Earlier this month I had the privilege of participating in a performance of the re-enactment of the Bwa Kayiman ceremony.  It was produced by the foundation Dream for Haiti, an organization founded by the incomparable Carl Thelemaque.

What is the significance of Bwa Kayiman?  It was the vodou ceremony that kicked off the Haitian revolution.  It was one of the first attempts by enslaved Africans and maroons to rid themselves of the evil system of slavery on the island of Hispaniola/Santo Domingo as it was hen called.  As I mentioned to my fellow performers, while I was doing research for my book “revolution” in 2003, I discovered that some scholars think Bwa Kayiman never happened – that its just a myth.  There are also Haitians who believe that because the Haitian revolution began with a vodou ceremony, it doomed us for eternity.  They blame Bwa Kayiman for the state Haiti finds itself in today.

To me, this question of whether or not Bwa Kayiman took place or not is direct evidence of traditional (and very mainstream) academia’s refusal to accept oral history as evidence.  There is no question in any Haitian’s mind that Bwa Kayiman took place.  To us, oral history is as important as anything that ended up on paper.

For those Haitians who believe the vodou ceremony was the beginning of the end for us, I say this; you may not like vodou – but you cannot ignore it’s significance and existence in our history.  This is ours.  This is how our ancestors communicated with each other and kept sacred bonds with higher powers.  Remember that it is the western world that placed stigmas and negativity on our spiritual practices.

So going back to why Carl would want to re-enact this controversial event….its because Haiti’s history is world history and not many people know about it.  But as the children of the Diaspora – as a member of the 10th department of Haiti (the department that includes anyone who claims they are Haitian abroad) it is our duty to make sure the world remembers this history.  It is our duty to make sure people understand that the civil war was was not the first time in the Americas slavery was questioned.  It took 13 bloody years, but the black people of Hispaniola declared themselves – and anyone else who ever stepped foot on the island by the way – free, period.  Or point finale as we say ; )

As for the show - I really did not know what I was getting into by participating.  A month or two ago, I saw a posting from Carl advertising the event.  I thought to myself, I need to be part of this.  In particular, I thought my poem “Freedom” would be perfect for this.  So I did what I always do.  Figuring it couldn’t hurt to try, I emailed Carl and asked him if he still needed performers.  I told him I was a poet and an actress and would love to be a part of this.  He indulged me.  When I first met the cast, I encountered a group of women and men that were so committed to this performance it gave me goose bumps.  I knew none of them, yet in the spirit of our ancestors, they embraced me as if I had been part of the group from the beginning.  I have done a lot of theatre in my life, but the women and men who performed in this piece were so good…TELMEN BON...they put some of our best actors to shame.  They were channeling the spirits of these ancestors as if their life depended on it.  And it did.  From the story of the young woman who wanted to know what love was, to Boukman who sent a call out for revolt, to the one-armed maroon woman who carried her freedom like a badge of pride, to the mambo who predicted the events of the revolution, to the young pregnant slave who did not want her baby born into the atrocity of slavery, to me and my poem commemorating the Haitian revolution, we all gave the performance of our lives.  I honestly don’t think I’ve ever performed that poem as deeply as I did that night.  Something in the words….in the air….in our bodies….pushed us to a place beyond us.  I think Boukman would be proud.

Haiti gets such a bad rap.  Poorest country in the western hemisphere….peasants who eat dirt…..floods….it goes on and on.  But that night, one woman summed it up perfectly.  She said, “we may be the poorest country, but our culture is worth a million bucks.”  And it’s true.  You go anywhere in Haiti and there is art on the street.  There is singing.  Our language is even an art.  It’s in our soul and that will never go bankrupt.  Herein lies our resiliency.  The one thing we can point to that no one else possesses and no one can take away.  I’ve made it my mission in life to elevate Haiti by elevating its culture.  For the country that gave me life and liberty, it’s the least I can do.

