Why does the stingray jump out of the water?

That was the quiz question asked during one of my Friday limes at the Dune Preserve and no one quite believed Bankie’s answer, drawn from the pool of traditional knowledge borne by those whose lives and livelihoods are closely connected to the sea. He wished that a fisherman could come by to verify his explanation and no sooner had he wished that than two fishermen appeared to offer confirmation.

Ijahnya Christian

The conversation centred around the stingray when a honeymooning couple who stopped by, recounted how they fled from the water when one leaped into the air near them. Bankie told us that it was a common sight and allayed their fears. I had never seen that happen so I remained a bit skeptical – imagine doubting someone who lives on the beach – but right when it began to sound like a Bankie tale, a large one leaped out of the water and everyone saw it but me. I saw only the splash but twice in two minutes Bankie had spoken the word and received the physical manifestation so it turned out to be high-five moment in honour of the stingray. It wasn’t difficult then to come up with the name for the programme we had been planning and after a couple of other suggestions, it was Ivory, another Dune-ite, who suggested Stingray. That sounded good for about ten seconds but no – yours truly could not just accept that - she had to go home and do research to see if the stingray could be a suitable metaphor for the Anguillian youth whose lives we were planning to impact, using music as a means of rebuilding peaceful relations between rivaling groups of youth from identified Anguillian communities. Here’s a little bit of what I found mostly from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.

Stingrays are large, flat, bat-shaped fish that are found in tropical coastal waters throughout the world. They are close relatives of sharks and like sharks are very much feared. They have skeletons made of cartilage and belong to a super order of fish containing more than 500 species in thirteen families. ‘Rays swim with a “flying” motion, propelled by motion of their large pectoral fins (commonly referred to as “wings”. The family Dasyatidae or the true stingrays, are named for their ‘razor-sharp, barbed or serrated cartilage which grows from the ray’s whip-like tail (like a fingernail)’ and is coated with a toxic venom. The Manta ray, which comes from another family of rays known as the eagle rays, is the largest of them all. With fins outstretched the Manta can measure more than 20 feet across and because their head fins can curl up to look like horns, it is sometimes called the “devilfish” but it is the gentlest of all the rays and it too can leap high out of the water, sometimes to give birth to her young. However, that was not the explanation we got for the stingray’s action that afternoon at the Dune.

While the stingray is not known to bother people, it can be a very unpleasant experience to step on one lying peacefully on the ocean floor or to handle one carelessly if it is caught. The venomous spines along the stingray’s tail are brought into action as the tail is lashed to and from and becomes a dangerous weapon that can cause excruciating pain to the person ‘stung.’ The pain normally lasts up to 48 hours but is most severe in the first 30-60 minutes. Other symptoms include ‘nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, muscle cramps, tremors, paralysis, fainting, seizures, elevated heart rate, and decreased blood pressure (depending on the species). In addition, some species’ toxins can be fatal to humans.’ According to Wikipedia, ‘Stingrays do not “attack” aggressively, or even actively defend themselves. When threatened their primary reaction is to swim away. However, when they are attacked by predators or stepped on, the barbed stinger in their tail is mechanically whipped up, usually into the offending foot.’ Treatment for stings includes hot water (as hot as the victim can stand), which helps ease the pain and break down the venom, and antibiotics.’ Vinegar or urine may ease the pain but neither these nor sea water cleans the wound properly. ‘Other possible pain remedies include papain (papaya extract, contained in unseasoned powdered meat tenderizer), which may break down the protein of the toxins, though this may be more appropriate for jellyfish and similar stings.’

To move totally away from fish in Anguillian waters, Sting-Ray is also the brand name of a popular street bicycle made by Schwinn. One of the ads found online goes like this, ‘Dripping in chrome and bad to the bone, the Schwinn 20” Sting-Ray Street series has arrived. V-Back Drag Bars, a knees-to-the-breeze low ride saddle…’ etc. ‘It’s been over 25 years since Schwinn Sting-Rays ruled America’s sidewalks, streets and alleys. Now we’re taking them back, with a totally new Sting-Ray, built for a totally new generation. THE REBIRTH OF COOL HAS ARRIVED.’

The descriptions of the fish and the bike both satisfy me that the Anguilla Sting Ray Music Programme has been aptly named. Rodney House and Triple Crown Culture Yard fully intend to take on this generation of Anguillian youths and to unleash their talents on Anguillian society ensuring that when they hit us in order to get our attention, they hit us with music. As reported elsewhere in this newspaper, the music is the means to an end. Without equal rights and justice there will be no peace and Anguillian society is too small for us to accommodate the kinds of hostilities manifested through the gun crimes of recent times. I would not be surprised if the traditional tracing of bloodlines were to reveal that some of the young people shooting up each other are cousins. This means that families and communities must be part of the peace-building solution. What better than the strengths of our culture to empower our young people to express their needs in acceptable ways, placing them centre stage with new skills for sustainable livelihoods. We will definitely need everyone’s support to make it work. Like the stingray, our youth are engaging in behaviours that seem very strange to some of us but that may be normal to them. I still haven’t told you why the stingray jumps out of the water. That is for us to know and for you to find out but it’s easy. Just ask any Anguillian fisherman.

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