tidings
Corey Connelly
Chief Secretary Farley Augustine has committed the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) to help publish the unfinished works of the late cultural icon Rawle “Axeback” Titus as a means of truly celebrating his legacy.
He made the promise Tuesday while paying tribute at Titus’ funeral service at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex.
Titus, 80, a former vice president of the Senate, died Jan. 2 at Scarborough General Hospital.
At the time of his death, the father of four was completing a body of work entitled Paintings, Prose and Poems, detailing the history of Tobago.
Titus was a teacher, calypsonian, performer, arranger, author and cultural scholar.
Augustine told the mourners: “I want to make a pledge on behalf of THA that we will see to it that his unpublished works are published so that the legacy continues and the information and knowledge that he had will be on this island and this one. place (benefit). I feel like this country owes him a huge debt of gratitude and as a country we haven’t gotten to know him enough.
“He has not received any national award. He did not receive any Tobago awards. He didn’t get anything big anywhere, and that should have happened while he was alive, given everything he did.”
He added, “I can only pray that we have many more Titus on this island. People who are patriotic, people who love their island more than themselves, more than whatever party they grow up in, love their island more than their religion, love their island more than their personal idiosyncrasies. Because for love of country, Mr. Titus epitomized that extremely well, and we should model that.”
Addressing a gathering that included Deputy Chief Secretary Dr.
“It’s unfortunate that everything we do now is being done posthumously, because when you look at everything, Mr. Titus has contributed and passed on to generations to come…”
He said that even in Tobago, Titus’ accolades came too late.
“I feel like the whole island of Tobago is celebrating a man and giving him his flowers way too late. I really feel that way.”
He recalled last year, the committee that approves people for the Tobago Day awards recommended Titus’ name. But due to “shipping issues”, the prices were not developed.
“We just couldn’t get the standard medals to the country in time at all. Everything is delayed and a longer time to secure it, especially given that these medals are coming from the United Kingdom.”
While Titus was ill, Augustine said he kept telling the chief administrator that he wished he had a medal on the island to give him.
He said that Titus, more than many others in the field of arts and culture, spent time with young people and passing on the knowledge he had.
“He wasn’t selfish about it at all.”
Augustine said Titus, who had worked with Speyside High School’s steel orchestra and alumni band for several years, trained many young people at the institution during his tenure.
He recalled the year after Titus withdrew from school, Joshua Jerry became the youngest steel pan arranger in the country.
“That record has not been broken to this day because of Mr. Titus.”
Assistant Secretary at the Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transport, Megan Morrison, in an earlier tribute, also said she wanted Titus’ last work to be published.
Saying that Titus loved the culture and traditions of the island, Morrison added: “He didn’t know how to lose as he brought home to Tobago and Mount St George for the first time the winning trophy for the Premier’s Best Village competition for two years successively. .”
On Monday evening a large crowd gathered outside the Shaw Park Cultural Complex to sing and dance in Titus’s wake and celebrate his life.
