Amina Blackwood Meeks, ContributorDEAR MISS Lady:
You sey it time and time again, if we only have de patience to sit back and watch people widout de urge fe open we mout and sey something, we wudda come to de conclusion sey we watching a beautifully well made movie an we might even enjoy how de performers dem reveal dem colours.
Now dere must be a movie about people who claim dat dem doan celebrate nutten.
DON'T BELIEVE IN SYMBOLISM
When December come, dem declare sey dem don't believe in de symbolism of Christmas, plus dem not even sure sey dat is de time dat Jesus born.
So, in order not to be involved in any controversial notion dat might even be pagan, dem don't give Christmas gifts. Fine.
But if you can find one time inna de whole next 364 days when dem give somebody anyting yu lucky. Even people who dem sure sey is fe dem birtday. So yu realise sey really de firs statement was a fraudulent one.
Come round to Valentine's Day now. Dem cuss de day an symbolism again. Cuss every Valentine celebration fe prove sey dat ting is nat of we, even when yu tell dem bout de likkle known South African priest dat did name Valentine and it could really have been him dat de day originate wid. Dem suck dem teet an ask if yu ever notice how everyting bout black people is 'likkle known'. But still dem naw come help yu big up dat piece of information.
Same way dem gwaan bout Black History Month. First dem cuss sey black people get de shortest month of de year. But dem naw help yu lobby fe a longer month, as if sey tree extra days is going to meck such a big difference anyway.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
When yu carner dem wid dat, hear dem, well evey month is Black History Month. Fine and good.
Ask dem what dem do in any of de adda 11 month fe recognise, acknowledge, celebrate, pass on likkle Black History, dem kean ansa. Den yu come fe realise sey dem is a ting dat a word must invent fah.
What dem really mean is dat dem don't support tings dat too popular, dat too much people teck up.
Dem want a likkle cause fe go roun an sey is dem one doin dat and likkle more dem can tun martyr and lament how dem doan get no support. If dem not going to give speech or cocktail or wave de symbolism of gilt-edged invitation, dem is nat going to be where de massives congregate.
Well, so dem was not at Fi Wi Sinting in Portland. For dat doan come by cocktail an such. Dat just come by know sey is once a year fe de last 16 years dis ting keep, an yu can go deh an look an see an hear an taste and wear an enjoy some a de nice tings dat symbolise what keep black people alive fe de res a de year.
ONE RASTA WOMAN
See how black people teck likkle much and meck plenty much out a it, meck much outa dem wan annedda an enjoy de fabulous mix up tings dat we create dat is uniquely ours an dat yu maybe wudden buck up no where else but at Fi Wi Sinting.
De tings dat adda people tink sey get lick outa we an only inna cocktail party and round table talk it can strategise ge put back.
Teck for instance dis woman what me a pint out to people de whole day. Buck har up by de bingi corner. Kean help all who don't know what is a bingi. Couple hours at Fi Wi Sinting wudda correck dat likkle educational deficiency.
But anyway picture dis. She had thick locks appropriately covered unda ites, green and gold wrap. An she a chant and jump nyahbinghi fe outclass anyone else round de circle.
Come dung from har head now. She had on de most beautiful white kumina blouse an all who yu never see one yet should have been at Fi Wi Sinting.
On de right side of de blouse she have awn some whole heap a likkle-likkle button: map a Africa, Nelson Mandela and such and on the left hand side just over her heart one big button of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie de First, an she a chant from dat time "For when dem see de Emperor pan my shoulder, Babylon haffe surrender."
Seet dere, she know what certain symbols do to certain weak-hearts. Glad me go Fi Wi Sintng for dat chant was new to me.
Follow from har waist now down to har ankle, a fetching revival blue skirt pleat and all and de entire outfit held together by a waist band of ites, green and gold from which hung a piece of bandana. And all who you don't know what dat signify you should have been at Fi Wi Sinting.
So me watch har a jump Nyahbingi, den me move roun likkle bit and teck in Muta pan de sound system, Royal African Soldiers a fling down some serious verses and School of Zion a pray before dem start sell.
Mi all go look pan some book display, till me stap by de Mento Band. Who yu tink me see a sing every mento song what de band raise? My lady from de bingi.
Well Miss Lady, yu know me arreddi, me pint har out to me sistren intending now fe go start discussion bout Caribbean aesthetics.
Hear my sistren, but when I come dis morning she was having a good time over by the kumina corner.
Den nuh it dat man. De woman defy circumscription. She inna Black History Month a celebrate Fi Wi Sinting from before Columbus bawn, before de Marquis of Sligo teck credit fe fight our battle.
DE FULL UNDERSTANDIN
She unda de full understanding dat she larger dan de month, bigger dan de time an place where it keep, dat she is de modda of all rituals an she a de purpose what rituals serve; dat she is where Fon meet Kikongo an widout she, de bongo man cudden walk out of Africa in skins of goats and trunks of trees; widout she de Congo man kean come.
Dat she a de reason France a set day fe memba bout slavery an de whole a Europe waan put awn pageant into 2007 fe overshadow dat likkle symbol till we doan even realise a fi wi sinting. Dat dem frighten sey when fe dem multibillion applause dun dat likkle symbol shall turn up again and again in unexpected places, wid teet like dese, like de spirit inna de story a sey see me yah, me nuh dead.
TOGETHER IN A PAGEANT
De National Commission pan de Bicentenary shudda jus did flim dat an show it meck a panel discuss it as de Bicentenary
public lecture.
Dem shuuda recreate it fe teata as de major cultural production, dem shudda mount it as a travelling exhibition fe all who tink sey dem did put we chu a door of no return fe see de amount of tings what we did teck chu dat door what dem cudden even see nuh matter how much dem was watching an peeping.
An all a dat shudda jus come togedda into a pageant as de opening gala dat wudda come in like a big school fe World Cup Cricket mek de worl see sey maybe is jus one day we want fe sey whey we haffe sey and nutten what de whole a dem do can wipe out what dat likkle speak mean fe de whole a we.
I tink dat people like Sis P who persevere wid dis ting year afta yar dun ovastand dat long time.
An people like dat rasta-revival-kumina-mento sista whe jus pop up where she is feel like pop up, dun know how our ting go.
It challenge time an space time a year or night or day. People who come know sey dem haffe deh deh and dem well ovas sey every candle what dem put help to meck de way a likkle brighter an maybe de earlier inna de year it put de more it clear de way fe whatever come into de res of de mont dem.
So, maybe de ritual of Black History Month early up into de year is right where it suppose to be an all who tired fe travel in de dark suppose to be right dere a meck dem little light shine.
Miss Lady, we naw watch no face, naw even chant fire pan all who fine excuse, criticise an downgrade but kean come up wid nutten bigger or more sustainable dan a rasta head pan a kumina-revival body pan a mento rhythm couple hours by de river in Narture's Way in de parish of Granny Nanny a defen Fi Wi Sinting.
