Jamaican Crucifion
They can’t kill Rasta now - Bad friday-Jamaica
By Mark Wignall
I was attending KC for a little over three months when the JLP
government – led by its neo-colonialist, paternalistic, dictator of a
prime minister, Alexander
Bustamante – unleashed the full weight of the
Jamaican security forces on Rasta in Coral Gardens, on the outskirts of
Montego Bay. That was on Good
Friday, April 12, 1963, and the national
infamy became etched in our history books as the Coral Gardens incident.
Long before that, Busta’s
more intellectual cousin, Norman Manley, then
premier of Jamaica, had issued warnings against Rasta. In 1960 after the
capture of Cladius Henry, for treason, and his wild son, Ronald, for
murder/sedition, Manley said of Rasta, “These people – and I am glad
that it is only a small number of them – are the wicked enemies of our
country. I ask you all to report any unusual or suspicious movements you
may see pertaining to the Rastafarians.”
No one really knows if Leonard
Howell, the Gong, was the original Rasta
but what we do know is that he was the first to have a Rasta
organisation, a direction and a settlement at Pinnacle in the St
Catherine hills. This settlement was given its validity by the
remarkable strength and personality of this “new Marcus Garvey” –
Howell, and his teachings of Rasta.
It came at a time – in the 1930s, 1940s when Jamaican black people were
submerged in a landscape of whiteness, mother country, rule Britannia.
It came at a time when most of our black people who were lucky enough to
be exposed to tertiary education lapped it all up, only to be later
sucked in by the system as they sold out the black poor and the
powerless to the whims and fancies of the high brown, near white margin
gatherers and politicians, and locked the gates on them. Even Busta’s
letters to The Gleaner in the 1930s which made him a champion of the
poor were a far cry from his (“laaw and aarda”) leadership which pitted
the police against the constantly oppressed poor.
In 1959 I was a nine-year-old child living at 11 Newark Avenue off
Waltham Park Road. Nearby on Rosalie Avenue lived Cladius Henry, who
called himself “Repairer of the Breach” and who was a firm believer in
repatriation. In 1960 he wrote to Fidel Castro the following: “We want
to go back home to Africa; if we are not welcomed back with love, we
will go anyway, in hate, as we were brought here. If we cannot go in
peace, then we must go in war.”
Rosalie Avenue was raided where dynamite and crude weapons were found.
He was tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
While I attended Trench Town and Jones Town Primary schools I saw my
first Rastamen. The term “dreadlocks” which came about at the end of the
decade of the 1950s was not yet in vogue. “Beardman” was the name given
to them and, much to their delight, they were greatly feared by the
public. Of course, we fear most what we know least of, and so we saw
them as “black art man”, evil and alien to our culture even though we
had no idea then that they were miles ahead of us who were overzealous
“apers” of the colonial way.
In Helene Lee’s
seemingly well-researched book, The First Rasta, she
places the Coral Gardens Rebellion on Good Friday, April 12, 1963.
According to the book, it all started the day before with a Rastaman
named Rudolf Franklyn.
“Franklyn, the son of an estate watchman, was a ‘beardman’ who squatted
in the hills above Coral Gardens. The story goes that he was cultivating
his small garden, and one day on his way back from the field he stopped
at a gas station to ask for a glass of water. Instead of giving him
water, the attendant sprayed him with gasoline and threatened to light a
match if he didn’t leave.”
Readers may find the behaviour of the pump attendant strange, but we
have to bear in mind that the time was 1963, one year after
“independence” and three years after Ronald Henry, son of Cladius Henry,
had, with his gang of warriors, shot and killed two soldiers. Young
Henry and three of his comrades were later hanged.
In 1963 Jamaican black people hated themselves. Black girls wanted
“pretty hair” men, and black men wanted white girls or “red” girls as
the term “browning” was not yet invented. That both hardly ever got what
they wanted only served to harden the self-denigration. Rastamen were
at the bottom of the barrel.
