Written piece
DOUGLA WOMAN
THERESA AWAI
Trinidad and Tobago
About this piece
My father was of East Indian descent. My mother was of African heritage.
They told us of the problems they had in the 1940s as mixed relationships were frowned upon. The term "dougla" was originally a slur but is now accepted to signify strong cultural identity
Dougla Woman
O'er the Kali Pani
And thru' the Middle Passage
Both - by boat - they came
One in chains, the other in name
to till and toil, to sow and reap
The sweetness of La Trinity
I was not meant to be, but fate decreed my ancestry
So despite the whips and varied threats
Massa's rage they did reject
For when passions surged, plurality merged
And in my veins both lines doth flow
The Ganges and Nile birthed me
The Gods Shiva and Ogun blessed me
The tassa and steelpan sustains me
I am the essence of my ethnicities
I am woman
Dougla Woman
There is no other like me