Yeah I Wrote This!

Both James and Simeon were farmers owning vast amount of land in the southern district of the archipelagic islands of the Bahamas .  However, due to economic constraints, the descendants of James and Simeon eventually abandoned their ancestral homes to migrate north to the island of New Providence , the capital of the Bahamas and to the United States in order to seek employment and greater opportunities.

The Newry name is believed to be of Irish decent; however, it is believed that the original Newry came to the Bahamas by way of British Honduras sometime in the late 1800s.  In fact, the Newry name can still be found within the Honduran phone book. 

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire on August 1, 1834. This led to many fugitive slaves from the American contenent braving the perils of the Atlantic for the promise of a free life in the Bahamas.   Perhaps James Newry I was one of these brave souls.  Another story circled amongst the Newry family here in the Bahamas is that, James Newry I was the son of Irish aristocrat who had been banished to Honduras due to his perpetual shinangigans.

In any event, the Newrys have been mentioned in the Bahamas ’ birth records as early as 1872.  In the St. David and St. Augustine ’s Anglican Church records for Long Cay, Acklins and Crooked Island , 1861-1934, James and Clarinda Newry had a number of children; a number of them being female whose records have vanished due to them taking on their husband’s titles.

The history of the Newry family can be traced back to three islands of the Bahamas : Acklins Island , Crooked Island & Long Cay.   These islands lie in the shallow lagoon called the bight of Acklins, of which the largest is Crooked Island followed by Acklins Island , then Long Cay.  The islands were originally settled by American Loyalist in the late 1780s; the loyalist set up cotton plantations employing over 1000 slaves.  However, after the abolition of slavery in the British Empire these plantations became uneconomical, consequently, the early inhabitants had to depend upon the replacement income of sponge diving, fishing and small-scale farming.   

Along with fishing, farming, sponging and participating in the islands’ salt industry, the men of the islands also sort work as stevedores on passing ships.  It is believed that a number of Newry men may have migrated to different countries due to this.

The Newry family similar to perhaps their Irish ancestors continues to live in clan type families.  There are at least 20 sets/clans of Newry families living independently within the Bahamas , a number of them not even being acquainted with each other.  Moreover, there are several other Newry families that have settled within the United States and Canada over the years.  Nevertheless, in spite of the distance and unfamiliarity, it is agreed by all, that all Newrys are related and share the same bloodline of the original Newry.

Straight to hell

Who the freck put snakes on a plane…
how frecking insane.
And not no ordinary ass snakes either:
But them big ass snakes with fangs and teeth. Frigging hell!

But that aint shit, these frigging snakes don’t just bite ya, they does spit on ya.
I mean that hawking, sticky, slimey type spit that does blind ya.  Shiiiiiit-.
Ya know this nigga was scared out of his mind in the show right?
Man, I had Galleria for ma self; hollering.
A true wuss.

But that aint no thing, at least I was brave enough to watch the rest of the movie.
Man, it seemed as if they had every damn snake in the world on that plane,
Aint that the shit!
I mean there was absolutely no hint of escape.
No salvation for that lone black man.
where was God in this plan.
Poor Samuel.  How he suppose to be superman without his cape: his gun.
But then again, Samuel did look angelic…if you squint ya eyes and ignored the cussing.

Man, even the mile high club couple got bitten,
As they stripped and sucked on each other, fuck on each other.
I know they aint ga do that shit again, nasty ass buggas.
White people always doing fart.

Then there was that ass who got his watnots bitten while he was pissing.
(laughing) the snake wanted to give a blow job he would remember for a life time.
Dang, that must have been painful.  My ma always told me to look before ya go.

But shiiiiit. Who the hell puts snake on a frecking plane
gad dang, that’s frickign insane…

Morning Dew

Caribbean Woman Speaks 

She speaks with a creoled tongue:
heavy, thick with rapturous vibrations.
She speaks with a bewitching cry:
a melodious pulse promising
bird pepper passion and pimento spiced ecstasy.
She speaks with a Caribbean accent:
a West Indian twang that hints the experience
of scorching sun, sandy beaches and cassava cakes.
She speaks with an island drawl, intoxicating to the ear,
soothing to the perpetual soul.
She speaks as if joy is within her heart; as if curry flavors her core
as if a carnival celebration is a constant in her life.
She speaks as if she is excited: excited about being island,
energized to be from the Caribbean.

