NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2022 6 Keisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer IN THE hustle and bustle of the mid-morning sun, walking along Beckford Street, in SavannaLa-Mar, we came across, Derrick Parchment, a 58-year-old labourer, who was busy talking with his friends before heading off to work. Leaning against a pole, at the steps of a bar, directly across from Sinclair’s Bargain Centre, also known as ‘Hurry Hurry’, one of the oldest stores in the area, Parchment, recalled the early days of an independent Jamaica, when the streets were less congested, and they would put partitions in the road with old kerosene pans and played cricket to their hearts’ content. “Everything has changed,”he said. “There are more businesses and pedestrians, and of course many, many more cars. In early independence days, we would walk everywhere, and when we had to go out of town, we would take the train or the early bus and go to our destinations,” he said. Now, with pedestrians literally tripping over each other to get to their destinations and the town turned into a one way street for traffic purposes, Parchment said everything is now fast paced and less peaceful during the early days. “Let me tell you something: now you can’t find anywhere to walk. When I was a boy, and at Christmas time, we used to come here and enjoy ourselves. We even received gifts from Mr Sinclair, and we definitely looked out for each other,” Parchment said. Parchment also bemoaned the high level of criminal activities not just in the capital city, but across the parish. “When we were growing up, if you heard of someone dying, it would be an older person that has passed on. Now, everybody is dying, and we are very afraid. After certain times, hardly anyone comes out on the street. Everybody lock up their shop and go home,” he lamented. With persons apparently losing respect for each other and themselves over the years, Parchment believes that values and attitudes should be taught in the home, and at school, so that younger people can break the current trend of violence in the communities. “We cannot continue like this. If we want Jamaica to move forward in the next five to 10 years, we have to start with our children and young people. They must have respect for themselves and others just like we did when we were growing up. We must love and help each other, and that will help our communities to grow and we will do better as a country,” he said. In recent years, Savanna-la-Mar has steadily lost its importance as a town to the tourismMecca of Negril. The town was established by the Spanish in 1730 and was named Savanna-la-Mar, meaning‘the plain by the sea’. Savanna-la-Mar currently sports several historic buildings, including the renowned Mannings School. The town’s economic activities centre around sugar, retail, and occasional benefits from the Negril tourism trade. Other places of interest include the courthouse, theWestmoreland Parish Church, The Fountain, and the Old Fort. keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com Paul H. Williams/Gleaner Writer MAROON CULTURE, Rastafari, Revivalism and Kumina are inextricably intertwined with Jamaica’s history and heritage. Their rituals and practices, songs, dance, and drumming are regarded a significant part of Jamaica’s intangible culture, and were some time ago officially recognised as such by the Jamaican Government. Their sensibilities, ethos and practices are separate, confined to their own spaces and time, and it is uncommon to see a confluence of such. One of the few who are straddling two of them at the same time is Robert ‘Sugar’ Farquharson, of Roaring River, Westmoreland. Farquharson was born and bred in Braes River, St Elizabeth, in a Revivalist family, headed by his late aunt, ‘Mother Pryce’, but has been living in Roaring River for over 30 years now. He said he will not differentiate between Revivalismand Rastafari because they are coming fromAfrican retentions, and that Rastafari has its genesis in Revivalism. Regarded a healer, he is also an expert acoustic drummer and drum-maker, who works with “all kinds of different resources”. Standing near to what is left of the foundation of his aunt’s revival church, he said he is a healer who does not announce himself, but attend to those who come to get his assistance. Farquharson said he works with the “spirit of the Almighty, talking to the most high”, and would reach for a Jeremiah leaf or cerasee, and if the ailment is something that he cannot better, PLEASE SEE SUGAR, 7 Robert Farquharson of Roaring River, Westmoreland. NICHOLASNUNES/PHOTOGRAPHER ‘Sugar’ maintaining independence with Rastafari and Revivalism A section of Great George Street, Savanna-la-Mar in the vicinity of the market. FILE Sav resident laments the crime situation in the parish We cannot continue to live like this jamaica at JAMAICA AT 60: WESTMORELAND
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