The Cat Island Gospel Rushers and Franko and the Boys rake and scrape band are popular among visitors to Cat Island. (BIS photo by Derek Smith)

BENNETT’S HARBOUR, Cat Island - Like a huge lamp in the sky it rose over a silhouetted, meandering skyline, drenching the verdant backdrop in splashes of silver almost as bright as day.

Gentle zephyrs, redolent with night jasmine wafted through the sighing casuarinas, sea grapes, madeiras, guamalamees and palms. The balmy surf caressed my feet as it whooshed along the powdery shore which stretched into infinity.

“Ah.” I slither into the comfort of an easy chair beneath a native thatch umbrella. “This is the life.”

It was so surreal. So close – a mere 30 minutes or so flight – but yet light years away from the wild, wild west of The Bahamas - Nassau. What a relief. A deep, peaceful, easy feeling, swept over me.

Ordinarily, taking a weekend break meant getting as far away from home as I possible can. Except that my son had dared me to ‘eat my own dog food’.

“You preach that it is better in The Bahamas,” he challenged. “Cat Island would suit you well.”

Bahamians take a stroll through history while visiting Cat Island. (BIS photo by Derek Smith)

He threw in this piece about Cat Islanders practicing a strange form of African religion, now-a-days generally known as voodoo or obeah. One reason there is hardly any crime on Cat Island, he said, is that persons who steal, get “mout‘” (a kind of curse) put on them, which means they will pay dearly.

During the regatta festival, he said, a Nassau joneser went onto Rev King’s field to steal green corn to sell to get a fix.

He was found the following morning walking ’round and ’round in the field, unable to find his way out.

I have long heard of this mysterious Cat Island, home to the haunting rake and scrape music, the traditional quadrille dance, its many miles of pink and white sand beaches where feet rarely touch, multihued sea gardens, and literally, bottomless blue holes. Folks swear by it.

Climbing Como Hill is popular among visitors to Cat Island. (BIS photo by Derek Smith)

Cat Island is also home to the highest point in The Bahamas – the 206-foot Como Hill in the capital New Bight, atop which is situated the Hermitage of Monsignor John Hawes, known throughout the islands as Father Jerome.

“And make sure talk to Eris Moncur,” my son said, “he will tell you that Cat Island use to be called San Salvador. And the island now called San Salvador use to be called Watling Island.

“He will explain to you how Cat Islanders, then San Salvadorians, had their land and money stolen in that big name change rip-off.”

So there I was at Sammy T’s in idyllic Bennett’s Harbour…slipping into darkness.

The next morning over breakfast of stewed fish, potato bread and a big pot of brazaletta tea, I enquired about the obeah that Tony McKay sang about. They said it was all folklore. And the fellow who couldn’t find his way out of the field? They all burst out laughing.

But what was real was the incredible rush I felt when, after going through all fourteen of Fr. Jerome’s arduous Stations of the Cross, I conquered the steep side of Como Hill, and stood atop Bahamaland.

Interestingly, Fr. Jerome came to The Bahamas as an architect Anglican priest to repair Anglican churches on Long Island.

He converted to Roman Catholicism, was ordained a priest, and moved to Cat Island.

Two of Fr. Jerome’s masterpieces in Clarence Town, Long Island are St. Paul Anglican Church and the twin-towered St. Peter and St. Paul’s Catholic Church.

Fortified with three packages of delicious native flour cakes, I headed south towards Old Bight, Zonicle Hill and Port Howe.

The sixth largest island in The Bahamas, Cat Island use to be a leading centre of trade and commerce before the pied piper of tourism lured the population to Nassau and Freeport.

Vine-covered, semi-ruined mansions and stone walls, crumbling remnants of African slave villages, and artifacts in Arawak caves all paint a picture of Cat Island’s exciting past.

When cotton finally failed, plantation owners moved on. But descendants of the original African slave settlers remained in the towns of their ancestors.

Much of the Bahamas' indigenous music, folklore and myth can be traced to Cat Island.

