Friday, November 12, 2021
interview art fashion gardening history literary lives puzzles animals
Weekend
‘Preppy for Fall’ Page 07
Roots of history
New book reaches far back into origins of Bahamian culture
pgs 04 +05
02 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, November 12, 2021
entertainment
A movie night fundraiser celebrates a beloved dancer and the power of ballet By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net
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HE life story of the late dancer Gregory Blyes Boomer, who became paralysed from the waist down as a result of a severe illness and struggled to regain feeling in his legs, will be told during a screening of the 2010 film “City of Rain” this evening at The Island House Cinema. The screening is a fundraising initiative in celebration of the local dance company ArtSea’s fifth anniversary. The event kicks off at 6pm. “City of Rain” is a ballet film choreographed by the prolific American dancer and creator of the movie, Camille A Brown, and performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Camille is collaborating with accomplished Bahamian dancer Courtney Celeste Spears, also a member of the Alvin Ailey Dance company. Courtney co-founded ArtSea along with Asa Cary to expose Bahamians to the art of dance through consistent community initiatives. Courtney premiered the “City of Rain” ballet, one of the most challenging choreographies to learn, two years ago during a workshop. In brainstorming plans for this evening’s cinema fundraiser, she remembered the impact this dance had and felt compelled to have it performed locally. “When I thought about what to show, I immediately thought of this piece. It’s one the most challenging yet rewarding dances I’ve ever had the privilege of learning. Working with Camille was a dream come true, and to have the opportunity to show it in Nassau is beyond priceless. Camille is one of the dance world’s most brilliant choreographic minds. This piece truly shows the power of art in storytelling and I felt like it would really captivate our audiences,” she told Tribune Weekend.
to do the work necessary to have a theatre where dances like these can be performed live,” said Courtney. “There is nothing more powerful or that brings more people together than live theatre. Yes, the actual showing of the film is a great step, but imagine what would happen if there was a theatre on the island that could host companies like Alvin Ailey or the American Ballet Theatre. Our students need a space to see live art from around the world, and a space that puts our local artists on a global platform.” After the film’s showing there will be a Q&A between Courtney and celebrated Bahamian dancer Myrkeeva Johnson. Myrkeeva is a dancer trained under Robert Bain. “Attendees are encouraged to donate to the group. All proceeds will assist in bringing a high level of dance education to our students,” said Courtney. “Donations help the organisation provide more scholarships, more workshops, and have the opportunity to bring even more top-level faculty to the Bahamas to inspire our students. “Our mission is always to pour into the community. I hope to build a scholarship fund to help students with school, dance attire, travel for auditions, etcetera. Every dollar spent will go towards that mission.” Young’s Fine Wine will supply guests with wine for the event while The Island House has allowed the group to use its space.
‘City of Rain’
COURTNEY CELESTE SPEARS, founder of ArtSea In addition to the ballet, Courtney said the film not only showcases the art of dance through the life of Gregory Boomer, but also exhibits how the art form can foster healing during a time of grief and sorrow.
“Dance should allow people to reflect, process and heal, and I hope this piece gives them that space. Also, I hope this film and this experience of seeing a recording of a live performance inspires our community
“We will definitely be brainstorming and fundraising to have more opportunities for dancers next year. Both Asa and I hope that in the next couple of years we can have a permanent space on the island where our workshops, more classes and more screenings like this can happen more frequently. We’re thrilled to put a close on this year, but I’m even more certain that next year will be in even better,” said Courtney.
The Tribune | Weekend | 03
Friday, November 12, 2021
Weekend Inside
My Perfect Bahamian Weekend Jason “Jay” Donovan Rolle Fitness expert
week… on the internet, watching TV, watching the kids play and then all of us falling asleep.”
Interview 4 – 5
Q: Rum, wine, cocktail or a Kalik? “Rum, just a rum.”
Historian and author Jim Lawlor completes three decades of research with new book that looks into the early roots of Bahamian culture.
Q: If you could be quarantined with a celebrity, who would it be and why? “Since I am married, I can’t say a girl, so I am gonna go with The Rock again. He is just tenacious and makes a success of everything he touches.”