Helene Lee continues: “Franklyn got mad and the attendant called the
police, who arrived and shot him several times. They left him for dead
at the Montego Bay Hospital. But Franklyn wasn’t dead and the doctors
did all they could. They even installed an intestinal prosthesis that
saved him.”
After treatment Franklyn was charged for resisting arrest and was
sentenced to six months in prison. All he wanted was a glass of water.
Instead he was shot, smashed up inside and imprisoned. After he left
prison, in his mind, he had many wrongs to right.
“Living with an artificial bowel was not a joyful prospect, and Franklyn
felt he didn’t have much to lose. He gathered five of his brethren,
’sufferers’ who were as frustrated by daily humiliations as he was, and
they began preparing weapons – straight machetes sharpened on both
sides, spears forged from concrete reinforcing rods, missiles made from
shells filled with cement, cutlasses stolen from a banana plantation.
“On Thursday April 11, 1963, the six Rastas appeared at the gas station
at dawn. The night watchman swore he was a Rastaman too, and gave them a
spliff of herb, so they let him go. But they hacked to death a white
driver who happened to stop, and then they set the station on fire. They
went to a nearby motel, murdered a hapless guest, and then retreated to
the hills. The Rose Hall estate overseer was their next victim, having
just put his goats out to pasture.”
Franklyn and his friends were eventually shot and killed during that
“Bad Friday” upsurge of violence while all over the island, Rastamen
were being rounded up, beaten by the police and shorn of their hair.
Many went into hiding.
Today 42 years later, nobody in Finland or Brazil or Lesotho or Japan
knows who Norman Manley
or Busta was. Their cronies have named them
national heroes while their heirs and successors have continued to delay
and deny justice to the poor and powerless.
Worldwide, everyone knows about Bob Marley and Rasta. We Jamaicans made
it, gave it to the world. The “rasta head” entertainers in Jamaica know
nothing about 1963. Why? Eighty per cent of them are fake, cartoon
Rastas.
Related Posts:
Posted in Articles.
9 comments
By Don Jaide – July 22, 2006
9 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for
comments on this post.
1.
Malcolm Quartey says
Very interesting. I’ve been trying to find information on the
coral gardens incident for years, with little luck. I found one serious
source, that stated that up to 1000 Rastafari were killed! This website
disapeared some time ago. I was wondering if you could conferm this?
Please give me a visit at Nattydreadlock.blogspot.com , and tell me what you think. Jah Bless Jah
Rastafari!!!
April 5, 2007, 12:14 am Reply
2.
jordan says
big respect, jah know
July 2, 2007, 4:30 pm Reply
3.
Jah Melku says
I knew about Bustamante, but I didn’t know the things his cousin
Manley did. We’re not likely to get any recognition of these acts by our
government, for while they proudly steal Rasta culture to promote their
tourism, they ignore us in all else.
October 5, 2007, 6:56 am Reply
4.
ebony says
this is so true many rastafarians are ignorant to the hardships
the rastas before face i am so happy that i am knowledgeable. this is
very interesting as it is the Rastafarians culture that is contributing
greatly to Jamaica’s economy.
March 21, 2008, 7:38 am Reply
5.
dualis says
it’s seems that history repeats itself in every part of the world.
the bouigouis…..working earnestly to learn about rasta culture, I walk
across your site, much thanks for putting this online for I am in
california and very far from JA. you speak of wolfs, I live in the land
of wolfs of all color an nature, which drives me to gain true knowledge
of the past and present, fi having wisdom in the now. turely, much
thanks, stand tall! jah!!!!!
May 14, 2008, 11:46 am Reply
6.
Kiki says
Thank you for the information, i was reading Overstanding Rastafari by Yasus Afari and he briefly mentioned the incident which i
looked up.
June 11, 2008, 6:50 am Reply
7.
haililujah says
True story…i know the son of the ‘night watchman’ at the CG gas
station. He remembers well the results of the pogrom against Rasta …the
black art man. so important to know our history, from many points of
view…to reveal the Truth! Rasta prevail, give all sufferahs hope and as
Culture said: If you’re ready for revolution…try to find the right man.
i’m banking on Obama!
Jah guide and protect him…and us all.