It is the birthplace of Academy Award wining actor Sir Sidney Poitier, recording artists Phil Stubbs, the Lassie Doe Singers, Ancient Man, Rev J.J Stubbs, and Tony McKay.

Bahamians enjoy Cat Island cuisine. (BIS photo by Derek Smith)

Historian Eris Moncur of Knowles’ refers to Cat Island as “God’s good land,” keeper of “the cultural mother-load of The Bahamas. When you think of history and culture, you think of Cat Island.

“We have maintained our heritage, our connection with our African past.

“When the rest of The Bahamas is ready to discover who they are, that road will lead through Cat Island.”

Cat Island is an archaeologist’s dream come true. From Henry Hawkins Armbrister’s 1755 mansion in New Bight – touted as the second oldest structure in The Bahamas – to Colonel Andrew Deveaux’s castle in Port Howe to the slave village at Bourbon to the slave church, St. Mary, the Virgin in Old Bight. Did you know that Cat Island had rail service?

With no competition, native flora take advantage of the rich soil, and flourish against a lush setting, exploding in a myriad of colours, shapes and forms.

Doris Johnson-Farah of Gramma Farah’s Restaurant in Pigeon Bay epitomizes the hospitality for which Cat Islanders are renowned. For me, she laid out a feast befitting royalty.

“We love when our own people visit with us,” she said, a broad smile gracing her matronly face. “Not just for regatta or the festival, come for a weekend getaway.”

Cat Island boasts virtually crime free communities. Locks and keys have apparently become obsolete. Everybody knows everybody else. The children are very mannerly.

“Cat Islanders and their descendants need to come back home,” implored Mrs. Farah. “We need development to revitalise our communities. Our people could provide this. I know because they are doing it in Nassau and Freeport. Come home.”

Visitors to Cat Island enjoy traditional rake and scrape music. (BIS photo by Derek Smith)

Native writer and historian Sylvia Larimore-Crawford noted that Bahamians do not take advantage of Cat Island’s offerings as the tourists do.

“Tourists go kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, biking, exploring the ruins or simply laying out on the beach all day,” she said. “And they come back time and time again just for that. There is plenty to do on Cat Island.”

As the shadows grew long my attention was drawn to Regatta Beach, New Bight’s equivalent to Nassau’s Fish Fry.

The aroma wafting from kiosks with enticing names like Seafood Haven, Heavenly Delight, Native Temptation, and Lula’s sent my palate into a tizzy. I ordered plenty of everything.

There I met Wallace ‘Bumpy’ Forbes. Originally from Kemp’s Bay, Andros, he came to Cat Island, ostensibly for one week to do construction work. That was more than 20 years ago.

“Only heaven is better than life here,” he said. “Check it out for yourself.   Where in Nassau could you feel so at peace? Nobody bothers you here. We just lay back and drink jelly coconut all day.”

As the setting sun splattered Regatta Beach in gold, I headed for Sammy T’s clutching a large bottle of the potent ‘twenty-one gun salute’.

Sammy Thurston makes sure guests get the special treatment. (BIS photo by Derek Smith)

Boasting such prominent family names as Seymour, Thurston, Larimore, Hepburn, King, Stubbs and Moncur, from Orange Creek in the north to Devil’s Point in the south, Cat Island is a national jewel. It should be required visiting for all Bahamians.

And Sammy T has stepped in to make it more attractive for Bahamians to enjoy their heritage.

“Bahamians complain that it is too expensive to travel the islands,” he observed. “Well, I make it better for them. I offer special rates and incentives to encourage Bahamians to come to Cat Island.

“Up to 40 per cent of my business last season was from the Nassau-Grand Bahama area. We hosted several seminars, retreats, vacations. We encourage that. And it has taken off very well.

“I received all good comments from Bahamians who vacationed here. Some of them said they wished they had started looking at the islands earlier. They now know that instead of traveling to the U.S all the time they can come to the islands and have a good vacation that is just as affordable.

“And here we are crime free. That is what we sell. I tell the people in the settlements that is what we have to maintain. So far, so good.”