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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.
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