“An Echo in the bone” by Dennis Scott
Arthur, Birth-date and Award
Dennis
Scott, born 16, December 1989 was an actor, playwright, Dancer and Jamaican
poet. Born in Kingston, Jamaica he attended Jamaica College, then the University
of the West Indies (UWI), Mona. He then became a teacher who taught in Jamaica,
Trinidad and Tobago and at Yale University in the United States. In 1970, he
when to Athena, Georgia on a playwright fellowship to which afterwards, he was
awarded a Commonwealth fellowship to take an education diploma course in Newcastle
upon Tyne, England. He wrote several other pieces, where one was called ‘Uncle Time’
(1973), that allowed him to win the commonwealth poetry prize. However, at the
age of 51, Dennis Scott died in New Haven, Connecticut in 1991.
Slave
Trade
During
the 17th - 19th century, millions of Slaves (Africans, Irish, Indians), were
introduced to the new world by force to work on plantations and become the
puppets of my dominant racial figures. The conditions under which they worked
were disastrous and poor; they received little to no payment, they were still
forced to preform labor. Slaves were sold
to other by previous owners and more brutally, they’re own people. Slaves were
put to be conditioned and then Christianized to become more civil towards other
people. Eventually, the British slave trade was abolished in 1807. However,
many slaves were still being illegally used and smuggle to work for many. He
ruling which ended slave trade was the conclusion that using people to perform
these barbaric act was inhuman and truly disgusting.
Plantation:
Conditions, Time (hrs.) worked, Positions
Life
on the plantation was terrible for the slaves. Their masters were tyrannical
towards them constantly forcing them to work to the bone with no pity.
Depending on their size, plantations comprised a multitude of buildings: the
homes of the master's family, overseer, and slaves, as well as outbuildings,
barns, and workshops. Large plantations operated like self-sustaining
villages, and thus, were often isolated from the outside world. Working on
these plantations was never-ending for slaves. Adult male slaves were primarily
relied on to tend the fields, pastures, and gardens. Overseers on
horseback equipped with whips monitored slaves, always threatening to punish
"stragglers" with a flogging. Plantation owners also
exploited the work of skilled slaves, such as blacksmiths and carpenters, for
their own ends. Female slaves and young children usually served as
domestics, tending to the master's family as cooks, servants, and housemaids,
and were often starved, whipped, and even raped. Not only that but the female
slaves, whether pregnant or not were forced to work in the hot sun on the
field. They would use the time to get to breastfeed their infants, as a time to
take rest from the demands of the overseers.
Revolts
African
slaves were put under so much pressure by demands of their slave master and the
sorts that the ones who realized that Africans were being oppressed, took a
step forward and caused revolts. Because they could not achieve some sort of
equality between slaves and master, they began to plot the extent to which they
hoped to disband he plantation and destroy their masters. Many revolts occurred
in many different ways. There were incidents were the slaves actually poison
the crops and waters so that the plantation would die off. Others under strict
watch were determined to commit mass genocide, killing off their kids and
themselves; in other words, suicide was committed regardless of whether they were kids, pregnant
and those of the sorts. Some who were determined to get pass guns and weapons
caused riots and mass revolts that turned into a nations worth of army to take
down their masters. Alas some failed due to the lack of weaponry that the white
slave owners held in their position. Then the last resort of revolt that some
held were to simply kill their master and be execute or run away.
Toussaint
L’Ouverture
“The
Black Napoleon,” Toussaint L’Ouverture who was a former slave that rose to
become the leader of the only successful slave revolt in modern history, the
Haitian Revolution was born May 20, 1743 in the French colony of Saint
Dominque. As he turned twenty he was known as the most skillful horseman with
the knowledge to speak French, English, Creole, Latin, along with his medical
knowledge of herbs etc. The events of August 22, 1791, the “Night of Fire” in
which slaves revolted by setting fire to plantation houses and fields and
killing whites, convinced the 48-year-old L’Ouverture that he should join the
growing insurgency. Inspired by French Revolutionary ideology and angered by
generations of abuse at the hands of white planters, the initial slave uprising
was quelled within several days, but ongoing fighting between the slaves, free
blacks, and planters continued. Although he was free, L’Ouverture joined
the slave insurgency and quickly developed a reputation first as a capable
soldier.
