Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Charles Hyatt - File
A few minutes after 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, the singing, drumming and dancing became calm in the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) parking lot outside the Little Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Avenue, St. Andrew. It was a rare break in 'Wake-ing Charles Hyatt', which had started about two hours earlier with a large gathering and which was the precursor to his funeral service later on Saturday.
"Say set-up!" The leader of the sometimes raucous but certainly enthusiastic chorale said and a chorus of 'set-up!' echoed his amplified voice.
"This is the serious segment. This is the final travelling. The final journey. Sending the spirit to the ancestors. African pickney me name," he said.
"Yu notice we have a circle up here. But the circle empty. We cyaan continue until de circle full. If yu a dance or a learn fe dance" whosoever will may come," he said.
And as the kumina drumming started, a few did 'come' from the ring of chairs around the dancers to join the dancing, smiling figures, a man spraying three bursts of rum from his mouth to form a thick mist that hung for a split second in the calm night air.
Somewhat prophetic
"Moon a shine oh, moon a shine," the leader set off in the final set-up phase, although the following 'rain a fall' would prove somewhat prophetic. "Weed an grabber" were not to be left out, then the leader bawled for silence to announce the formation of a train. "We going go roun' de back an go back right yasso," he said. "Missa drumma, mek we ketch de train."
Led by a young man with a headband, a young woman flapping her wide skirt in and out just behind, the train made its way through the circle of sitters, by now reduced, to the chant of 'walk through de wilderness'. On that morning and in that space, the wilderness had asphalt underfoot and the only semi-wild beast the train encountered was a grey Toyota Hilux Surf, one man in the middle of the snaking line calling 'oy young bway, whe yu a go? We have whole night' to the leader.
They hit 'we all are one' as they went back into the circle and the demand of "who drink de rum?" went up as there were fewer sitters, some joining the dancing and others calling it a morning.
Jordan rolled as Wake-ing Charles was personalised with 'Bredda Charlie neva know whe de rainbow mean/God gwine sen' dung fia pon de lan'", Wings of a Dove and Bright Soul coming before a chorus of hallelujahs.
Then as they sang 'thunder roll' that 'rain a fall' line came back with a drizzle, sending more persons home. "Ah bway, ah feel good," the leader said. "We going to sing a final one, den we sing a prayerful one to sen' yu home," the leader said.
It turned out to be more than that, Suppose We No Meet running into Peace An' Love, a benediction of 'May the saving grace of God be with you' going with even more stragglers and a chorus of 'Amen' coming as the sound system was turned off.
And even then, a kernel of the steadfast remained within the circle, coming even closer together to chant unamplified outside the Little Little Theatre just past 2:00 a.m. on Saturday.
