To give context to the exchange between the characters Simon and Rastaman, in this week’s episode of Somebody Sprinkle Guinea Pepper?, it should be noted that the idea for this story was conceived circa the early 1990’s; many years before the United Nations designated the current ‘Decade For People Of African Descent’ 2015 to 2025.

I should point out also, that in last week’s column, the views about cognitive power beginning from within a mother’s womb, expressed by Steel Donkey, and her contention with Sweet Beak are really a reflection of my creative idea re rescuing our future by encouraging mothers to begin educating their children while still in the womb. This creative concept entitled: IN UTERO THEATRE was shared in a workshop conducted by The South Road Clinic in the hope it would gain currency through dissemination by nurses concerned with pre-natal care; whatever became of that idea?

Is not his turn to cook, but Putagee mekking a quick-boil only cause he worms throwing cuffam and Endsaman only deh pon skin-up chasing fawbs in d bush. Putagee vex baad, but he cooking and d sparks flying from d congo-pump fyah-wood and d tekups in d camp. Is two pots – one got a lill salt-pork with black-eye and d other one got black-eye just so – with only a lill buck-thyme (no salt) for them who doan eat deaders like Rastaman and Whitey. And some rice of course.

Somebody calling out:

“Whitey? Is where you hiding your self bwoy? Is how come you so quiet?”

And is just-so – jus-jus-so another tek-ups gon start-up in d camp. Listen, hear; is a voice sounding like if it come from foreign saying:

I’m over here….”

And is just so another tekups starting up. Is Rastaman and Whitey this time.

“Whitey?” whappening man, why you ain answering?”

…is Rastaman, and a soft voice answering he now –

“I usually respond to: Robert, Emanuel, Cunningham. Any one or all of those – that’s my name, William. But you can call me Rob if you wish…that’s me; or you can even call me –“

“Cunning?….that okay with you too Whitey? But ah can’t call you deh-bad right? Cause you ain no “deh-bad white man”, eh Whitey?

“I guess I’m not, William – whatever that means.”

“YOU can call me Blackey, if you want, Whitey, but doan ever lehme hear that N-WORD you calling me in your mind.”

“I’ll keep calling you William, or Rastaman, if you prefer –“

“Any one – Rasta then…just call me Rastaman, Cunningham; but what I really trying to find out is exactly who…”

“Forget about it William, I’m already calling you William…comfortable with that…as for me –
I’m just a run-of-the-mill biologist who happens to be a guest in your camp; whatever you call me won’t change that fact.

“Haaay! Doan leh we worry with what name I calling you BY, man, just worry with what I calling you FOR …by the way you could just turn off that damn tape recorder a lill bit please?…getting on my nerves. Hear, this ain no joke, I gotta get this off my chest or I ain never gon sleep comfortable – what I really want to know is – what you going to do with all the inform-ation you collecting, eh Cunningham? Is how much you and yours getting for all this intellectual property yall gathering? Last night whole night, you picking poor Simon brain – is how much all that does sell for? But Mister Simon so busy turning “buck-foreman”…he ain even understanding is con he getting con all over again.”

Just then somebody in d camp shout-out:

“Pay d man, Whitey! Pay d man. Is knowledge…is intellectual property! It got a fee attach!”

But Simon say –

“I know to talk for myself I didn’t ask nobody to … “

Then Rastaman pounce pon Simon –

“Ohhh yeah, yeeess, Mister Simon, I nearly forget…you got a whole decade devoted to you and yours. You doan need my help to get screw-up again like your blabber-mouth ancestor – remember that “…Indian who had known no change…who strayed content along a sunlit beach gathering shells?” d banna did peaceful as hell (peaceful as hell? well, yuh know wuh ah mean d banna didn’t diggin nutten) till Columbus land…”

“Columbus didn’t land here”, Simon say.

“Here, there, the Bahamas, San Salvador – anywhere in the ‘NEW WORLD’ – I talking bout – those peace-full, bliss-full, Arawak Indians HESTORY say Columbus did “discover” – they were your ancestors, right; you disowning dem, or wuh, Simon?”