Puzzles 6 Fashion 7
How to do the ‘preppy’ trend for Fall/Winter
Food 8 – 9
A new cookbook with more than 100 recipes to make you ‘Lick Your Mouth’
Gardening 10
Day length, flowers, and fungus
Art 11
Bahamian and Trinidadian artists investigate the silk cotton tree
Literary Lives 12 – 13
A majestic diva of opera
Forgotten Facts 14
Courtship in South Andros in the 1950s
Animals 15
The wondrous sea turtle, plus Pet of the Week
B JANE TURNQUEST RETURNS WITH QUINTESSENTIALLY BAHAMIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN author B Jane Turnquest has been churning out books all year, keeping her readers throughly engaged and entertained. One of her latest releases to hit shelves is “The Legend of the Mean Mother”. The author has released five books in the last two months and a Bahamian fairy tale will be released in the coming weeks. Ms Turnquest recently organised a virtual storytelling that was hosted for a Halloween event featuring “The Legend of the Mean Mother”. The author partnered with Charter Day Bahamas 2021 and had 20 students from
15 schools across the country participate by reading the short exerpts from her character development series. The students were from Eva Hilton Primary, the Boost Academy, Queen’s College, Palmdale Primary, Windsor, Walter Parker, the Beacon School and Sadie Curtis Primary. “The storytelling was a treat for children who could not safely engage in a normal trick or treating due to the current climate and for many parents who cannot afford costumes and candies,” she said. And before the holidays roll around, there will be much more in store for the book lovers, the author promised. “I am hoping to promote a Bahamian library ‘read gift’ holiday package with what will be 12 published children’s books,” she told Tribune Weekend. Ms Turnquest produces her books with Quill Ink & Parchment Publication, a local indie publishing house. Since last April, she has released a collection of 12
Q: What will you be binge-watching? “I think this weekend The Rock’s new movie will be coming out, so I will be watching that because I am finished with all the shows I was watching like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Money Heist’.” Q: Beach or sofa? “Sofa any day of the
Q: If you could take a COVID-free trip, where would you go? “I’m naturally a homebody, but if I have to answer, it wouldn’t be a particular place or country, it would be somewhere where I could do something crazy like parachute or swim with sharks or rock climb.”
children’s books has been published. All but one book has hit the #1 spot for best-sellers on Amazon in the new release category for her genre. The book that did not make the top spot was competing with another of the author’s book that was released simultaneously. The children’s books include chapter books, journals, picture books, graphic books, educational resources with lesson plans, and a character development series. Each book touches on God and/or something quintessentially Bahamian. Ms Turnquest’s aims to create a gift bundle of Bahamian books to preserve the country’s culture via literature. Her writing is a testament to this, as two titles published are stories told by her grandmother and great-grand mother, who have passed down the stories through the generations. The author is currently working on her second romance novel, “When the Sapodillas Drop”, for a January 2022 release.
04 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, November 12, 2021
interview
Jim Lawlor reaches far back into history A new book, based on three decades of research, will finally tell the full story of the African peoples, both free enslaved, who had the most influence on Bahamian culture, especially during the country’s early period. The author tells Cara Hunt how the project got its start and why it’s taken so long to complete.
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‘From Africa to The Bahamas’ is now avaialble for purchase
rom a very early age, Jim Upon her return to the Bahamas, Lawlor loved looking to she taught at the St Andrew’s the past. School and the then College of Eventually, he was the Bahamas. She received a able to share that love Commonwealth Scholarship to of history with his wife Anne and earn her MA in Linguistics at the father-in-law Paul Albury, and University of London. She and Jim pass it on to own his daughter co-authored “The Harbour Island Lisa. Story” and an update to “The As a historian, philosoParadise Island Story” by Paul pher and member of Albury. the Bahamas HisHe has also helped torical Society his daughter he has penned research inforseveral mation for her books and post-graduate articles projects as well. on the Jim said he country’s loves helping history, people conas well duct historical as helped research. other “I get quite a historians few calls and so complete may queries from research people who need to on their own know a particular fact projects. or want to learn more “As a little AUTHOR and historian about a particular boy, I was full JIM Lawlor time. of curiosity,” “It makes me very he told Tribune proud to know that I can help Weekend. them when they call.” “History and overall learnIn fact, his newest book, called ing were something I found very “From Africa to the Bahamas”, is interesting. I studied history and the result of more than three decphilosophy in school. Once in ades of research which he started Nassau, my father-in-law Paul on behalf of his wife Anne. Albury’s enthusiasm for history “Anne wished to present a was infectious.” linguistics paper at the Society of Jim also partnered with his wife Caribbean Linguists 1985 conferAnne, a noted historian in her own ence to be held at the University right. She received a post-graduate of the West Indies in Trinidad. diploma in Education from the “She asked me to research University of London. She also the demographics of the people studied Spanish and taught Engof African descent while she lish as a second language in Spain. researched the theories of
The Tribune | Weekend | 05
Friday, November 12, 2021
A DEPICTION of an Akan Ashanti Yam Festival final language. We wished to find the number and languages of slaves in the Bahamas before the coming of the Loyalists,” he explained. While conducting his research, Jim became very interested in one particular slave family: the Lea Anderson family. At that time, the earliest record of slave ownership was in “The Early Settlers of the Bahamas”. The author, A T Bethell, provided a list of the inhabitants of New Providence which he states are shown in the census of 1671. Jim’s more intensive research revealed some inconsistencies in the family’s lineage and so he probed deeper. “I had already enjoyed my time researching in the Bahamas Department of Archives on behalf of my father-in-law, and the research for Anne further whetted my appetite to continue looking for those golden nuggets of historical knowledge. I spent many hours finding information to confirm Bethell’s error, which had probably misled many of the genealogists searching for their ancestors,” he said. This is one of the things that he finds fascinating when he is doing research. “You can come across one small scrap of information and that can lead you down a whole new path
book, which is now available just in time in for the holidays. “The book examines African history and civilization,” he said. Jim said he was particularly fascinated with the fact that the white inhabitants considered the Blacks “savages” despite the strong evidence of their civilised societies which boasted advanced technology for the time.
