THERE was no coffin or urn at Bernard Jankee’s funeral.

Officiating minister Reverend Father Michael Brown explained why.

“He donated his body to the university for medical students to learn, so even in death he’s still teaching and helping others to become better persons,” Father Brown told congregants who filled the pews inside The Chapel of St Augustine of Hippo at Kingston College’s North Street campus Saturday morning.

Throughout the service 63-year-old Jankee, the former director of the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank (ACIJ/JMB) who died April 10 after a short illness, was hailed as a teacher, friend, generous human being, and zealous guardian of Jamaica’s culture.

“I saw him as more than just a director and communication specialist; he was a custodian of our nation’s collective memory,” Kesia Weise, senior research fellow at the ACIJ/JMB, said in her tribute.

“His dedication to preserving and sharing Jamaica’s rich cultural heritage was unparalleled. Through his dedication to research, passionate advocacy, and unwavering commitment, he ensured that the stories of our ancestors were not lost to time but immortalised for future generations,” Weise said.

She said that while Jankee was always on the look-out for external funding opportunities to provide the ACIJ with the requisite equipment and other resources needed to effectively carry out its mandate, he was “always careful to steer the institution away from any benevolent offers which came with any proviso that the national collection should be copied or sent elsewhere, especially outside of the country”.

“He remained resolute that the national collection should remain in the hands of the people. No amount of money or intimidation could sway him, even though the financial needs of the organisation were many. He had a firm backbone and was a true leader of the highest integrity,” she said.

Weise noted that when Jankee joined the ACIJ in 1995 it was in the early stages of its merger with the Jamaica Memory Bank. There was much resistance to the change but under his stewardship “the ACIJ/JMB was transformed into a family unit”.

“His leadership and vision propelled the institution forward in its mission to educate, inspire, and empower. His boundless enthusiasm for history and culture sparked curiosity and ignited a passion for learning among all who had the privilege to work with him,” Weise said.

She also highlighted the roles Jankee played in the 2003 Declaration of the Maroon Heritage of the Moore Town Maroons as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Jamaica’s successful nomination of the Blue and John Crow Mountains for inscription as a World Heritage site; his contribution as Jamaica’s representative on the Intergovernmental Committee of the Convention for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and as rapporteur to the committee from 2018 to 2022; as well as his chairmanship of the technical committee responsible for the successful nomination of reggae music to the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

“All of these were and still are big deals on the national scale,” she said.

Richard Dyche, who entered Kingston College (KC) in 1971 at the same time with Jankee, remembered his classmate with whom he developed a friendship lasting more than 50 years as “generally a well-behaved student who toed the line and kept out of trouble, except for a few occasions when he found himself in the wrong company and suffered the consequences”.

Dyche also recalled their membership in the school’s Camera Club as well as Jankee’s sense of adventure that took them on spontaneous treks that never resulted in them getting to their intended destination.

“I guess for us at the time, the journey and venturing out on a whim was more important than actually reaching the destination,” he said.

Attorney Marcus Goffe delivered a tribute from the Rastafari Indigenous Village while the Charles Town Maroon Drummers and Dancers performed a Koromanti dance that won sustained applause from the congregants.

Jankee had worked closely with both groups during his years at the ACIJ/JMB.

Jankee’s nephew Matthew Gayle remembered his “Uncle Bernie” as “a giant of a man” whom he loved dearly and regarded as his teacher, brother, and friend.

Father Brown, who was also a schoolmate of Jankee at KC, shared his memories of their friendship during the homily, pointing out that he, too, was a member of the Camera Club and found that Jankee “was always willing to help others”.

Focusing on righteousness as the theme of his homily, Brown quoted from the book of Wisdom.

He said that his experience with Jankee led him to the conclusion that he could not be denied “the title of being righteous”.

“In his own way, as you heard from so many different persons, I think a righteous individual would be a wonderful way to describe him,” the priest said.

“The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seem to die and their departure is taken for misery,” Brown read, then said, “It is my firm belief that our brother rests in peace, and even in death he still wanted to help others.”

The homily set the perfect stage for the Kingston College Chapel Choir, of which Jankee was a member, to deliver the Stanley Merchant religious anthem The Souls of the Righteous.

And, fittingly, on the day the world observed the 43rd anniversary of the death of Jamaican reggae superstar Bob Marley, his iconic song
One Love closed the thanksgiving service for the man who dedicated his life to promoting and protecting Jamaican culture.