Last Saturday, Paul and I found ourselves covered in mud, sweat, rain and beer. We had just completed our first Grenadian Hash, and we were still processing.
We heard about the weekly hash the last time we were in Grenada. They were just starting up again after a pause for COVID, but truly we had no idea what a Hash was. Instead of googling or asking around too much, we decided to just throw our hats in and attend one. WE found the Facebook group and noticed that this week’s hash was starting close by our anchorage, so we got dressed for a hike, and showed up a few minutes early.
There were over 100 people there by the time we showed up, milling around and chatting. There was a table for signing in, and after adding our names to the first timers list, Paul and I gathered close to the pick up truck with a speaker on back. The hash master was giving the rules of the hash.
We learned the Hash Master- the hare- had set the trail through Grenada. The trail was marked by shredded bits of white paper. We, the hashers (or the hounds), would set out to follow the trail. When we had assumed we were going on a group hike, we weren’t far off, but it wasn’t precisely a hike. There was a group of people who would be running and jogging the hash, but Paul and I, decidedly not runners, would be bringing up the rear of the walkers.
The entire group set off at approximately the same time, and were able to follow the beginning of the trail as one. We started by traipsing through a neighborhood, slick and muddy with rain, and then up a hill, where things began to go a bit soggy. After following a group of 100+ people up a muddy hill, the path was turning into a waterslide more than a trail and I found myself on hands and knees to make the last section. The people began to thin out along the path, some at a quicker pace, some slower. The trail became less obvious. The goal was to follow the trail by finding the bits of shredded paper, and if you reached a circle of paper, you had to discover which direction you should continue. If you walked ahead, you might yell “ON ON” which means follow me, you might yell out ahead of you: “are you?” and someone might yell back to you with “on on” or “checking” or you might barge ahead into the bush that was NOT part of the trail and have to double back.
We walked for about 2 hours through Grenadian bush. We saw restaurants, houses, the airport, cows, goats, dogs, and people. We got rained on, and sweated in the 90 percent humidity until we were slick as otters. We went the wrong way, and followed other people the wrong way, before turning back and finding our right bearings. We met people who lived on boats, people who were born in Grenada, and people on vacation. A hash was a great melting pot of people- deprived of their normal dignities, people were friendly and talkative, offering helping hands and words of encouragement.
Finally, approximately 2.5 hours after we started, we reached the end of the hash, or “ON INN”. Traditionally hashes around the world end at an Inn, a bar, or a place for food and drinks and merriment. This Hash ended at a house, with a few tents set up for buying beer, Oil Downs, and soup.
The hash master had everyone who returned sign back in, to make sure no one was left out in the bush. Then he casually had all first timers (virgins) stand in a group in front of him. Unsurprisingly, we were lightly hazed by the group with some good-nature jokes about first times, and then sprayed with copious amounts of beer. Paul had an entire bottle poured down his back, being such a large and enticing target.
Grenada has been hosting hashes since 1985. The hash from last Saturday was hash #1251. I was so struck by the community of people who came together to put on this huge, weekly event. The hash master, who made the complicated trail and set the clues. The organizers who had portable washrooms, food for sale, beer, speakers and music, sign in sheets, rituals to carry on, t-shirts for sale, and stories to tell. The people who show up to chase the hare, the help each other, and to exercise and enjoy the beauty of outside.
Here is the constitution from the first Hash House Harriers:
- To promote physical fitness among our members
- To get rid of weekend hangovers
- To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
- To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel
We plan on attending many more in the future.
ON INN
Lindsay and Paul
TIBURON MARINO 