Gombeys Attend Pow-Wow In Massachusetts
A group of Bermuda Gombeys made their way to Massachusetts to take part in the Mashpee Wampanoag Pow-Wow which was held from July 5-7.
Boston.com reports that, “Among the dozens of dancers in traditional regalia, wheeling and stomping to the pounding drumbeat, a group wearing neon-colored masks and towering peacock feather headdresses stood out.
“These Gombey dancers from Bermuda were in East Falmouth on Saturday to reconnect with the Mashpee Wampanoag, a Cape Cod Native American tribe that the Bermudans consider long-lost family.”
The Boston Globe quotes Nives Filice, chairwoman of the St. David’s Islanders and Native Community, as saying, “Our ancestors were brought to Bermuda as slaves in the 1600s and we’ve been trying to find each other ever since.”
“Traditional dances were the only pieces of Wampanoag culture to survive centuries of slavery and cultural repression in Bermuda, Filice said, and even those traditions were drastically altered as they mixed with the cultures of other slaves. But the Bermudian group is beginning to reclaim its heritage,” reported the Boston Globe.
The Gombeys trip to Massachusetts follows after the Bermuda Pow Wow in St David’s last month, which saw dozens of visiting Native Americans make their way to Bermuda.
You can view a photo gallery of the Pow Wow, which includes photos of the Bermuda Gombeys, here on CapeCodOnline.com
