“And there we wept”: Rivers, Rebels, and Remembrance in a Jamaican Context

• In Event: Mobilising memory in the present

Description for Program

While much work has been done on the rising sea-levels and other oceanic concerns, this paper reflects on and draws hope from the importance of the cultural and spiritual practices that acknowledge and depend on knowing and respecting Jamaica’s rivers so that we might continue to survive here in the Caribbean. From the Leeward Maroons’ relationship to the rivers of Cockpit Country to the Zong Monument at Black River to the Windward Maroons’ river practices in eastern Jamaica, rivers and riversides have always been critical sites of life, death, and rebirth. From Alexander Bedward’s spiritual cleansing in the Hope River to the Rastafari brethren who gather to drum and chant songs on riverbanks to River Mumma, obeah practitioners, and children of Oshun, our river waters have been sacred and can take or give life here. Surveying works by author Kei Miller; poet Olive Senior; and musicians Jah9, Burning Spear, and The Melodians, this paper considers how the current climate injustices we face threaten the Caribbean ecologically, yes, but can also impact us spiritually. Using a multimodal approach, this presentation closely examines the rituals and spiritual understandings that Jamaican storytellers have recorded into the music, poetry, and literature to show how rivers have always been our salvation and to emphasize that we need these healing waters now more than ever.

Author

• Isis Semaj-Hall, University of the West Indies, Mona