Happy Mother's Day Mamie!

One of Abojevi/Robert Antoine daughters-in-law was Camilla Antoine (nee Peters). She was married to Henry. Camilla was not a Rada but was raised by Rada godmother. We called her Mamie. She had 11 children but sadly she buried 4 of her babies as seen from her husband’s notebook. A year before she died at 82, her son, Kellman, passed away in his 55^th year. She has 33 grandchildren and at least 71 great grandchildren. She was honoured by having one of her grand daughters named after her. Happy Mother’s Day Mamie!

Antoine Family Facebook Profile Video

This is a random sample of some of your facebook profile pictures. Now that we found love what are we going to do with it?

A River Runs Through It

The Antoine compound at one time also had a spring at the north-western corner, at the side of Uncle Theophilus’ house. The water from the spring was used in ceremonies especially in the ceremony for the initiation of a new dancer. The spring eventually ceased to flow but apparently when called upon the ‘saints’ were able to have the spring flow again for special ceremonies. Will it be rejuvenated next August?

Antoine Homes

All of the small, wooden houses on the Antoine compound have been replaced with homes such as these two. Currently there are 4 homes on Antoine Lane that are occupied by family members. The rest of us are dispersed in other parts of Trinidad, Canada, United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand.

The Antoine Family Cemetery

The family cemetery has been around since 1868 when Abojevi/Robert Antoine purchased the land for $135. It was built on 2 lots of land and is still operational today, after an hiatus of several years.  Almost all family members are buried there. Here’s what the cemetery looked like in 1952.

The Compound in 1890

Here’s an artist rendition of what the Antoine compound looked like around 1890. The house in the forefront to the left is where Abojevi/Robert Antoine lived.  The small, white house with the red roof is the convent – where the dancers stay during the feast. To the left of that is the main house. The open area with the thatched roof is where the ceremonies were held and is called the tent. The private, family cemetery is the clear, open area at the top right of the sketch.

What's in a Name?

Abojevii/Robert Antoine and Devi/Eleanor/Helena had five children together. They gave them both English and African names. Their daughters were Selande(Madelaine) and Wovode (Louisa).  Their sons were Yewonu which is a priestly name (Harris), Buko which means child with umbilical cord around neck (Anselm) and Dewendo  (Henry Robert) . Henry Robert has a great grandson whose middle name is Dewendo.  What name would you like as a first or middle name?