After agreeing with the French who
wanted to emancipate slaves, L’Ouverture allied with France against Spain, and
from 1794 to 1802, he was the dominant political and military leader in the
French colony. By 1801, although Saint Dominque remained ostensibly a
French colony, L’Ouverture was ruling it as an independent state. He
drafted a constitution in which he reiterated the 1794 abolition of slavery and
appointed himself governor for “the rest of his glorious life.” L’Ouverture
actions eventually aroused the ire of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1802
Napoleon dispatched his brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc, to capture L’Ouverture
and return the island to slavery under French control. Captured and
imprisoned at Fort de Joux in France, L’Ouverture died of pneumonia on April 7,
1803.
Emancipation
Emancipation
ended the authority of the whites, in regards to their hold over the slaves and
what they were allowed to do with them. Slaves were emancipated and free to do
as they please after the abolishment of slave trade. The white dominants could
no longer used the slaves as they did forcefully on the plantation.
A
wake
A
wake is a more informal time for visitation and remembrance of the dead,
whereas a funeral typically contains structured rituals and is often religious
in nature. It usually involves the celebration of the dead before the funeral.
This celebration is to mourn the dead and allow visitors to part take in the
activity. Though wakes vary depending on cultural differences and beliefs that
the family has, it is common to exchange stories about the deceased person
while eating a light meal. A wake is an important means of support for the
family of the person who has passed, and is an effective way for them to grieve
together.
Mourning
of Caribbean people
Many
Caribbean people come together to celebrate the passing and mourn the death of
their loved ones. Nine-Nights are no longer a time to mourn but a time to
celebrate since the loved one is no longer suffering in life. When friends come
they do not come with just condolences they come with food, drink and music;
this is after all a celebration. True to its name this celebration lasts nine
nights and days with the ninth and final night being the night before the
church service On the ninth night the family prepares the food for all who
come. As tradition has is on the ninth night it is believed that the spirit of
the deceased passes through the party gathering food and saying goodbye before
continuing on to its resting place. Out of all the nights this night is the
most revered since it is the end of the celebration.
Stories
about the deceased and the fondest memories are shared, along with prayers.
Games, such as Dominoes, are played as
well as singing hymns, which is also done on the other nights as well. On the
ninth night a table is set up under a tent with food for the loved one, though
no one is allowed to eat from it before midnight because it is believed that
this is the time that the spirit passes through. Along with the food are
drinks, most often Jamaican rum with no less than 100 proof. The types of
food on the table can vary from one celebration to the next, but typically
fried fish and bammy are the main foods on the table. This time is very
important to the family because it gives them time to celebrate the life of
their loved one and to be able to say their goodbyes.
Obeah
Obeah
is power and it is a belief from within African traditions. Obeah is not a
phenomenon owned by a single culture. It is true that Obeah,
linguistically, is Jamaican Patois. However, the practices and beliefs that
make up modern Obeah have roots not only in the traditions of the Caribbean,
but in the traditions of Africa, of Europe, India and even the North American
continent. This is not an inclusive list. There are many High
Scientists who incorporate work as far away as the Aborigines of
Australia. The reason Obeah is called Science is because it has never
been afraid to adopt and use any type of magic that works. They were used by
witch doctors to perform various acts for many. Some being to heal and others
being to kill or curse.
Importance
of music to the West Indians
Music has been
central to Caribbean culture since the days of slavery, when it was a mode of
mental survival and a form of recreation. Today there is a ubiquitous Caribbean
soundtrack; it plays on city streets, in natives' homes and at special
festivals - at Carnival people tirelessly dance for days. It is characterized
by a natural, easy rhythm and multiple ethnic influences, particularly the
African drum beat. Dancing everywhere in the Caribbean is an energetic melding
of lower-carriage movement, shuffle-stepping, and swaying hips. In Santo
Domingo, shoeshine boys may drum their boxes, while working musicians hone new
beats all the time. There is a complex cultural blend to be heard in nearly
every musical style found in the Caribbean. In Trinidad, Indian sounds round
out the melodies of Calypso, while in Cuba and Puerto Rico, the Latin beat
feeds the salsa rhythm.
Chorus
The chorus provides some structure to
the narrative and can provide information and commentary that need not be in
the actors' lines. The chorus can also provide foreshadowing or humor.
The chorus acts as a kind of liaison between the audience and the actors,
giving the audience a lens through which to view the action of the drama,
allowing the audience to identify with a group that is "outside" the
action, the way a frame story operates, with a narrator telling a story within
a story, giving the reader a narrative one step removed.