July 29, 2008, 8:54 pm Reply
8.
Gerry Hagan says
Rasta is keeping the lid on the situation in Jamaica and getting
no recognition for it. Torra Lorra do the Irish Reggae
October 7, 2008, 2:54 pm Reply
9.
ruffa says
Very nice article, did you know that a documentary has been made
all about The Coral Gardens Incident, you can purchase this at http://www.reggaefilms.co.uk on their exclusive dvd section. It
gives great insight into the event and information about the seige of
kingston where the Rasta’s took over the town for a short time. The
second half of the film interview Mystic Revelation of Rastafari in dept
along with Brother Sam Clayton who recalled all of the events and how
it all took place.
You may also be interested to know that there is another
documentary being made right now which includes the Coral Gardens
incident by an American, which will compliment her book which has a
chapter devoted to Coral Gardens, Also Helene Lee has been busy making a
film about her book ‘The First Rasta’ this will also be completed soon,
so look out for these excellent sources of info.
Also Mutabaruka
is currently presenting his own show in Jamaica
and i can tell you that they plan a show all about The Coral or Carol
gardens incident.
Pete(Reggae Films UK)
November 15, 2009, 2:03 am Reply
By Mark Wignall
I was attending KC for a little over three months when the JLP
government – led by its neo-colonialist, paternalistic, dictator of a
prime minister, Alexander
Bustamante – unleashed the full weight of the
Jamaican security forces on Rasta in Coral Gardens, on the outskirts of
Montego Bay. That was on Good
Friday, April 12, 1963, and the national
infamy became etched in our history books as the Coral Gardens incident.
Long before that, Busta’s
more intellectual cousin, Norman Manley, then
premier of Jamaica, had issued warnings against Rasta. In 1960 after the
capture of Cladius Henry, for treason, and his wild son, Ronald, for
murder/sedition, Manley said of Rasta, “These people – and I am glad
that it is only a small number of them – are the wicked enemies of our
country. I ask you all to report any unusual or suspicious movements you
may see pertaining to the Rastafarians.”
No one really knows if Leonard
Howell, the Gong, was the original Rasta
but what we do know is that he was the first to have a Rasta
organisation, a direction and a settlement at Pinnacle in the St
Catherine hills. This settlement was given its validity by the
remarkable strength and personality of this “new Marcus Garvey” –
Howell, and his teachings of Rasta.
It came at a time – in the 1930s, 1940s when Jamaican black people were
submerged in a landscape of whiteness, mother country, rule Britannia.
It came at a time when most of our black people who were lucky enough to
be exposed to tertiary education lapped it all up, only to be later
sucked in by the system as they sold out the black poor and the
powerless to the whims and fancies of the high brown, near white margin
gatherers and politicians, and locked the gates on them. Even Busta’s
letters to The Gleaner in the 1930s which made him a champion of the
poor were a far cry from his (“laaw and aarda”) leadership which pitted
the police against the constantly oppressed poor.
In 1959 I was a nine-year-old child living at 11 Newark Avenue off
Waltham Park Road. Nearby on Rosalie Avenue lived Cladius Henry, who
called himself “Repairer of the Breach” and who was a firm believer in
repatriation. In 1960 he wrote to Fidel Castro the following: “We want
to go back home to Africa; if we are not welcomed back with love, we
will go anyway, in hate, as we were brought here. If we cannot go in
peace, then we must go in war.”
Rosalie Avenue was raided where dynamite and crude weapons were found.
He was tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
While I attended Trench Town and Jones Town Primary schools I saw my
first Rastamen. The term “dreadlocks” which came about at the end of the
decade of the 1950s was not yet in vogue. “Beardman” was the name given
to them and, much to their delight, they were greatly feared by the
public. Of course, we fear most what we know least of, and so we saw
them as “black art man”, evil and alien to our culture even though we
had no idea then that they were miles ahead of us who were overzealous
“apers” of the colonial way.
In Helene Lee’s
seemingly well-researched book, The First Rasta, she
places the Coral Gardens Rebellion on Good Friday, April 12, 1963.
