Bermudians with ancestors from St. Kitts and Nevis got back to their roots at the weekend.

And a troupe of Bermudian Gombey dancers -- the Warner Gombeys -- are set to visit St. Kitts for the St. Kitts Carnival over Christmas.

The move comes after the third annual St. Kitts and Nevis Family Reunion Picnic at the Berkeley Instititute on Saturday.

St. Kitts Carnival chairman Rudolph Morton, who attended the reunion, said around a quarter of all black Bermudians have family roots in St. Kitts and Nevis.

He added: "The largest influx came about 50 years ago -- typically, people in Bermuda have grandparents who came from St. Kitts and Nevis.'' "The whole idea behind the reunion picnic is to get people to celebrate that connection.

Mr. Morton -- a relative of Progressive Labour Party MP Stanley Morton -- said aspects of Bermuda definitely reminded him of home.

He said the same kind of foods could be found in Bermuda and that his homeland -- celebrating 14 years of independence from the UK this month -- even had a Gombey-style tradition called Masquerade.

Mr. Morton added: "Already I feel at home, even though it's my first visit here.'' Travel agent Murray Brown -- a member of the St. Kitts and Nevis Family Reunion Committee -- helped organise the two-week Gombeys trip.

Allan Warner of the Warner Gombeys said his troupe would be staying in the Caribbean country over Christmas and New Year.

He added: "We are all looking forward to it. We are planning on basically renewing our links with our roots.

"It's more to us than just going down there to dance -- I have family there too, and we want to give something back.'' BACK TO THEIR ROOTS -- St. Kitts and Nevis' Rudolph Morton (centre) is seen with travel agent Murray Brown (left) and Allan Warner of the Warner Gombeys before the strong ties between the Caribbean islands and Bermuda were celebrated with a picnic.