Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Left: Tarika Wallace, a member of Miss Lou's extended family holds Miss Lou's great-granddaughter Mecari at 'Tenky ... Miss Lou', A Tribute Concert in honour of The Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley. Right: St. Hughs dancers performing their dance entitled 'beautiful' at 'Tenky ... Miss Lou', A Tribute Concert in honour of The Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley, held on Tuesday, August 8, 2006 at the National Arena. - Photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
It wasn't exactly a ni'-nite for Miss Lou, but the tribute concert in honour of the late Honourable Louise Bennett-Coverley had traces of a set-up. Dubbed 'Tenky ... Miss Lou' the tribute was held on Tuesday evening at the National Arena.
Though there were no official signs stating so, it seemed that sorrow had been banished and instead the night would be dedicated to celebration rather than lament. As such, host for the evening, Fae Ellington, quickly declared that her dress had been selected because Miss Lou liked bright colours.
Nonetheless, the evening began with a reasonably sombre note, first with prayer followed by a 'Sankey' tracked by Hugh Douse. The sobriety was kept through the three dances of praise by St. Jago High School with The Healer, Bridgeport Dance Ensemble with Hail Maria and Praise Academy of dance with In Praise Of. The choir Nexus continued the mood with their selection of folk songs which included Evening Time
one of the pieces Miss Lou had
co-authored.
However, all traces of sobriety were shattered with the appearance of ten year-old James McKay and his delivery of Bennett's Love Letta. Oneil Peart's delivery of Uriah Preach, Nicole Williams' Anancy and Chicken and the Carifolk Singers delivery of No Likkle Twang all continued to celebrate Bennett's contribution to making Jamaican an acceptable part of the Jamaican language landscape.
Ironic twist
Yet even so, Oliver Samuels was to point to an ironic twist. He noted that her official funeral service would not allow Jamaican, and would be conducted solely in Standard English. "So now oonu know say duppy no got no power," he told the audience. Samuels then spent time talking about the continued denigration of patois speakers, and the misconception that persons like himself who performed fluently in Jamaican could not speak or understand Standard English.
Samuels ended his performance with a rendition of Bennett's Voter's List which he noted may have been written years ago but elements of it remained relevant to today's situation. Indeed, Samuels' and the other performances of the night highlighted that regardless of the power of Miss Lou's ghost, she had left a remarkable inheritance from which the country would continue to reap benefits.
Valuing her work
While not everyone performed from Miss Lou's repertoire, they tended to weave in a direct reference to the value of her work. As such, both DYCR and Yasus Afari spoke of her influence on their own development. Yasus Afari went further to indicate that rather than building Miss Lou a statue, a centre for language and culture should be built in her name. "Between you me an di four wall, Miss Lou no did too like di statue ting," he said.
Joan Andrea Hutchinson delivered two poems she had written in tribute to Miss Lou, both of which celebrated her revolutionary work with culture. Many traditional folk elements in song and dance were also included in the evening, from ring games to Ettu and Ebony Park Academy's fantastic display of Dinki Mini.
During the evening, Ellington noted that the audience seemed to have come for a little "ni'-nite feelin". That feeling was therefore perfectly satisfied with the final performance of the evening, as The University Singers presented a fantastic ni'-nite suite that ought to have been enough to set Miss Lou's spirit free so she can walk good into the other life.
