|
|
 |
| SEE
ALSO |
|
|
An
interview with Norman Samuda-Smith
Get
the lowdown on how to speak Patois
An
intro to the Rastafarian faith
Rastafarian
festivals and holy days
|
|
| WEB
LINKS |
|
|
Norman
Samuda-Smith website
Tindal
Street Press
The BBC is not responsible for the content
of external websites.
|
|
| FACTS |
|
|
Whispers
in the walls - 17 stories from the pens and hearts of
Black and Asian writers in Birmingham.
Tindal
Street Press - now an established publishing house, grew
out of the Tindal Street Fiction Group, founded in 1983. With
funding, the Press has now embarked on an expansion of its
early publishing activities from 2002, with six fiction titles
with a regional focus planned each year. Its aim is to raise
Birmingham's cultural profile, showcase new writers and build
a readership for good, locally set fiction.
Awards
- Chosen by World Book Day 2003 as one of 10 ‘books that
say the most about contemporary England’ * Winner of
the Arts Ball ‘Celebrating Cultural Diversity’ Award
* 5 stories broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2002
|
|
| PRINT
THIS PAGE |
|
| View
a printable
version of this page. |
|
 |
|
|
|
About
Rasta Love...
‘Rasta
Love’, written in Patois, is a love story based in Small
Heath Birmingham. It's set in the mid 1970s, amidst the energy
crisis, mass union strikes, redundancies and record unemployment.
Within
the black communities of England, a religious revival is happening,
the Rasta musical uprising in Jamaica is influencing the first
generation of black British-born youth to follow the teaching
and glory of Rastafari...
Talking
Patois...
If
you need to brush up on you Patois, take a look at our Patois
words and phrases.
|
|
Rasta
Love
Norman Samuda-Smith
|
It was winter 1974, minus six degress and still dropping rapid,
while de heavy frost dat sekkle pon de pavement was glistening.
De dustman dem deh pon strike fe well over a week now.
Nobody believe how much rubbish can accumulate in nine days.
Every street yuh walk down all you see is jus pile ah rubbish everywhere.
De miner dem a seh dem want to guh pon strike too, dat gwine lead
to power cuts again;and we all know wha dat mean - no dance!
Nuff
bredrin and sistren file out the dance on St Oswalds Road. De bredrin
dem sporting dem ites, gold and green crowns, scarves and belts
as dem bop wid pride along de icy pavement inna dem clarks boats
and ting. De sistren dem majestically wearing dem head-wraps in
various shape size and colour, wid dem long skirt, full-length sheepkin
coat and fe dem Clarks boots, glide ‘longside de bredrin dem.
Every
Friday night nuff ah dem would get off de number 8 bus at de Golden
Hillock Road, Coventry Road junction inna Small Heath around eight.
Dem destination: St Oswald’s Road dance hall to hear de musical
bible of Rastafari featuring Small Heath baddess yout’ sound,
Ital Nyah. Dere was pure vibes every week.
De
following Friday, St Oswalds was ram. Members of other yout’
sounds gather to learn fe entertain de people wid pure dub-wise
and pre-release roots music. While dem listen and learn, de treble
section ring inna dem ears, de bass shake dem trouziz and rattle
dem ches’; de lyrics educate and mek dem mediate. Pure peace
and love inna de dance as de congregation rock cool and easy to
every rhythm dat touch down. De Ital Nyah followers stand up surrounding
dem amp-case as Pedro, de operator at de control tower, mix and
blend de music, teasing the crowd wid pure treble.
Halfway
through a tune, him give dem a full dose ah bass and shake everything
in it’s path. De selector dem, Beres and Robbo, dig deep inna
de record box to find a nex’ hypnotizing tune, and Errol, cool
and easy, chat him owna lyrics inna style and fashion dat taste
like milk and honey to de dance-hall crowd.
"Yes
crowd ah people, yuh tune into de baddess yout’ sound, Ital
Nyah sound and we nuh wear no frown! Don’t f’get, tommorow
night all roads lead to St Agatha’s church hall, right down
dere inna Sparkbrook way! In tune to de might Jah Shaka from London
town versus Mafia Tone Hi-Fi from Lozells! Is one fifty pon de door,
security tight. So mek it a date and don’t be late cah Shaka
gwine trow down dub plate dat no other sound can imitate, seen?
So nuh worry bout de energy crisis, nuh worry bout unemployment
and redundancy. Don’t yuh know, Jah will work it out seen?
JAH!’"
"RASTAFARI!"
de crowd reply.
|
