12 March, 2010
JAMAICA COMMEMORATES SLAVERY ABOLITION
JAMAICA COMMEMORATES SLAVERY ABOLITION
A special ceremony, 'the funeral of the ancestors', took place yesterday in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, as part of commemorations that have been held around the world to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade.
The BBC's Rachel Harvey was there and sent this report:
A solitary horn hewn from animal bones sounding start of ceremonies here. On the waterfront of Kingston's natural harbour, where centuries ago ships laden with slaves would have moored up, a large and colourful crowd is gathered.
This is a multi-faith event - Rastafarians, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, together to honour a common heritage. The Reverend Earnley Gordon of the Anglican Church in Kingston says it's important to acknowledge the past, however troubled that history may be.
REVEREND EARNLEY GORDON: Modern Jamaica is learning that we should forgive, we should reconcile, we should never return to any form of slavery.
And this is a combination of remembrance and celebration, honoring those slaves who perished on the passage from Africa, those who died of neglect or abuse on the sugar plantations, but also praising those who resisted captivity, those whose rebellions played such a crucial role in their own eventual freedom.
Later a scroll with the names of a thousand slaves will be buried under the shade of a tree at the water's edge - the spirits of the ancestors laid to rest.
Rachel Harvey, BBC News, Kingston, Jamaica
A solitary horn hewn from animal bones sounding start of ceremonies here. On the waterfront of Kingston's natural harbour, where centuries ago ships laden with slaves would have moored up, a large and colourful crowd is gathered.
This is a multi-faith event - Rastafarians, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, together to honour a common heritage. The Reverend Earnley Gordon of the Anglican Church in Kingston says it's important to acknowledge the past, however troubled that history may be.
REVEREND EARNLEY GORDON: Modern Jamaica is learning that we should forgive, we should reconcile, we should never return to any form of slavery.
And this is a combination of remembrance and celebration, honoring those slaves who perished on the passage from Africa, those who died of neglect or abuse on the sugar plantations, but also praising those who resisted captivity, those whose rebellions played such a crucial role in their own eventual freedom.
Later a scroll with the names of a thousand slaves will be buried under the shade of a tree at the water's edge - the spirits of the ancestors laid to rest.
Rachel Harvey, BBC News, Kingston, Jamaica
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