St. Eustatius to rebury remains of 69 Afrikan ancestors in historic November 13 ceremony

STATIA-The remains of 69 Afrikan ancestors will be laid to rest on St. Eustatius on Friday, November 13, 2026, during a historic reburial ceremony intended to restore dignity, honor ancestral memory and reconnect the island's community with an important part of its heritage. The ceremony will include an ancestral procession, traditional drumming, the calling of ancestral names, reflections and a formal reburial, with residents invited to participate in designated public portions of the observance.

The event is being organized by the Statia Cultural Heritage Implementation Committee, together with the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance and participating heritage and community partners. Held under the theme "Remembrance, Restoration, Reconnection: Honoring Dignity in Lives Interrupted," the ceremony will honor 69 ancestors whose remains will be placed in 66 caskets, with some ancestors sharing a casket.

Organizers are encouraging elders, descendants, families, young people and the wider community to participate in what they describe as a historic moment of remembrance and reconnection. Members of the public attending the ceremony are asked to wear white and red.

The reburial represents more than the physical return of ancestral remains to the earth. Through a carefully planned series of ceremonial activities, organizers aim to acknowledge the lives of those being honored and reaffirm their place in the history and collective memory of St. Eustatius.

Ancestral procession begins at daybreak

The day's observances will begin at 6:00 a.m. with the ceremonial transfer of the 66 caskets onto decorated vehicles, a process expected to continue until approximately 6:20 a.m. Opening drumming will follow at 6:25 a.m., with an ancestral calling scheduled for 6:27 a.m., before the vehicle procession departs at 6:35 a.m.

Members of the public may await the procession's arrival at Golden Rock Plantation on Airport Road, where a ceremonial reflection honoring water will take place from 6:55 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Participants in the walking procession will assemble between 7:05 a.m. and 7:20 a.m., with the walk scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. The procession will move through a series of ceremonial stations, each contributing to the broader themes of remembrance, restoration and reconnection.

Traditional drumming and music, coordinated by Victor Sams, will accompany the procession as participants move between the designated locations.

The ceremonial journey will include an Earth reflection at the STUCCO/Congo Burial Ground between 7:55 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., followed by a Names ceremony at Princess Delight between 8:30 a.m. and 8:45 a.m.

During the Names ceremony, Reuel Schmidt, Urisha Blake and Carlos Lopes will read ancestral names, followed by a brief reflection by Lucia Beck.

Reburial ceremony to include reflections and ancestral storytelling

The main reburial ceremony is scheduled to take place between 8:55 a.m. and noon. It will include the planting of two July trees, a contribution from Peggy King Jorde and keynote reflections by Kenneth Cuvalay and Xiomara Balentina.

The observance will also feature ancestral storytelling by Papa Umpo, incorporating oral tradition into the day's remembrance activities.

Following the official ceremony, a closing celebration featuring DJ Sense and light refreshments is scheduled between 11:30 a.m. and noon.

Organizers emphasized that the schedule remains subject to change depending on circumstances and that any adjustments will be communicated to participants.

Those attending are also being asked to follow the instructions of stewards and respect areas designated as sacred or restricted. The guidance is intended to ensure that the proceedings maintain their dignity and that participants observe the boundaries established for the ceremonial activities.

The organizing partners are extending a special invitation to the people of St. Eustatius to come together across generations to witness and participate in the observance.

Through the procession, naming rituals, reflections and reburial, the November 13 ceremony is intended to ensure that the 69 Afrikan ancestors are remembered with dignity and recognized as part of Statia's history.

The organizers are encouraging the community to attend in a spirit of remembrance, respect and reconnection.

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