According to the book, it all started the day before with a Rastaman
named Rudolf Franklyn.
“Franklyn, the son of an estate watchman, was a ‘beardman’ who squatted
in the hills above Coral Gardens. The story goes that he was cultivating
his small garden, and one day on his way back from the field he stopped
at a gas station to ask for a glass of water. Instead of giving him
water, the attendant sprayed him with gasoline and threatened to light a
match if he didn’t leave.”
Readers may find the behaviour of the pump attendant strange, but we
have to bear in mind that the time was 1963, one year after
“independence” and three years after Ronald Henry, son of Cladius Henry,
had, with his gang of warriors, shot and killed two soldiers. Young
Henry and three of his comrades were later hanged.
In 1963 Jamaican black people hated themselves. Black girls wanted
“pretty hair” men, and black men wanted white girls or “red” girls as
the term “browning” was not yet invented. That both hardly ever got what
they wanted only served to harden the self-denigration. Rastamen were
at the bottom of the barrel.
Helene Lee continues: “Franklyn got mad and the attendant called the
police, who arrived and shot him several times. They left him for dead
at the Montego Bay Hospital. But Franklyn wasn’t dead and the doctors
did all they could. They even installed an intestinal prosthesis that
saved him.”
After treatment Franklyn was charged for resisting arrest and was
sentenced to six months in prison. All he wanted was a glass of water.
Instead he was shot, smashed up inside and imprisoned. After he left
prison, in his mind, he had many wrongs to right.
“Living with an artificial bowel was not a joyful prospect, and Franklyn
felt he didn’t have much to lose. He gathered five of his brethren,
’sufferers’ who were as frustrated by daily humiliations as he was, and
they began preparing weapons – straight machetes sharpened on both
sides, spears forged from concrete reinforcing rods, missiles made from
shells filled with cement, cutlasses stolen from a banana plantation.
“On Thursday April 11, 1963, the six Rastas appeared at the gas station
at dawn. The night watchman swore he was a Rastaman too, and gave them a
spliff of herb, so they let him go. But they hacked to death a white
driver who happened to stop, and then they set the station on fire. They
went to a nearby motel, murdered a hapless guest, and then retreated to
the hills. The Rose Hall estate overseer was their next victim, having
just put his goats out to pasture.”
Franklyn and his friends were eventually shot and killed during that
“Bad Friday” upsurge of violence while all over the island, Rastamen
were being rounded up, beaten by the police and shorn of their hair.
Many went into hiding.
Today 42 years later, nobody in Finland or Brazil or Lesotho or Japan
knows who Norman Manley
or Busta was. Their cronies have named them
national heroes while their heirs and successors have continued to delay
and deny justice to the poor and powerless.
Worldwide, everyone knows about Bob Marley and Rasta. We Jamaicans made
it, gave it to the world. The “rasta head” entertainers in Jamaica know
nothing about 1963. Why? Eighty per cent of them are fake, cartoon
Rastas.
Related Posts:
Posted in Articles.
9 comments
By Don Jaide – July 22, 2006
9 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for
comments on this post.
1.
Malcolm Quartey says
Very interesting. I’ve been trying to find information on the
coral gardens incident for years, with little luck. I found one serious
source, that stated that up to 1000 Rastafari were killed! This website
disapeared some time ago. I was wondering if you could conferm this?
Please give me a visit at Nattydreadlock.blogspot.com , and tell me what you think. Jah Bless Jah
Rastafari!!!
April 5, 2007, 12:14 am Reply
2.
jordan says
big respect, jah know
July 2, 2007, 4:30 pm Reply
3.
Jah Melku says
I knew about Bustamante, but I didn’t know the things his cousin
Manley did. We’re not likely to get any recognition of these acts by our
government, for while they proudly steal Rasta culture to promote their
tourism, they ignore us in all else.
October 5, 2007, 6:56 am Reply
4.
ebony says
this is so true many rastafarians are ignorant to the hardships
the rastas before face i am so happy that i am knowledgeable. this is
very interesting as it is the Rastafarians culture that is contributing
greatly to Jamaica’s economy.
