EAST Indian influence in education, politics, law, culture, cuisine, architecture, fashion and so much more on the Trinidad and Tobago landscape, is quite visible.
In this month when Indian heritage is celebrated, leading up to the commemoration of Indian Arrival Day on May 30, platforms have been created to showcase and celebrate the diversity marked by their presence.
One of the exhibitors at the Divali Nagar site where celebrations are being held by the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC), is a man considered one of the few remaining authentic Indian ornamental jewellery makers in Trinidad and Tobago.
Meet fourth generation East Indian descendant Stephen Mitchum Frank Weaver. Jewel artisan par excellence who is continuing the rich legacy started by his great grandfather, Dandan. Dandan was among the first set of some 150,000 indentured Indians brought to Trinidad and Tobago to work on the sugar and cocoa plantations when slavery ended.
[caption id="attachment_1018558" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Jeweler, Mitchum Weaver, owner of Mitch Exclusive Jewellery. - Marvin Hamilton[/caption]
Owner of Mitch Exclusive Jewellery at Gopaul Lands, Marabella, Weaver has been crafting traditional and authentic pieces of his ancestors for the past 44 years. And he is only 47.
“Yes, I have been exposed to the art of jewellery making since I was three years old in my father’s workshop. That is where the real skills are taught, and tradition passed on – in the workshops, not in classrooms.”
In an interview, Weaver spoke about his passion for the original art form.
“Jewellery making is in my DNA. It is in my blood. I wanted to be just like my father, Mitchum Frank Weaver who owned the original Mitch Exclusive Jewellery at Westmoorings, now The Falls.
“He was the best in his class. My dad, who lived at Columbus Circle, Westmoorings went out to sea a few years ago and they never found his body or his boat. He disappeared from the face of the earth.”
His disappearance is another motivating factor for Weaver wanting to equalise and surpass the success and competence of his father while continuing his legacy.
“When my ancestors came here or were fooled into coming here for the promise of a better life, they came with their own trade like so many others who were skilled in pottery making, weaving, ancient cultural work.
[caption id="attachment_1018561" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Mitch Exclusive Jewellery - Marvin Hamilton[/caption]
“My great-grandfather was one of the first master artisan goldsmiths to come to Trinidad from the northeastern part of India. This legacy of goldsmithing was passed on to my father and then to me. My father worked as an artisan jeweller at Y De Lima before he began producing his own jewellery in the kitchen of our home in Arima.
“At the age of three, he would put me to sit on his desk and talk about the history and art involved in the creation of the jewellery pieces he worked on at the time.”
[caption id="attachment_1018560" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Mitch Exclusi