THE KONGO Cosmogram was a core symbol of the Kongo culture of research and discovery. Over the years, Anne and I delved into more research for her linguistics classes and writings as well as working on classifying the history of linguistic development into eras,” he said. “The early period, in which very little information was available until the coming of Governor Woodes Rogers and the first Africans, the Coramantines (Akan/Ashanti), from the Gold Coast. The Loyalist period which after 1783 tripled the slave population with Congo and
Sennegambia slaves. Also, the Loyalists brought in almost 10,000 more slaves between 1786 to 1806. Finally, after the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, over 6,000 liberated Africans, recaptured or from wrecked slave ships, were brought to the Bahamas.” Like many Bahamians, Jim found himself with extra time on his hands during the COVID-19 pandemic. He decided to use this time to turn the decades of research into his new
The book covers the growth of civilisation in the empires of West Africa, the creation of African villages, Afro-Bahamian culture as described by travellers, local officials and oral historians. “I think some new African names may make their way into Bahamian vernacular based on this,” he said. The release of the book this year just before the holidays is especially poignant, as Jim’s wife Anne passed away earlier this year. “From Africa to the Bahamas” is now available for $30 from the author (call 325-3157 or e-mail jim.lawlor1939@gmail.com); from Dr Lisa J Lawlor-Feller at lisajlfeller@gmail.com, and from Media Enterprises at 325-8210, or emailing bahamasmedia@gmail. com and visiting the website www. bahamasmedia.com.
06 | The Tribune | Weekend
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call 0907 181 2585 for today’s target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.
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The Tribune | Weekend | 07
Friday, November 12, 2021
fashion
Get preppy for fall By CARA HUNT | Tribune Features Writer | cbrennen@tribunemedia.net
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emember that iconic yellow plaid skirt set Cher Horowitz wore in the 1990s classic “Clueless”? Well, fans of the iconic movie (a reimagine of Jane Austen’s “Emma”) can rejoice and take note, because this fall and winter, preppy fashion is definitely the way to go. Designers are drawing inspiration from the halls of academia to inspire that school-girl-meets-runway-model look we all love. Here are five key items you need to start your preppy wardrobe this season: • Anything plaid Nothing screams preppy more than plaid, and the great thing about the look is that you can go all out with a full skirt or pantsuit combo, or just a skirt or jacket. You can go the minimalist route and just wear jeans, a white tee, paired with maybe a pair of plaid flats, or a plaid belt or scarf. Another cute option is a cute pair of plaid trousers paired with low booties and a graphic tee.
GUCCI’s chunky loafers, the the styles inspired by them (the brand Lando has similar ones for $100), are all the rage on TikTok
• Take a vested interest Once the temperatures hopefully take a dip, you can get cosy and fashionable with a sweater vest. Online store favs like ModCloth, Anthropologie, The Loft and Urban Outfitters all have a variety of vests. They can cropped (the hottest style right now) or oversized, and come in variety of prints. While they can be worn over other tops, many fashionistas on TikTok are wearing them by themselves. • The loafers style Make sure your preppy girl look is complete from head to toe by slipping on a classic pair of loafers. THE KATE Spade spade flower jacquard stripe The best thing about this fashion staple is that you sinch flap backpack can be super cute and comfortable all at the same time. They can be paired with jeans, dressy pants and even maxi skirts. • The classic white button-down Nothing elevates a preppy look like a crisp, white buttondown long-sleeved shirt. In fact, this is that staple piece that can anchor all your preppy girl looks. Worn with jeans and loafers, you can throw a plaid jacket, blazer or vest over it and you get a stunning look. It can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. • Carry on with a backpack To tie your look together and carry your all your gear, consider investing in a classic and stylish backpack (character backpacks need not apply). We are talking smaller styles that serve as mini works of art on your back. Take inspiration from designers such as Nine West, Kate Spade, Coach, Michael Kors and Louis Vuitton (if the budget permits). Other items to consider: monogram blazer, baseball hat, pullovers with cute prints or a cosy cardigan.