They came in our lives promising us salvation,
Promising us revelation, a better life without tribulation.
They told us about a One High God, an Almighty being,
whom we must worship and serve in order to live again.

We were transfigured,
and subsequently accepted the faith;
Not knowing that we would have to be their servants
In order to serve their God!

Caribbean Woman Speaks 

She speaks with a creoled tongue:
heavy, thick with rapturous vibrations.
She speaks with a bewitching cry:
a melodious pulse promising
bird pepper passion and pimento spiced ecstasy.
She speaks with a Caribbean accent:
a West Indian twang that hints the experience
of scorching sun, sandy beaches and cassava cakes.
She speaks with an island drawl, intoxicating to the ear,
soothing to the perpetual soul.
She speaks as if joy is within her heart; as if curry flavors her core
as if a carnival celebration is a constant in her life.
She speaks as if she is excited: excited about being island,
energized to be from the Caribbean .

.

Obie, it seems as if you have upsetted Dawn; her feelings are beyond hurt, she appears to be hurtED.  I sense it through the gall in which she speaks/writes.

Once, again, your exchanged of public intellectual debate has threatened friendship: has caused a ‘romance’ to end in bitter verbal divorce.

Perhaps in time, this too shall pass.  These ramblings reminds me of that chained email where Christian was the victim.  I remember he too was vex at your public exchange of criticism.  Perhaps in time, they and in this case Dawn, will understand you better.  In time, she will appreciate that you write/share your feelings openly for the world to see and to read,  so that we and you become better: better writers, better people, better artists.

In any event, I hope this heated expression of words too shall pass.  Moreso, I hope it thrives on your wonderful blog, allowing other readers/writers to view and to experience the effects of words and to appreciate the publicity of it.

CAN

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Almost at the tippy top of Mount Oliphant , in Manchester Jamaica , where the soil is coloured blood red, while huge fruit trees pepper the rocky landscape, the descendants of Cyrus and Laurel Allen still thrives. 

Cyrus and Laurel were blessed with seventeen children, even though depending upon which family member one asks, that number can morph up to twenty-one or twenty-two.  The Allen clan is huge to say the least, with members scattered throughout America, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean .  

Cyrus and Laurel were farmers.  In fact, a number of their children, grand and great grandchildren continue the family business, harvesting and taking to market, various fruits including oranges, tangerines, mangoes and even a number of spices.  Like the membership of the Allen family, the Allen homestead is vast.  It stretches acre upon acre linking itself to other districts.  (The original house no longer exists; it has been replaced with a modern functioning stone house equip with running water, inside plumbing and electricity.  The upkeep of the house has been subsidized by June Allen, one of Cyrus and Laurel ’s daughters, with additional support from their son Steven and daughter Salome).

I remember my sister telling me a story of her being three years old and having to walk three miles in order to attend school.  My gosh; three freaking miles!  Just to fathom that seems like punishment, especially for a child of three.  I am sure I would have ‘ducked’ school many a day in order not to trod that distance.  Like, who would know, right?  Who in their right mind would trudge three miles over rock and harsh landscape back to my house (you know no one had no car back then, especially in the country) to complain to my ma, “ah, Cecil did not attend school today.”  Yeah right.  But, to imagine my sister had to return home in the evenings.  You know I would have just camped outside the school until the weekend right.

My grandmother, Laurel was a sweet woman.  Unfortunately, due to me living in the Bahamas , I was not privilege to know her well.  I do remember her caramel complexion and the wrinkles that seemed to be ’tattooed’ onto her forehead.  I remember her thick Jamaican accent and even that peculiar lullaby she used to sing to me.  To this day, I have no idea what exactly the lullaby means, the words seemed nonsensical, but I do know it involved spanking if one did not go to sleep immediately.

“Go to sleep mama baby
Mama will spank you if you don’t
Mama in the bosom of the old mama genie, genie
Who has a little bammi coat.”