But Rastaman ain waiting for no answer from Simon; he tekking-off like akuri; eh-eh, watch, listen…hear –

“…when that bad-ass navigator Christopher Columbus and Pizzaro and, and whoever – find they way here to this NEW WORLD, limping and loss, with all dem lampy-pampy ship and hungry-belly sailors, if they (your great great great ancestors, I mean) did drop two arrow in dem….tek d Pinta, d Nina and d Santa Maria – all dem bruk-up ship – mek firewood, instead a telling some shine-eye white people bout El Dorado – some damn city full of gold – my history and yours woulda been different today, yuh sight?”

He barely taking a breath before Rastaman gone again; eh-eh – is guinea pepper?

“But no, just like you and yours today, your ancestors were suckers fuh Whitey; now look..look again how all these NEW COLUMBUSES swarming like acoushi ants through this forest; watch Columbus descendant siddown again – rite-deh, yeeaaah – right heah, RIGHT HERE! just picking your brain and tekking you again. Watch you, Mister Simon! You a-talk-in-a-d-microphone. You giving interview. Is just so you giving away your birthright; THAT IS WHAT YOURE DOING SIMON! And tomorrow morning, insteada you joining d hustle by d pit with d rest a we…see if you could ketch a lill wing self? No, not you, you gone off in the bush showing and telling Mister Cunningham!

“You right, though. You don’t need no help from me, you know EXACTLY how to repeat your history. But learn this, Bro…”

Rasta rumbling on – is guinea pepper; it got to be guinea-pepper somebody sprinkle pon d ground. Is Rastaman rumbling and complaining:

“THIS TIME I here, hear? And I OVERSTAND, so I want you understand that I-man got to have a say in d matter THIS TIME, cause D-I gotta take care ah me and mine cause nobody ain gon name no decade after me. I-man is just the son of a son of a ex-slave grandson, come down from dem man and dem condition that your ancestor help to cause, that’s all. But this time, D-I gotta have a say in this matter, yuh sight? D-I ain gon just sit back and let you repeat my history for me.
“What history you talking about Rastaman? Mine or yours? You don’t even know your history. Black people don’t know –“

STOP! – IS WHO TELL MISTER SIMON TO SAY SO? – IS NOW D TEKUPS GON GET BITTER – bitter like a gall – worse than bitter aloes. Is now this tekups getting hot like a fyah…Blackie spring out he hammock…he raise his self to he full height (and Rastaman is a tall tall banna – sometimes he does even answer to d call-name: “Stretch”), then he start jooking Simon with African history.

Rastaman start with d Maafa – d African Holocaust, d Slave Trade; then he reeling out Maroon History in Brazil, Suriname, d Guianas; he talking about d Djukas and d Saramakas in Suriname; about Palmares in Brazil – is everybody jaw dropping cause like they didn’t know Rastaman got all that knowledge store-up in he head. Eh-eh, watch how Rastaman stand-up like if HE-SELF is “Amsterdam the bravest and the baddest” of the maroons in the Guiana forest?

Then Rastaman gone back to before all that and he find he self till in Greece and Rome. Rasta talking bout Esop and Memnon…Terrence and Cleopatra, “ when Africans used to appear in the literature and the legends and the history of the Greeks and the Romans. You could hear a pin drop in d camp; even d fyah burning easy now, cause Putagee left so – he stand-up with a piece congo-pump in his hand – he forget to stuff it in d cumbus, he forget he vex that is he got to cook dinner…he ain tekkin on d worms throwing cuffam – he just listening Rastaman like every udder body in d camp tonight.

And when you think Rastaman gon done? D banna cranking-up again like he drink water after horse; cause now he taking off pon his favourite track –HIS MAJESTY HAILE SELASSIE-I THE CONQUERING LION OF JUDAH! which-in we all know is a itation Rasta man could stay pon whole day.

And when all a that done? d tekups still didn’t done yet.

…is guinea pepper is guinea pepper, ah telling yuh…somebody sprinkle guinea pepper…

Next Week…the conclusion.