A CROPPED Argyle sweater vest Plaid from Amazon. A more expensive option would be a classic Burberry vest
THE VINTAGE Renewal cropped plaid jacket from Urban Outfitters
10 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, November 12, 2021
gardening
Day length, flowers, and fungus
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ood day, gardeners and yardeners! The cool weather that we have had in the last week (at least in New Providence) has been a nice respite from the heat and the shorter day length is triggering flowering in some plants and herbs. Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettia, yes, it’s just about that time again) begin their flowering now locally, and some of my crops such as an early batch of lettuce and dill have already blasted through and are setting seed already. I am now onto planting our second round of edible crops. It’s a perfect time if there ever was one, to get a round of edibles in the ground or into containers. Look at the price of broccoli in the grocery stores.You can grow that! Plant 1, 3 or 12 every other week for the next 12 or 16 weeks, and you’ll have all the broccoli you can eat for months on end once it is able to get to the point of producing the desired parts (the head, florets and stalk) for much less. The head of broccoli that we eat is actually the flower bud, each tiny piece is a flower (florets) that once open reduces the quality of the broccoli edibility. Timing is key as with most things. With the poinsettia’s colouring it is technically a bract, not a true leaf, and it is triggered to colour up to entice pollinators to the flowers which are quite small and inconspicuous (that’s the little yellow bits that show up in several weeks’ time on the tips of the colored bracts). Whitefly can be quite a contentious pest on poinsettias. When purchasing, be sure to give a quick inspection on the underside of the leaves and bracts to ensure that they are free of whitefly. Once they are taken home or to the office, there is always going to be opportunity for whitefly to establish a population. Most poinsettias are treated with systemic pesticides to reduce the chances of whitefly but having a bottle of a basic nontoxic pesticide on hand is always recommended. Once planted in the ground or a larger container in the garden, the risk of whitefly diminishes and systemics become far less necessary. Pests can be dealt with by spraying nontoxic horticultural oils
or pesticides. With the waning daylight for the next several weeks, or 39 days to be exact from this publish date, I find it important to get any supplemental watering done as early as possible in the day, for a few reasons. Amongst them is the potting, planting, garden media (soil, if you must) does not dry out as quickly as it does in the longer days and higher heat of summer. Another is that water on leaves that doesn’t dry before dark is an easy spot for fungus to establish, most of which will cause minor spotting, or at worst, plant death by systemic rot, especially when combined with potting or planting media that contains high water content for longer periods. Drastic, I know. Yet there are days when watering gets done late. Poinsettia leaves easily develop spots when water sits overnight, there’s not much to be done at that point, avoidance is preemptive. Broccoli and cauliflower heads that have water sitting on them overnight can develop dark spots from fungus having found a target. Again, avoidance is preemptive, but if such things do develop then a spray of an appropriate fungicide will reduce further damage if it is caught early enough. Orchids that I have tied in trees are loving this weather, budding and flowering. The risk of fungus causing spots on the leaves of orchids increases with the waning daylight as well. Avoid watering later in the day. Established lawn growth rates are slowing down and using less water. Lawn grass also risks fungus spotting or rot when watered late in the day and not allowed to dry before dark, at this time of year. All in all, it is a beautiful time of year to be in the garden, and I do hope that you can get into it! It’s good for the heart and for the body, for the mind and
for the soul. It’s good for the young and for the old, the firm and for the infirm, and it is fun! Grow on, gardeners. As always, I wish you happy gardening. • Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at the Fox Hill Nursery. You can contact him with any questions you may have, or topics you would like to see discussed, at gardening242@gmail.com. at gardening242@ gmail.com.
