Let us from point to point

This story know,

To make the even truth

In pleasure flow.

– Shakespeare,All’s Well that Ends Well, V, 3

The spoken word lives, passing down tales of past generations to new ones, telling stories of triumphs and tragedies. Writings and drawings on ancient cave walls exist, showing graphically stories of the hunt, successes and failures, births and deaths. The written word survives; history, as seen through the eyes of the scribe, filling volumes of books, telling people where they came from and how they got there.

All civilisations take pride in their history and culture, and indeed, cherish them both. To destroy a people, just wipe their history from the face of the Earth so that they cease to exist, is something that conquering armies do, as they obliterate all the artefacts, libraries, poetry, prose and music from those whom they vanquish.

But it doesn’t take a marauding army to erase a nation’s history and culture. At times the inhabitants do it all by themselves, as we’ll find out right after these responses to ‘Executioner’s song’.

Hello Tony,

I am in favour of capital punishment and you covered the pro position very well. However, you neglected to cover the financial burden which is borne by the State/taxpayers for every convicted murderer who is sentenced to life imprisonment. They should have swift trials, especially if they “proudly confess” to the deed, and public executions, hanging or firing squad to send a message. I bet those do-gooders and clerics who do not believe in an eye for an eye would quickly change their tune if the murdered individual was their mother, brother or wife.

Doris

Hi Tony,

Personally, I say bring back the old west of the cowboy where everyone can carry a weapon. I’ll bet folks wouldn’t be so quick to kill if they knew that the intended victim will defend themselves with deadly force. States in the USA where citizens are armed have less crime.

Wyatt

We should have a sense of awareness of our history and also be proud of our culture. Sadly, this is not so. But before I get into that, I must share a tale of ignorance and lack of cultural awareness that actually prompted me to explore the subject of history, culture and awareness.

This well-dressed lady in her designer suit visited a friend of mine. While there, she noticed a photograph on the wall and said, “That looks like someone famous. Is it Hitler?” To which the host said, “Now, why would I have a picture of Hitler in my house?”

“So who is it then?”

“It’s Fidel Castro,” came the reply.

Now, whether you like Fidel Castro or not, shouldn’t an educated adult at least know what he looks like?

That sort of ignorance boggles the mind and saddens the heart. That same lady when pressed most likely could not identify Norman Manley or Alexander Bustamante or tell who they were, apart from recognising their pictures on paper money. “Oh, they are national heroes, but I can’t exactly remember who they were or what they did.”

This level of ignorance is more common than you may think, as so many Jamaicans have no sense of our history or are ashamed of our culture. We have a responsibility to preserve our past, so that others will know. This task falls greatly to those in the media and corporate Jamaica. Sadly, we dropped the ball in this area.

A few months ago I wrote an article titled ‘JBC Baby’, which chronicled the early days of the

Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation and the huge impact that it had on our media landscape. Most of the luminaries in media today had their genesis and honed their skills at the

JBC. Many of us owe our professional lives to that institution which was a first in this corner of the Caribbean.

Yet, there are people who have no clue what the

JBC was or what it stood for. A small group, headed by former employees Lois Grant and Tony Patel, intends to do a documentary to highlight the history of the

JBC — a mammoth project that will take about a year to produce, based on the huge volume of material to be sifted through, plus dozens of past employees to be interviewed. So much of our culture was captured within those studios.

A project of that magnitude needs funding, and I would have thought that corporate Jamaica would jump at the opportunity before some foreign entity takes it up. But no prophet is a hero in his own country. One corporate body flatly rejected the project, saying, “We don’t do that sort of thing, plus what would be the financial returns from making this documentary, and would young people find it interesting?” Boof. No history, no culture.

Ironically, when I watch

National Geographic, Discovery, The History Channel and see how other countries preserve their history and culture, I’m fascinated and slightly envious. These feelings turn to sadness when I see Jamaica featured on these channels, as ironically, foreigners find more interest in our history and culture than we do.

We continue to have people of influence who thumb their collective noses at our history and culture and see no need to document our cultural heritage. “Young people don’t want to see those things, is pure hype and dancehall rule now.”

Yet, other countries have young people too, and they manage to preserve their history and culture, their dance, music and poetry. Many years ago, the late Trevor Rhone and I produced a documentary for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) titled

Mento Yard. The video examined the various dance forms of our culture — Kumina, Brukkings, Gereh, Dinkie Minnie and others. Many of those dances had their roots in Africa and can be seen in our modern dancehall moves today. Have you ever wondered how almost all Jamaicans can dance naturally without ever being taught? Our spirits retain the culture, even if many of us choose to reject it.

I’m glad that we made that documentary then, and hopefully copies are still available at the JCDC. But I’m sure it wouldn’t be made today, as the cry would be, “Young people aren’t interested in that sort of thing now.”

Where is our history; what is our culture? Why are some ashamed of it? Port Royal is featured in almost every history book of developed nations — Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy and others — yet most Jamaicans only know it as the place that sank during an earthquake and is now a great place to buy fish. It takes foreigners to come here and show great interest in what’s right under our neglectful noses. It took another foreigner, Professor Vogel from Switzerland, to come here and do a documentary of our giant Iguana lizards, animals that played an integral part in our history.

Who was Ranny Williams, who was Miss Lou, Bim and Bam, Vere Johns? Who is Ernie Ranglin, Bunny Grant, Percy Hayles? I want to do a documentary on one of our leading iconic comedians, Oliver Samuels, but am met with the same negative feedback from sponsors. Soon we’ll have no knowledge of these people as they’ll be wiped from our consciousness with no record of their lives.

Speak to many Jamaicans about our history and be in awe of their ignorance. They know nothing of what happened before they were born, and culture is what they see on the top 10 music videos.

Some are ashamed of the way how we speak, even as the rest of the world is fascinated by our native language. I still do not believe that patois should be taught in schools, as it’s natural to all of us. But it’s a very important part of our culture. Miss Lou showed us that, although she met great resistance at first.

As you read this, I should be in New York at the International Seido Karate 40th Anniversary Celebrations, giving a karate seminar, using Jamaican native language, to a multinational class. That’s how fascinated the world is with our culture.

Ignorance is a curse, and even the Greek gods despaired when faced with it. You cannot argue with ignorance. We must chronicle and pass on our history, we must be proud of our culture, and lack of funding should not be an excuse.

The drawings on the cave walls, the hieroglyphics, the scrolls, the books and documentaries that show how a civilisation lived, are all meant to preserve their history and culture. As far as some people are concerned, we have no history, no culture, and that’s fine with them.

More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: What I find galling is when some Jamaicans not only say it, but boast that they do not watch local television, do not listen to the news, and do not read the newspapers. I recall hearing a prominent lady on one of those enquiries proudly saying just that, and I couldn’t believe my ears. Yet, when you hear them speak, they are the most informed and opinionated people to walk the face of the Earth.

Where do they get their knowledge and information from if they aren’t in tune with our local media? Some even boast of only watching foreign weather reports, not realising how silly they sound. Their opinions are formed through perceptions and not facts, but you cannot argue with them, for “they know everything”. They know all about what’s happening in foreign lands, but are clueless about what’s happening here.