Enjoy!

people really underestimate us, but apparantly city hall got it right today. they honored several haitians in commemoration of haitian independance month. they are:

patricia beauvais, regional producer, cbs newspath
raudline etienne, cheif invetment officer, nys common retirement fund
jacques jiha, executive vp and chief financial officer, earl g graves, ltd

also, did you know that the Deputy Borough President of Manhattan, Rosemonde Pierre-Louis, is haitian???

yes she is.

let it be known that haiti was the first black nation to gain its independance from colonizers.  i'll be commenting more about this during the year, but its important to note the great things that haitians are doing.

mr. jiha said something great tonight...it was something to this effect: "we must work together because it is the greatness in each of us that brings about the greatness in all of us."

well said mr. jiha.  i'd listen to him.  he once managed billions (yes, that's with a b) of dollars in pension funds for the state of ny.  now he runs black enterprise magazine.

e

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what happens when you write?

i think what happens when you write is that naturally you start uncovering things about yourself.  you start discovering layers about your thoughts.  you begin to sense patterns in the rhythm of your writing.  words com to you sometimes and you have to wonder....how did i know that word?  how did i know that style?  who|what|when influenced me?  but you have to be aware to get there....

last friday was the release of one mic, the lyrics on lockdown anthology my students and i have been working on this semester.  this is actually the culmination of work from the past 4 years....work the blackout arts collective has done at colleges and universities through lyrics on lockdown.  published by andre maurice press, this is an anthology that gives voice to incarcerated youth.  check it out here.

in addition, i am pleased to announce that i have joined the andre maurice press family and will be working on my first book of poetry this summer.  its titled "riding two cultures" and i can't wait for it to hit the shelves!!  more on that soon...

peace

ella

everyone should go out and read the alchemist by paolo cohelo.  my girl jenn "juniper superstar" armas kept telling me about it until i finally buckled down and read it. i've read it twice now.  its an incredible piece of literature.  it follows the journey of a young man trying to find his personal legend...his treasure...his reason for living.  it takes him on a journey that tests him, allows him to find love and makes him quesiton everything he knows and believes.

what is so profound about this book is this idea: "if one really wants to fullfill his/her personal legend, the whole universe will conspire to help make that happen." i really believe that is so true.  you have to believe that a goal is obtainable for you even make your way towards achieving it.  finding my personal legend has taken some time....i think i've figured it out and i also think that - at least for me - its not one thing.  i think i am supposed to make change in my community.  i believe i have that responsibility.  and right now, i am blessed to have a job which lets me do just that.  i also believe i'm supposed to do some of that through art.  i've realized art cannot be void from my life.  its just not an option.

i've reflected over the past several years about how lucky i was to have a set of mentors who really helped shape who i am.  from high school on, these people were tough and believed in me to their very core.  one pushed me to really better myself as a performer.  another allowed me to merge my new found awareness for social justice with art.  yet another told me that wasting my talent was like pissing on god (i never did that again!).  and finally, another told me to get my act together (no pun intended)...that there were many things in this world i could do as a smart young woman.  he said if there was anything else i could do in the world besides being an artist, i should do it because you should only be an artist if you can't picture yourself doing anything else.  thats why i say "art or die."  art is survival.  edwidge daniticat says it should be "a passion - one that won't be denied, that won't let you sleep, that's almost like breathing."  (essence magazine)  since i was little, its been the only thing i can think about.  when i went to boston to pursue my graduate degree, i thought i could supress all that, but it just kept coming back to me.  so finally i realized i just had to stop fighting it and go with the flow...

peace

ella

hello out there!  thanks for visiting my area in cyberspace, blackwomyn.com.  i hope you enjoy the content here, because i really enjoy making all of it!  i've never been into the blog thing, but i've been getting really inspired lately. 

my most recent inspiration is m.aladin, singer/actress/enterpreneur extraordinaire.  she's recently decided to pursue her art full time and i'd like to make sure eveyone checks out her various spaces and supports her work!

www.mspotonline.com
myspace.com/mspotonline
www.maladin.com
myspace.com/maladin

what i am certain of right now is that all of us (m.aladin, jessica nyel willis and i) are going to make it.  in fact, we've already made it because we are doing things our own way.  we've decided not to wait for the industry to recognize our talents.  we've decided to just go ahead and do our thing.  and that feels really, really good. 

in 2000, i was chosen as an actor-in-residence at the film and video workshops in maine.  the director of the program gave us a pep speech the first night we were there.  he said something that stayed with me.  this is a difficult industry to break into.  he said it will take about 10 years to get to where you want to be.  he said it will take you 8 years to get 20% of the way, but if you hung in there for that, the other 80% could come in the last two years.  sort of like when it rains it pours.  well, next year will be 8 years for me since i have been pursuing this art.  and i definitely feel like i am making more progress more quickly than in the last 7 years.  so here i come.  watch out!  and i'm taking you all along for the ride.

peace