AND THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM THEIR CULTURAL HERITAGE

THE GODNA WALLAS ( TATTOO MAKERS)
The East Indian Immigrants who came from India to work as indentured Labourers possessed a variety of highly specialized skills that were part of their Cultural Legacy.
There were the tattoo - makers or GODNA WALLAS who roamed the villages and estates announcing their arrival by using a small hoorka to make a rattling sound while shouting out " Aray!Aray! Suno! GODNA WALLA awela La tayyar Hoja!" Which when translated mean " Listen ! Listen !the Tattoo Maker is coming , be prepared!".
Tattoos or traditional body art has been practiced for centuries in many Indian communities and Godna ( the art of pricking the flesh with needles dipped in ink ) is one such tradition of body tattooing. Tattoo designs were etched on the arms and hands of newly wed brides. The popular designs of tattoos are geometric shapes and patterns as well as celestial objects such as the sun and the moon. The popular belief among the practitioners of the art form is that, unlike jewellery, the body continues to remain adorned with godna even after death
For married persons it is said that if both the husband and wife tattooed three dots on their necks, after death they will meet together in heaven. Legend also has it that Pundits and elderly men would accept food and water only from Godna tattooed married women
However, the practice gradually lost its cultural meaning.
You can read more about this topic in this link
https://mapacademy.io/article/godna/
Source: (Patricia Bissessarsingh, Virtual Museum of Trinidad & Tobago, May 28, 2024)