The Tribune | Weekend | 11
Friday, November 12, 2021
art
A repository of memories Bahamian and Trinidadian artists investigate the silk cotton tree
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or centuries, the majestic silk cotton tree has played an important role in the cultural landscape of communities in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Beneath the towering branches and among the giant walls of roots, the iconic tree served as an important venue for regular gatherings for the people of freed slave settlements established in New Providence after the abolition of slavery. In places like Grant’s Town, Fox Hill, Adelaide, Gambier and Carmichael, the silk cotton tree was the place from which government announcements were made, political discussions and debates held, and ‘silk cotton justice’ meted out in informal courts. According to folklore, the silk cotton tree also had another – more sacred – purpose as a dwelling for local spirits. Legend has it that residents so revered the ‘ghost/ duppy’ tree that they protested attempts to cut it down over the fear of what might happen to the spirits held within its ancient trunk and branches. In the latest installment of the Double Dutch exhibition series at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas (NAGB), Bahamian artist Tamika Galanis and Trinidadian artist Rodell Warner explore the role of the silk cotton tree not only as a witness to the history of a space and its people but as repository of information. “There is this weird lack of knowledge not being handed down,” said Natalie Willis, the show’s co-curator. “You can think of the tree as something that holds these memories, that holds the spirit. It’s another way to interpret the archive.” For Ms Willis, the work represents an investigation into what archives can look like in the region. “As Derek Walcott imagines the sea as a historical archive in the Caribbean story in ‘The Sea is History,’ perhaps we can consider archives to
“Community Ancestral Altar” by Tamika Galanis. (Photo/NAGB) not just include pages and pictures and ephemera of times long gone, but it could also exist as something much more intuitive and abstract. After all, what is an archive if not a series of witnessings?” The work of both Ms Galanis and Mr Warner is rooted in the collection and reimagining of historical records of the Caribbean. Ms Galanis is a documentarian and multimedia visual artist whose work focuses on archiving, with a particular emphasis on Bahamian cultural identity and preservation. Mr Warner, who is known for his investigation of Caribbean archives, works primarily in new media and photography. “In the Bahamas and the Caribbean, we get told a version of our history that’s told from a specific standpoint,” said Ms. Willis. “The retelling (of that history) is as important as knowing the history in the first place.” For this exhibition “Double Dutch: Ancestral remains to be seen,” Ms Willis decided to offer the artists images from the NAGB’s national collection, specifically colonial photography (the term used to describe the idea that during
colonialism photographs portrayed explicit cultural ideas and justified colonization). Both artists chose to work heavily with the silk cotton tree. One of the images used by Ms Galanis and Mr Warner was captured by well-known American photographer Jacob Frank Coonley, who lived in the Bahamas in the late 1800s. Its subject is an enormous ancient silk cotton tree, with five men in uniform and a woman in white carrying a tray of goods atop her head standing at the base of the tree. The tree captured in Coonley’s photograph once stood in the center of town between the downtown courts and was known around the world. It is believed to have been planted in the early 1700s and is said to be the mother of all silk cotton trees planted on New Providence. It was described repeatedly by visiting naturalists, journalists and tourists as “the finest and most curious cotton tree known.” It is said to have been the “most illustrated and photographed” silk cotton tree in the world before it was removed in the mid-1900s. Mr Warner successfully captures the otherworldliness of the silk
cotton tree with the insertion of fractal digital images in the Coonley photograph, which is digitally projected in the gallery’s Ballroom on the second floor. These GIF formatted images are reminiscent of fairies or spirits, who appear very much at home among the gigantic folds of this ancient tree and seemingly wise tree. Mr Warner’s “spirits” also appear in a diptych titled “Augmented Archives (Brothers).” The piece focuses on two colonial photographs – one of a street in Grants Town and the other of a sailing sloop loaded with livestock. Ms Galanis’ work engages the spirit or “speret,” as it is known in the Bahamian vernacular, through a variety of mediums, including mixed media, installation, digital prints on wood and a film collaboration with Bahamian diasporic storyteller and scholar, Charlotte Henay. Her installation titled “Community Ancestral Altar” consists of a sideboard covered with family photographs, much like you would find in a typical home. What is not so typical are the two glasses of water and tea lights placed on either side of the tabletop, a nod to African spiritual practices, explained Ms Galanis. Viewers are invited to light their own tea light in honour of an ancestor and add a photograph to the “altar.” Perhaps the crown jewel in Ms. Galanis’ contribution to the exhibition is a six-minute film that follows the ritual of an Obeah woman’s visit to a silk cotton tree in Adelaide Village to petition a spirit. The collaboration between Ms. Galanis and Mr. Warner ultimately tells a compelling story about the people of the Caribbean. • This installment of the Double Dutch exhibition series is open now and runs until January 23, 2022. For more information, visit nagb. org.bs
