MIAMI – In a fitting tribute to the late Professor the Hon. Rex Nettleford, Emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), dub poet, Malachi Smith, described him as ‘Kumina King’ in a poem so aptly titled, at the recent Thanksgiving service held at the Holy Family Episcopal Church in Miami.
The poem was among the collection for posterity for Professor Nettleford and included tributes, letters and other expressions of admiration and love from groups and individuals, worldwide, to be housed at the University of the West Indies.
In an interview with JIS News, Malachi Smith said that he began composing the poem, once he heard of Prof. Nettleford’s illness. In one week he had completed the masterpiece expressing sentiments about a cultural icon whose work had inspired him greatly while he pursued studies at the Jamaica School of Drama, now a faculty at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston. “I was always acutely aware of his speeches, commentaries and perspectives” noting with enthusiasm that “his mission was clearly defined.”
Dub poet Malachi Smith reading his poem “Kumina King” as a tribute to the late Professor Rex Nettleford at the Thanksgiving Service held recently in South Florida.
photo courtesy of Uriah Bennett
The lengthy poem reflects the life of the creative and artistic genius, reading on “………Your brilliant blackness , white hair illuminating the Caribbean space, for all the world to see, the kumina king dancing…..making us proud from dance to tongue historian, ambassador lifting us higher with every step……” . Described as moving by Professor Nigel Harris, Vice Chancellor of the UWI, he said “the poem captures beautifully the complex collage of dance, scholarship and humanity that characterized this exceptional man.”
The poem was also well received by the large congregation at the Thanksgiving Service and was described as artistic brilliance by Consul General Sandra Grant Griffiths who felt so inclined to turn it over to the archived collection of tributes at the University of the West Indies in honour of the late Professor, whose life and legacy had impacted the lives of many persons across the region, she said.
Smith said that he was inspired by the works of some of Jamaica’s great cultural geniuses including Nettleford, the late Hon. Louise Bennett Coverley and international reggae artist, the late Peter ‘Tosh’ McIntosh. He also spoke of names other like literary giants like Mervyn Morris, O.M., and Dr. Kamau Brathwaite, also of the University of the West Indies, who both have influenced his work.
Describing him as exemplary and ‘a great man of his time’, Mr. Smith said that ‘Prof” as he was affectionately called, had taught him how to push doors to seek opportunities and always to strive for excellence in all that he did. “His work as an artist has allowed me to take my work to the next level,” Mr. Smith emphasized.
As he reminisced about the late Professor always passionately embracing his homeland, and the Caribbean region, Smith said “if I learnt anything from him was that we are a special people, and that we have a role to play in the development of our people, our race and ultimately mankind. He taught us to be hopeful.”
Professor Nettleford died in Washington, D.C. on February 2, at the age of 77 years, following a brief illness. An official funeral was held in Jamaica on Tuesday, February 16 at the University of the West Indies Chapel, Mona campus.
Malachi Smith began writing poetry at the early of eight years old. Today, as a dub poet, he has produced five CD’s. His work is based on the message of love, nature and protest. He began social commentary with the group Poets In Unity working with contemporaries like Oko Onuru, Noel Walcott and Michael ‘Mikey’ Smith.
Last year, he gained the title of outstanding writer of the Literary Writer Competition 2009 of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).
POEM
Kumina King
For Prof. Rex Nettleford, O.M.
Kumina king
I see you dancing
On a blue moon stage
Garvey, Nanny, Miss Lou in front row
Marley, Trevor and the rest
Enjoying your majesty’s grand entrance
Silence, silence
Tear drop dead silence
A kete drum speaks an African dialect
You answer in Jamaican steps
Movement to the right
Movement to the left
But always center stage
Holding each eye like a lit candle
On your face
Your brilliant blackness, white hair
Illuminating the Caribbean space
For all to see
The kumina king dancing
And a one and a two and a three
And a four and turn
And a one and a two and a three
And a four and spin spin
Turn, turn
Feet firm in tradition leaping
Through and above theatre sky
To sky god’s heaven
For he too is watching
As a whole nation joins in
Discovering the beauty of culture
Beaten and woven from African traditions
Europeans, Spanish, Tainos/Arawaks, Siboneys
Jews, Lebanese, Chinese, Indians
Out of many one
Dancing, dancing, dancing
Movement from dance to intellect
Speaking in tongues
As polished as the queen’s crown
If not more, kumina king
Lecturing the world
Dancing across space
Onto pages of history
Telling my story
Telling our stories
Graphically
Of slavery
Of beat down, batter down
Of rape, of starvation
Of blood shed
Morant Bay, Sam Sharpe rebellion
Of Indentured Servants
Of betrayal
Of finding the cross
Of survival
Of salvation
Of peoples uniting
As an independent nation
Kumina king
Making us proud
From dance to tongue
Historian, ambassador
Lifting us higher with every step
With every movement
Defying time and space
Stereotypes and bigots
Dancing in our face
Dancing in our space
Until the curtain falls
Silence, silence
Tear drop dead silence
The kete drum speaks
Your name
The world stands and applauds
The now golden curtain opens
You still standing center stage
Bows…
A company
A country
A world
Left behind weeping
Farwell
Kumina king
