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TACKY, THE FIRST UNSUNG HERO OF JAMAICA
TACKY, THE FIRST UNSUNG HERO OF JAMAICA
A Song For Heroes ‘ Day)
Children, Children! Come sit by me!
Here I rest under my own ackee tree,
Gather now around , right around me,
You don’t know how far you’re reaching.
If you don’t care from where you’re coming.
I bring Tacky here today, so listen;
Though two hundred and fifty years have gone,
His memory is as fresh as a green tree;
And though we can’t find where lay his bones,
His spirit still lives and roams so free.
He is the best to tell how his story went.
Now, Tacky, here are the children,
All have gathered around with eager ears;
That they can’t see you, they are disappointed,
That they can hear you, they are glad.
Tell them your story, Tacky ,
How you were once a sad slave in this land.
Life for you was tough and cruel.
The children, I hope, will understand.
Books by the English did not make you a hero.
For them you were a malcontented rebel slave;
They did not see you as the first freedom fighter,
In a harsh, slave – cursed and lonely island.
Tell us your story, Chief Tacky.
Tell how you fought and died as a man.
“Children, Children!” said the ghost of Tacky,
“Listen to me and most keenly.
As I enter your eager minds ;
You are nothing without history,
If to past events you are blind.
I was a warrior chief in my beloved Africa,
Of the tribe of the proud Koromantee.
But spear and shield could not win
Against the guns of rapacious men.
I could have fled and be free,
I chose to be shackled with my friends.
In seventeen-sixty, I led a war ,
On the Monday of the Christian Easter.
We captured Fort Haldane in Port Maria,
And thus obtained guns and powder ,
Burnt Heywood Hall Estate and Esher,
And slave masters we did slaughter.
At Ballards Valley joined by more revolters.
We would have been victorious,
If one of our own had not betrayed us.
At Bagnolds , we ambushed the Red Coats,
They sought the Maroons to aid them.
The fight for freedom spread like wild fire,
From St, Thomas to Hanover we battled.
They were afraid of us, the militia and slavers,
But, though brave, we were defeated..
In Westmoreland and St. James, they hanged us,
They dealt with us most ruthlessly.
There was a woman by the name of Cubba.
She led the army in Kingston Town ,
She was our first woman hero,
They killed her disgracefully.
I was wroth how slaves were treated,
Torn from their family and friends,
Their names and language forbidden ,
Burnt and branded like stupid cattle.
Beaten and shackled like wild beasts.
Their masters had little bits of paper,
That said as chattel they bought or sold us .
I was a hero in my day. Children,
If there are writers to be among you.
In history books , that you must write,
I need you to change the picture .
Do tell the tale of unsung heroes
Not of hanged rebellious slaves.
I, Tacky, chose to be shot as a free man.
Rather than to be hanged as a slave.”
In books they wrote famous men fought to set us free.
They wrote to aggrandize their own as noble men.
They ignored to tell that we ourselves
Had started the fight for Emancipation.
Where ten slaves used to cut the canes.
They soon had to use twenty men.
Despite the whip that scored our skins,
We were the inventors of go slow.
We often burnt the canefields.
Thus, were the first to practice labour strikes.
Sabotage wasn’t a name we knew.
But we ruined the mills just the same.
We knew not about bankruptcy,
But many a planter we broke.”
Now, Children, let us thank Tacky.
He told us the story as it should .
You’ve got to write the history books
That tell of courage and sacrifice.
Many there were led by Tacky.
They died as heroes unsung and forgotten.
Abuse not the liberty for which they fought,
Be not boorish, idle., wasteful nor corrupt,
If you want good your nose must run..
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Heroes' Day is celebrated on a Monday of October. It is a public or national holiday to celebrate Jamaican heroes. Visit Wikepedia for more information about Chief Tacky.
Last edited by cousinsoren 10-16-2010 at 11:00:29 AM
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