March 21, 2008, 7:38 am Reply
5.
dualis says
it’s seems that history repeats itself in every part of the world.
the bouigouis…..working earnestly to learn about rasta culture, I walk
across your site, much thanks for putting this online for I am in
california and very far from JA. you speak of wolfs, I live in the land
of wolfs of all color an nature, which drives me to gain true knowledge
of the past and present, fi having wisdom in the now. turely, much
thanks, stand tall! jah!!!!!
May 14, 2008, 11:46 am Reply
6.
Kiki says
Thank you for the information, i was reading Overstanding Rastafari by Yasus Afari and he briefly mentioned the incident which i
looked up.
June 11, 2008, 6:50 am Reply
7.
haililujah says
True story…i know the son of the ‘night watchman’ at the CG gas
station. He remembers well the results of the pogrom against Rasta …the
black art man. so important to know our history, from many points of
view…to reveal the Truth! Rasta prevail, give all sufferahs hope and as
Culture said: If you’re ready for revolution…try to find the right man.
i’m banking on Obama!
Jah guide and protect him…and us all.
July 29, 2008, 8:54 pm Reply
8.
Gerry Hagan says
Rasta is keeping the lid on the situation in Jamaica and getting
no recognition for it. Torra Lorra do the Irish Reggae
October 7, 2008, 2:54 pm Reply
9.
ruffa says
Very nice article, did you know that a documentary has been made
all about The Coral Gardens Incident, you can purchase this at http://www.reggaefilms.co.uk on their exclusive dvd section. It
gives great insight into the event and information about the seige of
kingston where the Rasta’s took over the town for a short time. The
second half of the film interview Mystic Revelation of Rastafari in dept
along with Brother Sam Clayton who recalled all of the events and how
it all took place.
You may also be interested to know that there is another
documentary being made right now which includes the Coral Gardens
incident by an American, which will compliment her book which has a
chapter devoted to Coral Gardens, Also Helene Lee has been busy making a
film about her book ‘The First Rasta’ this will also be completed soon,
so look out for these excellent sources of info.
Also Mutabaruka
is currently presenting his own show in Jamaica
and i can tell you that they plan a show all about The Coral or Carol
gardens incident.
Pete(Reggae Films UK)
November 15, 2009, 2:03 am Reply
Not Far Away
Simone Bacchus
will full up on this in a timing give thanks for the word blessing glori and
honnor ond strenght for this month blessed love from i sheba
2 hours ago · Report
SeymourMclean Conquering
Lion of Judah
Haile Selassie I.
Elect of God, Emperor of Ethiopia.
The long and great history of Our country demonstrates that Our people have always both administrated and lived according to
the law. Our people were at first ruled by Mosaic law, but after the
advent of Christianity to Ethiopia
they came later to be governed by the
Fetha Nagast, - a work combining both spiritual and secular matters,
the former part pertaining to the spiritual, the latter to the temporal
affairs of Our people. The Fetha Nagast has been venerated, supported,
and applied by both the government of Our Empire and by the Church. The
names of scholars learned in this law are famous in the history of
Ethiopia, particularly since the reign of Emperor Zar’a Ya’qob when both
the study and enforcement of the Fetha Nagast began.... See More
By the providence of the Almighty this
bulwark of the law was preserved for Our people. Venerated for many
centuries, it provided for our people an invaluable source of legal
principles.
When we ascended Our Imperial Throne and enacted a Penal Code
compiled on the basis of the Fetha Nagast, We made all
necessary provisions for the printing of the Fetha Nagast, in order that
it might be available to Our people. Owing however to the invasion of
Our country by the enemy, the copies which had already been printed, but
not distributed, were burnt together with the printing press.
When,
with the assistance of the Almighty, We returned victorious to Our
country and subsequently made provision for the codification of Our
laws, realizing that those who had helped us in the process of
codification had availed themselves of the provisions of the Fetha
Nagast , We ordered that its text be printed together with a commentary
thereon, and offered to Our people for their assistance.
