BUSSA, FIDEL and KAMAU
(L-R) Comandante Fidel Castro, Kamau Brathwaite and General Bussa [Images;Web]
On the 1st of August 1998 -- Emancipation Day -- I experienced the tremendous thrill and honour of sharing a public platform with one of the greatest "world historical personalities" of all times --- Comandante Fidel Castro!
And what made the experience particularly special for me was that we were both addressing a crowd of my fellow Barbadians with the imposing statue of the Right Excellent General Bussa towering over us.
In all likelihood, Fidel Castro was seeing the Bussa statue and being exposed to the inspirational story of the 1816 Bussa Rebellion for the very first time on that brilliant Emancipation morning. But when I had the good fortune to be able to converse with Fidel later that evening at a Government House reception, it became clear to me that the Right Excellent General Bussa had made a lasting impression on the great Cuban statesman.
When President Castro spoke to me at that Government House reception, it was evident that he wanted to learn as much as he could about the story of General Bussa. And finally-- after prying out the relevant details of the Bussa story from me -- Fidel assured me that in the years to come Bussa, and the other outstanding anti-slavery revolutionaries, would emerge as our most important historical personalities and national role models -- even more important than our outstanding anti-colonial or pro-Independence fighters!
Fidel Castro explained to me that in the years ahead, the greatest battle that we will have to fight is the "battle of ideas", and that in that epochal contest, the strongest and most compelling ideas and ideals that we will have at our disposal will be those that were championed by the heroic men and women who were prepared to do everything in their power to destroy the evil institution of human slavery.
And so, as far as Fidel was concerned, one of the greatest and most important historical personalities of our Civilization was the great General Bussa!
Like Fidel, I too share this assessment of the importance not only of Bussa, but of the seminal historical event with which Bussa's name is eternally linked -- the glorious Bussa Rebellion of 1816.
We Barbadians would therefore be doing ourselves a tremendous disservice if we failed to properly commemorate the looming bicentenary of the Bussa Rebellion!
We have a mere twelve more days to go before the 14th of April anniversary date is upon us, and it therefore behooves us to use every possible academic and artistic discipline at our disposal to acquire a profound understanding of Bussa and the Bussa Rebellion.
In the three articles that I have -- thus far -- written on this topic, I have invoked political analysis and historical documentation to explore the Bussa story. Now, I wish to avail myself of the discipline of poetry and of the literary vehicle of our very own Barbadian "nation language".
Our national master griot and poet laureate, Kamau Brathwaite, has produced the definitive "nation language" poem about General Bussa. Please enjoy (and learn from) this slightly abridged version of Kamau's powerful and moving poem:-
So one day leapin ahead a de governor dogs
turnin militia on to itself
wrappin dem up in de hickey like hell
cutting de tongue a de backra man bell
was dis short stoutish fella who come
penny hole in sin philip
wid a big bushy head duh call bussa
gorbli he cud crack yuh cuss words like a cur
nul yuh hear:no
stopping him hey since washington come:
good lookin mulatto, good nigger gone
bad but not baaad like bussa was bad
I remember de nite two days after we brek up outta dis meat
box an de war declare from ev:ry hill top a de thundery heaven
dat ringing we rounn from long bay right away dounn to shark
rock an we cramp up an waitin under de mangrove near heddins
not a soul in de sky but a few star fish
an de scar of a bleedin moon:
not a clink in de fire fly night:
not even no stamp nor a stammer a
horse: no body not even ridin a hearse in
dis brave tomorrow, we grave yard:
so uh ketch a quick pee an eeee
se out a fart
when dis fatty dark body
bounce me in true
an before uh cud lann back good
pun me roots he start
in to talk an ole
man it wasn't no skylark
you
evvah see so much shite
he was shout
in but soff
ly he mout
hardly open
you
evvah see so much shite from where
you come from to live hey? all
dem white
people pullin foot all de way up
from haggets
an turners hall woods jess
to come up an lie dung hey in de dew
an get bite up by spinks an moss
keetoes as if dem is jew-boy
or naygars who loss? why de rass
dem cyan stann in de place
dey belongs to an dead in dem bed
wid dem boots on!
why dem cyan stann home an
play wid dem poodle or
pus t'rowin lu
do or fire
in darts but lissen to I bong
o man
dis man say ketch
in a slap pun me shoulder dat pitch
me dark dung de hill like a boulder all
most
we gine block evry blow dem can pelt
like a stick
man we gwine bite dem like
shaego or shark
cause all a man want in dis worl
is de peace a e pipe an a lit
tle tobacco or ganja or snuff
an e umman
an de right to walk or ride bout
dis parish
wid a fair field under de eye
a e foot an no favour
here I was wid dis piss
water hot
by me toe: if
not fraid den a ready to freak
out: an to tell yuh de trute
muh belly feel weak:
uh wus only willin to fight
cause a frighten:
when dis man who to
morrow dem lick
off de horse e was ridin
an ketch an chop
off e head wid a plax
at one blow
when dem ready
jess grumbellin dat
e getting no
sleep cause de moss
kitoes bite
in wid nev
er a scare dat de gov
ernor come an de said white pee
pull vex dat we fight
in wid dem an share
in out licks in-
stead a flight
in from dem in de crab
grass an sticks
jess be
cause a dis short
ibo man
wid dis lion eye
vision who
cdnt care
less a-
bout shame
or blame
or pain
or de-
feat
wha name so bozie bo?
e mane bussa
David Comissiong
President
Clement Payne Movement
