Bennett-Coverley
Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter
AUNTIE ROACHIE art mussi full till it bus las' Wednesday night, wen likkle mos' all a Jamaican come out fi sey howdy and tenky to Miss Lou a Emancipation Park inna New Kingston. Since De Hanarebel Dackta Louise Bennett-Coverley lick de Norman Manley International Hairport las' week, Jumaica don't give har a fighting chance; dem jus a fling dung di love, wedda she ready ar not.
Wan afta anadda, she haffi go dis, dat or tarra wat cermany, an' everybady wan' ear a likkle boonoonoonous talk. Everybody wan' dem piece, true sey a so long since she forwud back a yard, no since she lef go Canada inna '87.
So, on Independence Day, 2003, Jamaicans from all walks of life, young, old and some who caan mek up them mind yet, poured into Emancipation Park, in New Kingston whether to take a prips at the esteemed lady or simply to part-take in the festivities. Neither the Asylum Night Club nor Monday morning has produced the kind of traffic that crawled along Knutsford Boulevard on Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. Everybody and their best friend wanted to make it to the park.
Screens were stationed all around the grounds to make sure that everybody could see, even if they could not be near the stage. Unfortunately the microphone set-up was not as good, but at least people could see from all around the of the park and even in the middle. Of course, with that kind of crowd, enough seats were not there for everybody to get a 'kotch'. With all the lush grass on the lawn that was not a problem. People neva fraid to simply grab a piece of the ground and sit on that. As soon as dem sit down, dem tek out all that they brought to eat, because wha' de pint a wan show widdouten likkle bikkle.
Mervyn Morris (he was the one who help a lot of people see that Miss Lou can be studied in school with his essay On Reading Louise Bennett Seriously) read a wonderful citation to Miss Lou. The citation full up of nuff, big, sweet wud bout why she was a revolutionary and how she "studied, shared and illuminated the heart of the Jamaican people."
"She has helped us to realise that we likkle but we tallaway," the citation said and Professor Morriss read it sweet-sweet.
Den Lawks, Miss Lou was so moved she could not even talk. "I mus' say suppen," she said when they gave her the microphone. "When you see I can't talk you mus' know," she said. Everybody seemed to know. Har heart must have been well full and her speech said as much.
Along with all the big people speechifying and saying how much Miss Lou has done and dubbing her the 'mother' of Jamaican culture, the evening had quite a mix of people performing. Faith D'Aguillar, one woman who sound like the dead stamp of Miss Lou, was one of them. Fitz Weir, Easton Lee and Charles Hyatt also took a walk down memory lane. Hyatt suggested that Miss Lou could be made a National Heroine, to ease off some of the pressure from Nanny.
Oliver Samuels also took a walk down memory lane, but he did not go too far down the road as he decided to bring Miss Lou up to date on what was going on in Jamaica now. He came to the stage with one big greeting an give out: "Yuh brute yuh! Yuh tink I wouldn't fin' yuh? Yuh nuh easy y'know Louise. Yuh nuh likkle, but yuh tallawah!"
Of course, every body laugh, because is long time since Miss Lou was likkle - but she well tallawah. She tallawah cyaan done. Of course, with how Oliver Samuels very jokify, him start mek fun of the war between Cable and Wireless and Digicel, talking bout 'me a di owna fi di yard'. It get really funny when he started in on the Privy Council issue.
According to his dictionary, privy means latrine. "All dem a galang bout Privy Council, a tilet so much people waah go?" he asked. Of course, everybody laugh. Samuels also made it a point to argue that if the statues wanted to emancipate their minds itally, then they had the freedom to do so.
The bringer of the fresh vegetables, Tony Rebel, did not quite agree with the statues being ital. After having everybody singing along with his song, which used We Love You Miss Lou as the chorus, he ended his piece with the argument that they should take down the naked people and put up one of Miss Lou instead. This call had the audience cheering wildly.
Tony Rebel was not the only deejay to make the programme, as the beenie doctor himself also had his four minutes. Beenie Man's performance, which was not another case of 'hey green arm ova desso...', went over very well with the audience. He started off with the first verse of Redemption Song before going on to give his own version of thanks and praises in honour of Miss Lou.
Dub poet Yassus Afari also took his time at the microphone. The poet called Miss Lou and international 'shero' and told her that her real place was in King's House. "Ah you mek di people dem 'ave so much diabetes," he said addressing Miss Lou directly, "caah yuh too sweet."
Joan Andrea Hutchinson also brought her poetic skills to the evening. She performed a poem which spoke about the trials of Miss Lou in the efforts of those who wanted to kill off Jamaican creole because it is just 'bad talking'.
The evening clearly showed Miss Lou that we were not skylarking in her absence. Spirit of 8 gave a great rendition of her contribution to folk song history, including the perpetually-calming Evening Time.
There were also performances of Quadrille, folk songs, ring games and dances. Of course, the highlight of the performances was when young Jade Harris performed an excerpt of Miss Lou's Cuss Cuss. The little bump of womanhood, a student of Gem Glow Kindergarten, warmed everybody's heart with her performance.
Sandra Brooks, Fab 5, Abijah, Stefan Penincillin and Leroy Sibbles also performed. When everything was done and Miss Lou was being taken out on a little golf cart everybody tried to get in a one look but not everybody was lucky.
Disappointed, one young woman kissed her teeth and turned away saying: "Cho! Mi nat even get fi see 'ar!"
Whether or not everybody got to see her live and in living colour the evening was a good show of Jamaica's culture to one of its staunchest supporters. It was a long time since Jamaica had seen har, and we all wanted to show love. Even if it tired ar out. Is a good ting she tallawah, even at 83.
So mi get it, so mi give it.