But seriously, who is this genie and what is a bammi coat?  It seems as if no one knows, but all the Allen clan is familiar with the rhyme.

Being separated from the Jamaican Allens most of my life, I had to resort to being content with hearing stories about Jamaican country life in order to quench my thirst about knowing who is who.  I grew up with a huge vocabulary of old Jamaican terms, which I could not make reference to in the Bahamas .  Words like penewally, rolling cafe, duppy, juncra, (johncrow), degga-degga and banga never made sense to me.  Nonetheless, I find that they stuck in my head, I guess waiting to escape from my mind to my mouth for whenever that day came when I would make that journey to my mother’s homeland.

I absolutely have no idea who Cyrus Allen was.  He died before I came on the scene.  My mother claims that my blue-black skin is identical to his.  That’s good I guess, because when I was younger, I always questioned from whom I got this blessed complexion from.  I am by far the darkest of my mother’s children.  My immediate relatives had a chocolate hue; however, I was more sensually baked.   (Laughing).

Cyrus was called “Mass” by his family and friends. The term is of respect and endearment.  Apparently, men and a few women who owned large amount of property and businesses in the country obtain that name.  One of my uncles is called Mass Willy, due to his station in life.  He seems to be in the forefront in the farming business in that district.  Laurel was affectionately called “Nanen.”  I have no idea what it means; nonetheless the name seemed to suit her.  She looked like a “Nanen.”

Hopefully, at the end of this family search, I would have obtained more stories about Jamaican life.  I know my mother is filled with them.  The Allen clan is rich with endearment for each other.  Often they migrate home to have small family reunions with kinfolks who remain on the small island nation. 

Dear Dawn,

CAN.

Subject: RE: EMAIL ADDRESSS
Date: Sun, 06 May 2007 07:01:52 +0000

Obediah,
          
How are you doing? What a time in our Democracy and what an
ugly nasty election…we have now a new government but a country split down
the middle give or take a thousand or two.

I am writing to ask for the address for Mr Lincoln Bain or maybe your
friend cecil has an email address for him . I am trying to get out
the knowledge  of what I believe to be political victiimization by the FNM
and some of their supporters leading up to the election. I am aware of
security breaches both in the police force and also a network of a small
Haitian/Bahamian connection to these happenings. I am in the process of
filing a report to the United Nations and also with the international media
who work with Human rights issues. I tried to get this investigated some
eight months ago by the Elizabeth Police station with yet no success. It
was quite suprising to me how I could not get this investigated even with
such a title.

Violations included:

1)  threats by a Haitian Bahamian bus driver with a stick,
2)  gunshots in the back of our home by a Haitian Bahamian whoclaimed to be working for the police,
3)  harrassement by some young Haitian Bahamians on the street who mimicked shooting a gun while passing me on the streets.

I hope to make all of this clear to the Media both internationally and at home and ask that controvery TV be a part of this process. I am an artist who has openly critisized the American Government who I believe has been using their embassy to buy favor with the Bahamian people ie influence pedling with cash and other. I stand by what I say and
perhaps this is why such violations occurred, what ever the reason we are a small democracy and I believe for us to remain fucntional we have to adhere to our constitution which has been violated in my case. I thank you and
wait patiently for your reply.
                                             Dawn

Recently, a “Newry” web based family tree has been created on www.genebase.com.  This family tree highlights the birth and death records, pictures and general family information regarding the descendants of James and Calrinda Newry who resided in Acklins, The Bahamas.

We are quite aware that the “Newry” clan is scattered throughout the world, thus it is our desire to establish, and create links in order to maintain family ties with the different family branches.

Already we have made contact with scores of Newry’s living across numerous continents from the archipelago of The Bahamas to the United Kingdom , whom actively participates in supplying and updating the genealogy tree with their family’s history.

If you think you may be a descendant of the Newry’s originating in The Bahamas or you desire to immediately participate in this endeavor kindly contact me via email on canewry@hotmail.com or by post C. A. Newry, P.O. Box N 8955, Nassau, The Bahamas for more information on this project.

Thanks for your interest and support.