live rooster was music.
buried in the hole up to its neck.
Blindfolded revelers would then be The prominent musical instruments
given three tries to decapitate the are the fio, wiri, and tambu. The
rooster with a long pole (piñata- Dera Gai chant dates back to
style). (The Catholics considered 1862. Of course, this celebration is
this ritual to be symbolic of the de- not complete without traditional lo-
capitation of St. John the Baptist cal food and drinks. The festival of
while the pagans believed that the San Juan and Dera Gai regained
spilling of the blood would fertilize popularity in the 1970s among the
the earth for the next growing sea- local population, and schools also
son.) The one to carry out the deed started paying attention to this
was rewarded with bottles of alco- popular festival. “San Juan is com-
hol and other prizes. ing, San Juan is going.”

Today, a dummy is used, and the *Dera Gai: The word “gai” in Pa-
dance takes place during public piamento means “rooster”, and is
festivities or neighborhood club pronounced like “guy”.

The Department of Culture organizes school project “San Juan

Festival” at Cas Tan Tin

Last Monday morning, Minister the Aruba Fire Department, orga-
Maduro was present at Cas Tan nized an educational program for
Tin for the Department of Culture’s Preparatory and Basic School stu-
school project “San Juan Festival - dents from grades 1 to 3. A total
Dera Gai,” where children received of 32 schools and about 3,000 chil-
information about our traditional dren had the opportunity to experi-
harvest festival on Saint John’s Day, ence and learn about Saint John’s
celebrated today, June 24th. Day and the Dera Gai dance from
June 11 to 20.
The Department of Culture, in col- scream contest, which are events
laboration with Cas Tan Tin and In the Cas Tan Tin field, Minister that form part of the Saint John’s
Maduro of Culture attended the Day celebration. is lit to avoid danger.
presentation by the Department of
Culture team led by John Freddy From the Aruba Fire Department, At the end of the event, Minister
Montoya, who explained the rea- Mr. Francis Toussaint explained the Maduro handed out a certificate
sons for celebrating Saint John’s tradition of lighting fires on Saint to each child who participated in
Day and showed all the festival el- John’s Day to the children and ad- the dance demonstration and the
ements important for the children vised against lighting fires because Gay scream contest. Afterwards,
to recognize in the celebration. This it can be dangerous for people, all schools received a tour of the
was followed by singing popular animals, and the environment. He historic Cas Tan Tin house so they
harvest songs, demonstrating the provided tips on what to do if a fire could see how life was in Aruba in
San Juan dance, and even a Gay the past.