12 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, November 12, 2021
literary lives - Jessye Norman
(1945 - 2019)
A majestic diva of opera Part II Sir Christopher Ondaatje continues with the biography of the American opera singer and recitalist who was able to perform dramatic soprano roles – but refused to be limited only to that voice type. “I wasn’t born Austrian; I wasn’t born German. My roots are from Africa, and I do not have any reason for not wanting to celebrate that. Every time that I can, I like to kind of mention it, you know, just to keep people sort of knowing exactly what’s going on. My French is pretty good, but I’m still African, thank you very much.” - Jessye Norman In the early 1990s, Jessye Norman lived in a secluded estate in Crotonon-Hudson, New York, known as “The White Gates”. It was previously owned by the TV host Allen Funt. In 1990, she sang at Tchaikovsky’s 150th birthday gala in Leningrad, and the same year in the title role of Gluck’s Alceste at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also sang American spirituals with soprano Kathleen Battle in Carnegie Hall. The following year she performed in a concert with Lawrence Foster and the Lyon Opera Orchestra at Notre-Dame de Paris. She sang Jocasta in Stravinsky’s Oedipus rex at the New Saito Kinen Festival in the Japanese Alps near Matsumoto in 1992, and the following year the title role in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos. She sang Schubert’s Ave Maria at the funeral of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1994, and was again the featured soloist with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Kurt Masur, in the gala concert telecast for the opening of the Orchestra’s 153rd season in 1995. She gave a highly lauded performance as the title character of Janáček’s The Makropulos
(Photo_Sergei Chirikov_EPA) Affair when it was first performed in 1996. Always in demand for the big events, Norman sang “Faster, Higher, Stronger” at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta; and the next year performed at the second inauguration of US President Bill Clinton, singing “Oh freedom!”. In 1998, she performed in a recital at Carnegie Hall incorporating sacred music by Duke Ellington, scored for jazz combo, string quartet and piano. She sang Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa. A spring recital tour in 1999 included performances in Tel Aviv. The following season she appeared at the Salzburg Festival. The phenomenally talented operatic mezzo-soprano did not have to look far for projects or invitations. She collaborated with choreographer-dancer Bill T Jones in a project
at New York City’s Lincoln Centre, called “How! Do! We! Do!” She released an album, I Was Born in Love With You, featuring the songs of Michel Legrand. The ensuing recording, which became known as a jazz crossover project, featured Legrand on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Grady Tate on drums. In February and March 2001, Norman was featured at Carnegie Hall in a three-part concert series. With James Levine as her pianist, the concerts were a significant arts event, replete with an 80-page programme booklet featuring a newly commissioned watercolour portrait of Norman by David Hockney. In 2002, Norman performed at the opening of Singapore’s Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. On June 28, 2001, Norman and Kathleen Battle performed Mythodea by Vangelis at the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, Greece. In 2002, she performed “America the Beautiful” at a service unveiling
two monumental columns of light at the site of the former World Trade Center, as a memorial for the victims of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City. In 2002 she returned to Augusta, Georgia and announced that she would fund a pilot school of the arts for children in Richmond County. Classes started at St John United Methodist Church in the fall of 2003. A documentary of Norman’s life and work, directed by André Heller and Othmar Schmiderer as director of photography, was made in November 2004 that included her music as well as her political and social issues. Two years later she collaborated with the modern dance choreographer Trey McIntyre for a special performance during the summer at the Vail Dance Festival. In March 2009, Norman curated Honor, a celebration of the AfricanAmerican cultural legacy. The festival honoured African-American
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trailblazers and artists with concerts, recitals, lectures, panel discussions, and exhibitions hosted by Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, the Cathedral of St John the Divine, and other sites around New York City. Jessye Norman served on several boards of directors in her later years: The Carnegie Hall; City-Mealson-Wheels in New York City; the Dance Theatre of Harlem; the New York Botanical Garden; the New York Public Library; the National Music Foundation; and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. She was a member of the board and spokesperson for the SLE Lupus Foundation, and also a spokesperson for the Partnership for the Homeless. As well she served on the Board of Trustees of the Augusta Opera Association and Paine College. “There has never been a time when I was not committed to, involved in, or caring of, the social and political issues of my world.”
NORMAN acknowledges an ovation at Carnegie Hall in May 2008. Deavere Smith, Gloria Steinem, the former Minister of Culture of France, Jack Lang, Eric Owens, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Alvin Alley American Dance Theater, Peter Gelb, and Renée Fleming.
