Caribbean Tales - The Bahamas - Cat Island
Cat Island
Located over 300 miles from Miami, Cat Island
should not be confused with its very very small nephew Cat Cay--which is part
of the Biminis. Its 150 sq. miles is covered with rolling hills of dense green
forests and uncounted miles of magnificent beaches, 48 x 4 miles at widest
points.120 miles southeast of Nassau. Cat Island also happens to be the sixth
largest island. This boot-shaped, untamed island is one of the most beautiful
and fertile of The Bahamas. A lush sanctuary, it provides tranquillity for
those seeking an escape from the pressures of civilization. Others thought
so too, like Father Jerome, a penitent hermit who built a medieval monastery
in 1939(?) hewn from the limestone cliffs atop 206-foot Mt. Alvernia, the
highest elevation of The Bahamas, a place for meditation. From these high
cliffs, there is a marvelous view down to densely-forested foothills and 60
miles of deserted pink-and-white-sand beach. Cat Island was once home to one
of the more prosperous Loyalist colonies of the Out Islands. The island gained
its wealth from the numerous cotton plantations established during the 1700s.
Cat Island may have derived its name from Arthur Catt, the famous British
sea captain or notorious pirate (depending on whose side you were on). A competing
source for the name are the hordes of wild cats that the English encountered
here on arrival in the 1600s. The cats were said to be descendants of their
tamer cousins orphaned by the early Spanish colonists in their rush to find
the gold of South America.
Much of The Bahamas' indigenous music, folklore and myth can be traced to
Cat Island. Here, "I'll be with you in spirit" takes on a whole
new meaning. Traditionally, when the last of a generation dies, his or her
house is left for the spirit to live in. Remaining relatives gather stones
from the site and form a new dwelling. Elsewhere, in the north of the island,
residents place spindles atop houses to prevent harm from befalling them--a
kind of lightning rod for evil spirits. Cat Islanders are known-and sometimes
chided-for their Obeah, or Obi, culture-a mild form of white witchcraft or
voodoo.