The fourth Monday of July marks the traditional start of hurricane season in the Virgin Islands. Hurricane Supplication Day is in fact celebrated as an official holiday in the U.S. part of the archipelago with dedicated services and praying around the idea of hurricanes landing on the islands. Deeply interwoven with religion, the day helps to ingrain a common notion of risk, and a community desire to be avoid the damages that a hurricane may carry. In short, the holiday may operate as a popular day in disaster preparedness.
While a hurricane could hit the Virgin Islands before the date - in fact the meteorological standard sets June 1 as the beginning of hurricane season - the festivity signals a common reminder of what may happen in the months ahead and the importance of raising a shared consciousness towards it.
Religion does not necessarily entail a transfer of responsibilities towards the faith in order to save and protect the pious. In an socio-anthropological approach it also shares another intense function: rehearsal. Social science disciples have recognize the importance of acknowledging, and mentally rehearsing a situation, in order to be better prepared and conscious of what may happen. Hurricane Supplication Day plays that part of that role.
There is an important notion of risk assessment embedded in this popular practice. Ultimately it will not be faith that will save lives. An acknowledged sense of shared cultural memory has a very important role to play in doing so. In a way initiatives such as MayDay promoted by the US Heritage Emergency Task Force are not that dissimilar. MayDay tries to be a commonly adopted day for cultural institutions to review their preparedness and business continuity plans, which promotes activities to highlight and assess the specific risks that each organization may face. The long lasting success of such training and awareness does not reside in MayDay or the activities promoted per se. It is present in a consistent effort that makes MayDay an annual preparedness day for cultural institutions. The success is to make MayDay a ritual.
Like MayDay we might need to see more disaster supplication days spreading around. It should certainly be a requirement for public officials, elected leaders, and policy makers in order to retain their mandates, and help us all be aware, accountable, and better prepared.
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Hurricane Supplication Day
Hugo, Marilyn.....Those are the ones I remember most vividly. Disaster Preparedness is ingrained in the consciousness of Virgin Islanders. Hugo left our house with shattered glass windows,he took electricity ( or like we say "current" and moved my neighbor's washer into our yard. The one thing he didn't take was our resilience and our commitment to move forward.
Our house which was at leas 100 years old at that time had two cisterns, in the Virgin Islands you can judge the value of a home by the number of cisterns, because everyone knows when a hurricane hits, you'll have to slide the concrete slab over to the side and drop a bucket on rope to get water to bathe and drink ( boiled of course). I was in middle school at the time, anglican private school. Our school reopened the next week, and all were expected to attend in crisply pressed white shirts and pleated skirts. Picture adolescents across the island ironing with sterno and finishing homework before nightfall or by candlelight in the evening. This is how we survived and moved forward. Six weeks later, when current was restored in town, we were excited about turning on the stove, instead of cooking on a coal pot and eating MREs (thanks Fema). We looked forward to a real, warm shower instead of bathing with the bucket. A few months later our phone lines were up and running.
When there is a flood in Iowa, a tornado in Kansas or even a hurricane in Florida, residents in those communities have the option of driving out of harm's way. In the Virgin Islands, you stay. You stay, because you don't have a choice. You stay and dig out the oil lamps, coal pots, D batteries for flashlights and first aid kits. After the storm has passed you're grateful that you lived through it and thankful that you know how to survive the aftermath.
Hurricane Supplication Day serves as a real reminder of the impact disasters can have on a community, but it also reminds us that you can move on IF you are prepared.
TLDavid
Insider Knowledge
Thanks! That is a great and beautiful nugget of local knowledge.
Cheers,
Daniel