We are pleased that this great work, for so many centuries the basis of law and
the administration of justice in Our country has now, under the
auspices of the Faculty of Law of the University to which We have given
Our name, been translated into English so that it may be known to
scholars of other countries.
No modern legislation which does not have its roots in the customs of those whom it governs can have a
strong foundation. The effort which has been made by the Faculty of Law
of Our University to disseminate the knowledge not only of the new
codification but also of the historically rooted legal practices of
Ethiopia, which by the providence of the Almighty we have preserved, and
which are the source of Our new legislation is befitting and deserving
of Our warmest approval.
Given at Our Imperial Palace in Addis Ababa this 29th day of August 1968.
Haile Selassie I.
Emperor.
Catalogue
of Ethiopian Manuscripts in the British Library acquired since the year
1877. By S. Strelcyn. Published for the British Library.
Preface.
The
first catalogue of the Ethiopic manuscripts preserved in the British
Museum was published in 1847. It was the work of the great scholar
August Dillmann
and contained descriptions of eighty-two volumes. Thirty
years later W. Wright’s important Catalogue was published with a
description of a further 408 Ethiopic manuscripts which had been added
to the British Museum collection since 1847. More than 350 of this large
total had been brought from Ethiopia following the British expedition
against Emperor Twedoros, (1867/8). This is what W. Wright said on this
point in the Preface to his Catalogue (pp.iii-iv).
When the expedition against Emperor Twedoros was organised by the English
Government in 1867, it was determined to send an archaeologist to
accompany it, and Mr R.R. Holmes… was selected by the Trustees for this
purpose. It was hoped that Mr Holmes would be able to visit sites of
importance, to collect antiquities, and to procure valuable manuscripts.
The state of the country, the hurried character of the expedition, and
the route chosen for the army, prevented the first part of this program
from bring carried out. Of manuscripts Mr Holmes was able to procure
only a very few on the way up the country….., but their scarcity was
easily accounted for when the fortress of Magdala…, fell into our hands.
Emperor Twedoros intended…, to build there a church, in honour of the
Saviour of the
World (Madhane Alem)…, Emperor Twedoros for years
previous to 1868 had been actively engaged in collecting manuscripts
from other churches for the endowment of the church he proposed to
build, and the result was a library of about a thousand volumes, which
fell into the hands of our victorious troops. From these a selection was
made for the English Government with the assistance of that
accomplished scholar Mr. Werner Munzinger, then one of the European
consuls at Massowah…, The remainder of the Magdala library was given
away in presents to the priests of the various churches which our troops
passed on their return to the coast. Some volumes had no doubt been
previously ‘looted’ by our soldiers, and many more were purchased from
their later owners by officers of the army. In fact, the numbers of
manuscripts brought to this country in 1868, judging by what I have
myself seen in the hands of private individuals and in other libraries,
cannot, at the lowest computation, have been less than five hundred.
The
Magdala library considerably enriched the collection of Ethiopic
manuscripts in the British Museum, making it the richest in Europe. At
this time the Bibliotheque
Nationale in Paris
had only 170 Ethiopic
manuscripts (described by H. Zotenberg in 1877). The other European
libraries being less well endowed. Since then the collection in the
Bibliotheque Nationale gas been considerably enlarged, mainly by the
addition of three large collections, those of d’Addadie,
Mondon-Vidaihet, and Griaule, and the number of their Ethiopic
manuscripts is now almost 1000 (more than 970).
The collection of the Vatican Library
which, in 1924, numbered only seventy-nine, has
also grown rapidly during the last forty years. The purchases made by
Mgr. S. Grebaut in Ethiopia in 1926 for this library (119 manuscripts)
and private donations augmented the number to about 300 (van Lantschoot
1962. Since then the Vatican Library has been offered a number of
donations, among them the Enrico Cerulli collection, and have made
further new acquisitions, but none of these manuscripts has yet been
described. We can, nevertheless, assume that as far as actual numbers
are concerned, the Vatican Library has now the second largest collection
in the world. The British Museum, its collection slowly increasing
during the last hundred years, now has about 600 manuscripts and closely
follows the Vatican Library.
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