- Jessye Norman In March 2013, the Apollo Theater and Manhattan School of Music featured Norman in Ask Your Name, a ninety-minute multimedia show by Laura Karpman, based on Langstan Hughes’s “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz”. Norman never forgot her jazz roots. In March 2014, she was featured at the Green Music Centre Weill Hall on the campus of Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, in a recital of American standards in tribute to George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. The next year she and pianist Mark Markham presented a programme of mainly Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Rodgers and Hart at Carnegie Hall. Jessye Norman was flooded with honours throughout her eventful life. In February 2009, she was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at The White House. In 2018 she was honoured as the twelfth recipient of the Glenn Gould Prize from the Glenn Gould Foundation. She won the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal in 2018; and the 8th Street in Augusta, Georgia was renamed Jessye Norman Boulevard in 2019. She received Honorary
“I was given the opportunity to write the kind of book that I wanted to write, rather than one that catalogues where I sang and what I sang and what I wore. I wanted to write a book about an American family, the family that has produced me. The longer I live, the more I realise the incredible support and love we were given as children.” - Jessye Norman NORMAN receives the 2009 National Medal of Arts from US President Barack Obama at the White House. Doctorates from more than thirty colleges, universities and conservatories including Harvard University (1988), the University of Cambridge (1989); the Juilliard School of Music (1990); the University of Oxford (2015); and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston (2019). Jessye Norman suffered a spinalcord injury in 2015, and died at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in Manhattan on September 30, 2019. The cause of death was given as “septic shock and multi-organ failure
secondary to complications of the spinal cord injury”. In September 2021, it was reported that Norman’s brother was pursuing legal action for alleged medical negligence against the doctors and hospital involved in the 2015 operation. Norman’s public funeral was held in her hometown of Augusta, Georgia. She was later memorialized with a gala tribute at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City on November 29, 2019. Among the speakers and performers were Anna
On May 6, 2014, Houghton Mifflin published Norman’s memoir Stand Up Straight and Sing. Jessye Norman never married. She is survived by two of her siblings, James and Elaine. • Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; The Dictionary of World Biography edited by Frank N. Magill (1999); and Stand Up Straight and Sing by Jessye Norman (2014), Houghton Mifflin
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history
Courtship in South Andros in the 1950s
K
eith Otterbein’s 1966 book, The Andros Islanders, is a study of family organisation in the Bahamas, specifically in South Andros, in 1959. The author explains the close ties between mothers and their children, domestic units dominated by females, and high frequencies of female-headed households around Long Bay Cays. A man who grows up in Long Bay Cays is taught that he must build a house for his wife-to-be and this is a primary value to every adult male in the community. When he is about 18 years, a young man starts saving to pay for building materials, even before he finds a girl to court. Often, he leaves Andros temporarily to earn the needed money and goes to the United States “on the contract”, an arrangement made by the Bahamas government for men to work as agricultural labourers. He will be
paid only a portion of what he earns, another portion going into the Post Office Savings Bank, to the worker’ account. When he returns to Andros, he starts building his house, while he looks for a girl to court. Most such workers go “on the contract” more than once. In a few more seasons, he earns enough for that house. While he is in US, construction will continue, paid for by the government-held funds. He must also pay for furniture, the one expensive item being the bed. The girl is expected, but not compelled, to provide a dowry – bedspreads, blankets, linens, towels, maybe a sewing machine. A man is not permitted to court, or mate with, any female member of his kindred, which extends as far back as genealogical connections can be remembered by his oldest relatives. If he selects a girl distantly related to him, his mother will inform him of the relationship and,
PAUL C ARANHA
FORGOTTEN FACTS since he has not yet begun courting her, it is unlikely that there has been time for an attachment to have formed, so the man will not attempt to disregard his parents’ wishes. Being related to many of his fellow villagers often forces a man to seek a wife in another village. When he decides whom to court, he consults his parents, to discover their views of her family. Certain families are
considered not respectable, because of the behaviour of their women. When a young man has decided who he would like to court, he can send a letter to her parents, asking permission to visit their home as a suitor. If the letter is not returned, he knows his request has been granted and he begins visiting, after accompanying the girl home from school or church. Several months into the courtship, the man gives an ‘engagement letter’ to the girl and her mother. The mother insists on such a letter, drawn up by a lawyer, a minister, a teacher, a justice of the peace or the Commissioner. When the letter, together with the engagement ring, arrive, the girl usually grabs the ring and the mother the letter. The ring, which is bought in Nassau, is a gold band with a heart on it; engagement rings are all alike. If the mother decides against the marriage, she returns the suitor’s letter. • For questions and comments, please send an e-mail to islandairman@gmail.com
