An indigenous fishing River Lime that exist today


In 1498 , the time which was reported as the discovery of Trinidad & Tobago by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage. The inhabitants of Trinidad & Tobago were the  Caribs and Arawaks. They were mainly hunters and gatherers. Sweetwater fishing was however practiced by both groups, the use of canoes, spears, bows and arrows and hand crafted nets were used , they captured most of the fish type we capture including the Guabine and Cascadoux.   The fish which live in sweet and salt water like the river Catfish and sea fishes like King fish and shark. These fishes were captured by individuals fishing alone or in groups .

One method of fishing that involved a group of people was “Balbarking”. Small or even large groups of natives collected the Balbark vine from the forest and grounded it into very small pieces so that the toxins from the vines would be easily released. The grounded vines would be introduced into the water which was usually stagnant, to get the most effect of the toxins from the vines. The toxins in the water would affect all fishes causing them to float up in the water and be very visible. This would be to much for one family to collect or consume, hence the reason for the group.

The “fisher folks” would then collect all the floating fishes, since they are seen swimming on the water surface, it involves a lot of activity moving around in the water which the party enjoys. The collected fishes would then be introduced into clean river water free from the toxin, where in most cases they recover, however this time around in captivity. They are taken home and cooked or half cooked and eaten with cassava or other provisions.

This is akin to a Trini - river lime of today, which still exist in the rural community, in the dry season when the river - stops moving and collects as large pools of water. Groups of people who have learnt this method of fishing from past generations, collects the “Balback vine “ grind it and introduce it into these large pools of water. They collect the fish that surface and cook on the spot , with music and lots of invited friends  


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