Foiled In The Act.

Bahamians love nothing more than a party. Not the music and the jump up. Not the singing and the eating. Not the toasting and the roasting. But the leaving. They cannot wait for the party to end to show what makes them possibly unique among people in the Caribbean region. Once the final bell has rung at a party and the host has said "It was so good to see you all," then Bahamians let rip with their national speciality--toting. My wife has told me that no self-respecting Bahamian woman will go to a party without some foil folded into her handbag. Its removal will often come with the dulcet, "You know my husband couldn't make it, so I want to take some home for him," and the lady will proceed to create a volcano mound of food on a paper plate that would have shamed her had she done it during the party.

Jamaicans can wax off a whole heap of food at a party and will probably be tempted to take some home, but it would be a sort of self-denial if there was a lot left to take. "Why me neva nyam off all o' di brisket when dem did serve it?" a Jamaican man might say, tears filling the corner of his eyes as he recalls how he had tried to be polite to the other guests and only put 18 slices on his plate.

Trinis will mix corn soup and roti with curry, and eat and drink and wuk up all they can at the party, and they too may be tempted to roll up a little morsel to sample at the homestead. But, from what I have seen they are ready to just grab a handful of food and it usually only lasts as far as the car.

So, if you were to put these three nationalities together at the end of a party, the Bahamian would skillfully anhilitate the competition, not only with the load that is taken, but also how it might be transported. "Why else you ahve a big handbag, my dear? You ahve to make space for the left overs," I once heard a bejewelled, wonderfully made up and coiffured woman utter after a little buffet in the church hall. The Bahamians even had a song, "Da Toters", about this pastime that was a hit a couple of Christmases ago, performed fittingly by a Junkanoo fun group called 'Sting'. Listen to it. Nothing need be added: "...seen it done at weddings and funerals too..."

Da Toters - K.B. ft. Sting Junkanoo Group