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animals Animal matters Kim Aranha
PET OF THE WEEK
A wondrous ambassador
By The Bahamas Humane Society
PHOTO/LINDA GILL-ARANHA
W
hat a simply wonderful animal the sea turtle is. This sentiment has been expressed before and will be again and again, but I do think that it is important to remind people why this statement is accurate, especially today when we are blessed with an environmentally-minded, conservationist government. In the Bahamas we have several species, in fact we are fortunate to have five out of the seven species of sea turtles. They are: Green, loggerhead, hawksbill, leatherback and Kemp’s ridley turtles. Every now and then you will see an olive ridley turtle in the Bahamas. The seventh species is the flatback turtle. Every one of these turtles is on the “threatened” list. Many years ago, the Bahamas made a brilliant choice and banned all fishing and capture of any sea turtle. This decision has benefitted the Bahamas and the world. Some may ask, why is the sea turtle so wonderful? To start with, they share the same ancestors that dinosaurs have. The first turtles lived side by side with dinosaurs and most of the species of turtles are descendants of the ancient turtles of dinosaur times. How amazing is that! They have stood the test of time so much better than many other species. Nothing can put a smile on a diver’s face quicker than an encounter with a turtle. They are simply beautiful and graceful when in water, swimming almost as if flying through the sea. Many turtles have become very trusting of humans since the protection act came into effect. There are dive charter groups all over the Bahama islands that promise dives with turtles now. The turtles wait, gambolling around the coral head for the arrival of a boatful of excited tourists who all who have paid handsomely for this privilege. Talk about photo ops! The sea turtle is naturally photogenic with a shy and rather inquisitive expression on this beguiling little
Meet your new exercise partner
face in spite of a rather impressive beak. In fact, there are many diving operations that now have swim with turtle excursions. The tourists love the privilege of sharing the sea with these friendly and trusting creatures. I am always delighted by how our Ministry of Tourism frequently includes photos of turtles in their travel literature. The magnificent protected turtle is a selling point to visit our islands. Apart from being some of the best ambassadors this country has, they are also essential to the well-being of the sea. They are considered a “keystone species”. This means that should their numbers be depleted, or if they were to become extinct, their absence would have a serious effect on the animals who share their space and the environment. What an enormous responsibility to lay on any animal!
A loggerhead turtle
With high energy and ready to roll, Sheba’s a happy potcake of about two years who will always have a “cute” head tilt due to a neck injury early in life. This doesn’t stop her from experiencing life to the fullest, so she’ll need a family who can help her work off her energy with playtimes and walks, and maybe swims at the beach. Sheba’s good with children, dogs, and even the cats. If you’ve been looking for the perfect exercise partner, Sheba One of the essential duties of the turtle is to keep the sea grass at the prescribed (by nature) length. This keeps the sea beds healthy and, amongst other things, enables the seagrass beds to effectively store carbon (who listened to Prime Minister Philip Davis’s speech at the COP26?). Seagrass meadows are disappearing daily. Our turtles are the underwater lawnmowers of nature. Small grouper and crawfish take shelter and hide in these grass meadows, protected from predators, but that grass has to be the correct length. Turtles also eat sponges that can easily suffocate coral by keeping the coral clean. They are the janitors of the coral reefs. As reefs get more threatened by global warming, so the role of the spong- eating turtle becomes more essential to preserve our
might just be the one for you. Call the Bahamas Humane Society at 323-5138 for more information or come in and complete an adoption form. Sheba looks forward to meeting you! • BHS Raffle 2021 tickets are now available. The drawing is December 29, and the grand prize is $10,000 worth of groceries from Super Value. Tickets are $5 each or a book of 21 for $100; available at the BHS or Fox Hill Nursery. very delicate and “at peril” coral reefs. They also love to eat jelly fish. If there is a sudden proliferation of jelly fish chances are that the population of sea turtles had been reduced. Jelly fish prey on fish larvae, if the turtles consume jelly fish, the balance of nature comes in to play, and the baby fish live to grow into adult fish, thus providing a supply of fish for the fishermen. Turtles take a long time to grow big and they do not reach reproductive maturity until about 15 years old, some need even longer. If left alone by mindless and ignorant people, they can reach the grand old age of 100. I say ignorant people because people are not aware of the importance of sea turtles in our environment, they are not aware of the ramifications if they were to be disappear from our shores. We are so fortunate to have such a large and prolific population of sea turtles in the Bahama Islands. I bless the fact that finally after many attempts we appear to be becoming the environmentally aware and friendly nation we should have always been. Some people may not understand certain regulations to encourage species to grow back, but they can be taught the reasons why, and as the years go by, they will see the logic in those regulations. Meanwhile, may we all remember any animal on the threatened or endangered list needs to be nurtured and cherished. You can photograph the same animal a thousand times, but you can only eat him once.
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