Chief Abiola (Sheperd Michael A. Reid), dressed in his black robe and red and black turban leads a performance by Revivalists during yesterday's ceremony to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade by Britain, in downtown Kingston. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

VIDEO cameras and smiling passengers were not part of the script when Africans were captured by Europeans and sold into bondage over 400 years ago. But boarding a make-believe slave ship in Kingston Harbour in 2007 is still an emotional experience for some people.

The boarding of a coastguard vessel by 12 persons was one of several symbolic moments during yesterday's Ancestral Funeral Rites ceremony, in observance of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

Many in the crowd moved toward the boat as the Jamaica Military Band performed The Melodians' By The Rivers of Babylon and Marley's Redemption Song. The craft circled the harbour for half an hour before returning to port.

An audience of just over 500 turned up for the event, which is one of several planned by Government and civic groups to commemorate the ending of a trade that enslaved and killed millions from the African continent.

Many of those who attended, including Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, were dressed in African regalia. The various religious groups in Jamaica (Rastafarians, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Revivalists) were represented. Leaders from each group read a tribute to mark the occasion.

Rastafarians, who have advocated for reparations for the descendants of slaves for many years, had the most dominant presence. Newell Morris, his 'princess' Iyata and her granddaughter, were among them.

He said it was important to the youngsters. "Dem only tell the yout' dem 'bout people like Nanny and the rest a dem pon the book cover," he said. "She fi have the experience fi tell her younger one in years to come."

Valentine Buyse of Brussels, Belgium, stood out with his blond dreadlocks. He said it was significant for him to be at the ceremony as racism was still a big problem in sections of his homeland.

In 2005, then Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson announced celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. The list of events will be coordinated by University of the West Indies Professor Verene Sheperd.

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