Decolonial Daughter by Lesley-Ann Brown

Author:Lesley-Ann Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Decolonial Daughter
ISBN: 9781912248100
Publisher: Watkins Media
Published: 2018-03-19T04:00:00+00:00

The Conquest of Kairi: What

We Lost in Empire

(A Re-Imagining of the History of Trinidad and Tobago)

because the end of the world has already happen[ed]

— Camae Ayewa, Fetish Bones

In the summer of 1498, when the Garini citizens of Cheleide & Aloubaera (Trinidad & Tobago) went down to the seashore in Moruga to lime and boucaner wild meet, they discovered Senor Columbus, the first European tourist, on their beach. Since then, de natives have ben res’less, busy inventing such wonders as a prodigious Street Carnival, Calypso, the Steelpan, Limbo, Roti, perfecting Angostura Bitters, and a philosophy of life that spreads ambiance and goodwill wherever its people go.

— John Mendes, Cote ci, Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary

Son,

Do you know what your name means?

the ocean in Hawaiian

food in Mauri,

forgiveness in Japanese,

willow in Navajo,

King of Kings in Kono and Kissi (Sierra Leone)

I often wonder what was it like, back then?

What was it like, before them?

Who were we before them?

Why do I speak in the tongue that I do?

What did we get for our ancestral sacrifices?

Tree-lined boulevards and arches

Democratic lies and fascist marches.

They said that their education

would liberate me, but

all it really did

is try to silence me.

It took me far away, from where I come from

Tell me I am nothing and my people are dumb.

9 Sundays of tobacco smoke blown in my face.

9 Sundays of rum sprayed for pain to be erased.

9 Sundays of candles, beads and bush bath.

9 Sundays of dreams to break the aftermath.

_Crack_

Crack is the sound

that made the whip, All the way from Africa,

in human-stuffed ships.

Crack was the sound

that crystallised in time

cutting it on kitchen tables

a new kind of crime.

Based on survival

to cover up our pain

doing everything in our power

to not go insane.

Crack is the Trap

That caught up with your daddy

made your brother rich

and desecrated your community.

It turned your neighbourhood out

made the pain go away

crack goes the drug–

–the whip of today.

They discovered nothing:

How odd is it that it is the story of a fumbling Genoese that will be remembered as one of heroism and genius, and that he would become the very symbol of European expansionism? Is Columbus named after a dove or a pigeon? The difference is perhaps of some import to this story. And I want you to remember that he is a man whose mother tongue is without a written language.

In his lifetime, Columbus will manage, like his namesake, “the Christ bearer,” to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he will buckle, dear son. The Christian world is in trouble — Constantinople kneels before no idols and Prestor John, the Christian King of the East, must be found. But it is in this that Columbus fails — for instead of finding the mysterious Christian King of the East, he finds a people whose existence will forever be changed.

Columbus is as much a hub of intellect as these people are savages. But he is able enough to ensure that his crew reaches terra incognita and he is able enough to ensure their return to the port from which they first sailed.

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