Photos by Paul Williams
LEFT: These children, who said they were proud of their African heritage, were among the crowd that turned out for the Jamaica National Bicentenary Committee/IRIE FM Tribute to Jamaica's Angolan Heritage on Sunday, February 17, in Port Maria, St Mary. They are (from left, back) Iesha Crooks, Davia Martin, Psa-Hay Reynolds; (front) Jada Williams, I-Ya-Dor-I Reynolds, and Ibrac Reynolds.
RIGHT: The Trelawny Tambu Dancers were one of the many cultural groups that performed and moved the crowd at the Jamaica National Bicentenary Committee/IRIE FM Tribute to Jamaica's Angolan Heritage.

Paul H. Williams, Sunday Gleaner Writer

On the morning of Sunday, February 17, the tranquility of the seaside town of Port Maria was shattered and the Claude Stuart Park was transformed into a melting pot of African culture.

It was the Jamaica National Bicentenary Committee (JNBC)/IRIE FM Tribute to Jamaica's Angolan Heritage, "to mark the official end of the direct trading in enslaved Africans to Jamaica".

The activities, hosted by IRIE FM's Andrea Williams and Mutabaruka, and Professor Verene Shepherd, chair of the JNBC, were part of the commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

Landings in Jamaica

According to Professor Shepherd, "The British had passed a Slave Trade Abolition Act on March 25, 1807, but had stipulated that ships that had received prior clearance for trading in African captives would be allowed to proceed, as long as the whole journey ended by March 1, 1808. So, by this loophole, 16 ships landed in Jamaica between March 25, 1807, and March 1, 1808. The last one to be cleared for trading in Africans was the Kitty's Amelia, which landed in Jamaica on January 25, 1808.

"The George had been cleared to trade before the Kitty's Amelia, but its journey was a long one. The George was the last to land enslaved Africans traded by the British to Jamaica on February 17, 1808. So, the Sunday event was to mark the end of the trade and to celebrate the lives of the 235 Africans from West Central and Central Africa, called Angolans, who landed in Jamaica 200 years ago."

It was quite a cultural feast for all present, many of whom were tastefully and casually dressed in creative and colourful African-inspired outfits.

The crowd, led by Rita Marley amid the drumming of the Port Morant Kumina Group, marched around Tacky's Monument.

Before that, Yoruba Priestess Yeyefini Efunbolade had poured libation and paid tribute to all the ancestors, at the seaside and at the monument.

The sounds of hypnotic drumming echoed from the hills and sailed over the sea, while the legs and the hips of the descendants of African slaves moved to the beats. And performance poetess Cherry Natural spoke her mind, as usual.

Female-keepers

The significance of the celebrations was highlighted by the attendance of many well-known and important female-keepers of the African heritage - Sister Rita Marley; Dr Erna Brodber; Queen Mother Sister Mariamne Samad, Garveyite, black nationalist, cultural activist and historian; Queen Mother Chief High Priestess Dr Osun Dara Nefertiti-el; Akan Priestess Okomfo Afua Fofie; Yoruba Priestess Oya Lada; and Maroon Priestess Gloria Simms.

Also among the fair-size and colourful gathering were Mayor of Port Maria Richard Creary, and Andrew Clunis, who represented Minister of Culture Olivia Grange.