In this new world of the 21st century, where knowledge trumps, it is high time we as Caribbean people disabuse ourselves of the notion that our history began with enslavement in North and South America.
One of the Caribbean's most accomplished scholars and authors, Guyana-born Ivan Van Sertima, along with some colleagues, has done tremendous research and published volumes to demonstrate the Egypto-Nubian element in pre-Columbian Meso-America and their leading influence on the existing inhabitants and cultures, especially the formative Olmec culture. The Olmecs, of course, built the first true pyramids and amphitheatres in the New World.
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| A section of the crowd at last Sunday's Portland Jerk festival at Folly |
In fact, another anthro-photo journalist, Wayne Chandler, based on extensive research, including skeletal types excavated, posits the theory that blacks were a major sub-group and influence on the Shang culture which literally laid the cornerstone of early Chinese civilisation.
Significantly, Chandler demonstrates a fusion of the Shang Culture with the Egypto-Nubian and Meso-American at La Venta, Mexico , the capital of the Olmec culture of early America from around 1100 BC, which became pervasive in Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico , Costa Rico and Panama .
This is all intriguing stuff which should be used to inspire our youths, build their ambition and character and create productive citizens. But before you wonder where I am going with all this, please let me explain.
It is funny that these thoughts came to me while attending the Portland Jerk Festival on Sunday, July 1. I am sure everyone who enjoyed this year's edition of the festival would endorse my congratulations to the promoters, for the most impressive facilities, infrastructure and organisation yet. Certainly, the police presence and effective traffic control all the way through Port Antonio to the car park entrance at Folly was the best I have seen in all the years - and a welcoming relief for motorists.
The playfield at Folly was used for parking and was sufficiently large to accommodate most of the vehicular traffic. Thanks to some efficient attendants, there was no hassle on entering or leaving the car park. The festival itself was staged on the plateau above, however, the organisers wisely established ticketing operations at the edge of the car park, creating for themselves a sterile, controlled environment on the entire trek up the hill. On the bough of the hill, we came upon orderly entry gates with appropriate signage and personnel.
Even the slight downpour as we were entering did not disrupt the procedures. The security team in charge of the event displayed throughout the benefit of training and experience in this area of the business. Inside the festival area, it was obvious that some thought had gone into the layout because it enhanced the crowd flow management. We were able to browse and shop quite comfortably.
Sometimes, one of the side effects of the growth of events such as these, is the dilution of themes and standards. Primarily, this is because of the challenging responsibilities of coordinating and managing the input of independent operators, especially concessionaires and merchandisers. In many instances, this is where quality control is compromised and themes get diffused.
For the most part however, this festival's independent operators have remained fairly true to the concept of using the jerk seasoning and methods in the preparation of the foods sold, so the festival scores high marks for this. Many of the original herbs and spices used in our traditional jerk recipes did not originate in the Caribbean, but were introduced by the first and second waves of African migrants into the New World.
However there is one inherent problem, the level of organisation and efficiency of some of the longstanding concessionaires. It seems that this skill has not grown apace with the festival over the years. Maybe, some organisation like the Ministry of Health would consider doing some workshops to assist in upgrading their ability to manage. The sponsors could deepen their involvement in this festival by providing some educational stalls, giving patrons some ethno-historical context, demonstrating the preparatory and cooking methods, even putting the herbs and spices on display and for sale.
Access to the seaside was a managed affair, as is only proper, given the severe erosion of the beach area at Folly. Security was posted at the access point which leads to the old great house and down to the beach. Patrons wishing to visit either of these were issued with armbands allowing re-entry after.
Having toured the park a couple times, visited the great house and the beach, we chose jerk seafood for lunch and enjoyed it in the shade of trees on the great house grounds. By the time our meal was over at about 2:30 pm, there were already about 2000 patrons present. So far, from the stage, we had been entertained by gospel artistes including DJ Nicholas, whose band played a popular Morgan Heritage tune which buoyed his testimonial about his previous life as an 'extreme rasta' and his conversion to Christianity as the only vehicle to salvation and God.
In the midst of this, the chorus of his song seemed to imply that those who still seek their inspiration and solitude through the teachings of Rastafari are worshipping the devil. If my interpretation is correct, may I appeal to DJ Nicholas for a little religious tolerance on his part, jumping from one extreme to another portrays immaturity and less than a full grasp of the teachings of either religion.
By the way, whereas the blacks I initially referred to came to the Americas between 1500 BC and 980 AD, those who came in the second wave between 980 AD and the 1600, including the Mandingos, were in the main from Islamic countries. But shhhhhh! Please, don't tell George Bush and his cronies, because they may intensify the search for terrorist cells (sic) in our DNA.
Back at the Jerk Festival, our focus was now on the stage as we watched GI, a local (Portland) artiste give us a credible version of Tarrus Riley's She's Royal, having too, seen a Rising Stars contestant perform the same song on TV recently, it is worthy of note that when other artistes begin to sing your songs, it is a measure of confirming your arrival as a popular artiste.
So anyway, here we are standing at the back of the audience, facing the stage. We look around to see that the place is nicely terraced to form a natural amphitheatre. However, the stage has been 'misplaced' on the highest ridge, rather than at the lowest point of the slope. This would facilitate the maximum line of vision for patrons from all sections of the grounds. This was when the thoughts aforementioned came to me, as I reflected how we had lost so much of our African heritage that something as intrinsic and integral to our long history of designing and managing mass events, was not immediately obvious to the organisers.
During the next band change, in preparation for Byron's Dragonaires, the sound system, Purple Love, again took over and made it very obvious that among dancehall fans, this summer belongs to Munga Honorebel. As his hits flowed, most patrons were dancing up a storm.
When the Dragonaires struck up their infectious Caribbean beats however, their impact was immediate and totally coalesced the festive spirit into a sea of waving flags, in a musical tribute to the still largely illusive Caribbean integration, necessary to give us a soft landing in the new world of the 21st century.
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