Cayman Islands Pirates Week Float Parade Competition winners (Saturday 12th November).

Musical Group/Band – Pan N Riddim

General Large Float – Credit Union

District Competition
· 1st place – East End
· 2nd place – George Town
· 3rd place – West Bay

East End won with a one point difference over George Town.

Float descriptions:

East End
“Love of Old” is set in a traditional Cayman chapel, where a wedding is conducted – symbolic of our Christian heritage and values.

The underwater scene depicts our visitors love of our islands. They fall in love with our beautiful sea and beaches; as precious jewels of the Caribbean, “Beloved Isle Cayman”.

East End’s “Lover’s Wall” is a modern depiction of love. From the four corners of the globe, it comes to life in our district, where seas brush the iron shore and drape you with serenity and peace, as you watch a beautiful sunsets – or as you profess your love to that special someone under the Cayman moonlight.

George Town
Showcasing an old time Caymanian wedding ceremony and celebrations, the George Town district float depicts an old Caymanian wedding in progress and the twist is that the bride is marrying her true love, A Pirate. You will observe the Pastor presiding over the bride and groom; the Pastor, in these days was well known and regarded as a well-respected individual in the community and would be a leader of a local congregation.

The wedding is taking place outdoors in a yard that is covered with fresh beach sand; the aisle is lined with conch shells and gravel. The flowers used are all handmade from paper and the other plants used to decorate are our local coconut palms, thatch, Poinciana and curling fern are attendees to the celebration are seated in benches and dressed in traditional clothing fitting for the occasion.

The wedding cake is made of fruit and nuts that were soaked in cake wine and other spices. The cake is placed on a table as a center piece of the ceremony; the table is draped with a hand woven table cloth that was crochet and this table cloth was traditionally passed down through the ages from one family member to the other.

The Bride is dressed in a traditional wedding dress made primarily of lace for it formal appearance and the dress is lined with satin or chiffon and cancan to provided its flair. The dresses were fully covered and white in color representing modesty and purity along with the vial to cover the brides face until sealing the union with a kiss and begin their new walk in life.”

West Bay
During Cayman’s Age of Romance an important part of courtship rituals was a formal ‘letter of intentions’ written by the male suitor to the parents stating what his intentions were and asking for their daughters hand in marriage. This had to be done and accepted [which wasn’t always] before consent for the girl to even start formally courting.

The letter could even serve as a legal document if the suitor could be sued if he changed his mind or didn’t live up to his part of the agreement. The courtship visits usually happened on the front porch and had to be chaperoned either by a parent or close family member. If a couple managed a unsupervised rendezvous and the results ‘bore fruit’ he would be “compelled to marry”, by shotgun marriage if necessary. This practice of writing letters seems to have lasted until at least into the 1960’s.

IMAGES: Shankar Ebanks