{"id":5074,"date":"2021-10-17T07:22:29","date_gmt":"2021-10-17T06:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=5074"},"modified":"2021-10-17T17:32:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-17T16:32:04","slug":"the-talking-drums-of-the-amina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/the-talking-drums-of-the-amina\/","title":{"rendered":"The Talking Drums of the Amina"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Talking Drum of the Amina (as the ruling Danes called the Akwamu) – the beating according to the code was given to send mesages among the slaves of the islands in a morse code of its time. The signal for the start of the revolt in St. John was given this way along with the firing of the cannon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They echo still, the talking drums:
\nThrough time they echo down…
\nTo those who listen they shall hear
\nThe screams of the soldiers of the Danish Crown<\/p>\n

Who were slain by weapons brought in in wood
\nA trojan horse carried in the arms…
\nBy the slaves who fought or would die for freedoms sake
\nWho toiled often to death on the plantation farms.<\/p>\n

It was not to last – what a six months it was! –
\nThis freedom that they had known!
\nDefeated by the Danes and the French
\nAmong the army: free folk from among their own.<\/p>\n

Some jumped to their death from Amina Hill
\nSooner to be shackled again as slaves
\nMore died in the fight or shot themselves
\nThey lie in unmarked graves.<\/p>\n

Were they born again in thier homelands as they believed?
\nDo they walk again among us today?
\nChristianity says no but we do not know
\nAs to God and Gods we pray.<\/p>\n

Let our prayers be for forgiveness
\nFor our forefathers who then did wrong,
\nLet the talking drums beat into the future
\nTo inspire hope as the beat of Freedoms Song!<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

In one of the many revolts of the slaves on St John in the Virgin Islands, the drumming of the slaves who were of Akwamu ethnicity wasnt just inspiring music, but a code to send messages over and back. They took over the fort by smuggling in weapons in armfuls of timber into the fort, and then overcominging and killing all the guards bar one who escaped. They held out on island for six months, living as free people until Denmark with French help, and some Free Blacks who joined the colonists armies, but them down with brutal force. Some Amina committed suicide sooner than be enslaved again.<\/p>\n

* Akwamu was the ethnicity of the rebels, but were called Amina by the Danes. They back in Africa themselves were a slaveholding society, conquored and sold by their former subjects.<\/p>\n

Ref:<\/strong><\/p>\n

* https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/a6759f73e6b74119ae60a8526e1e64f0
\n* https:\/\/en-academic.com\/dic.nsf\/enwiki\/10654553
\nhttps:\/\/surface.syr.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&context=ant_etd<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They echo still, the talking drums: Through time they echo down… To those who listen they shall hear The screams of the soldiers of the Danish Crown Who were slain by weapons brought in in wood A trojan horse carried in the arms… By the slaves who fought or would …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4309,53,2966,2386],"tags":[4492,4486,4489,4488,4487,2390],"class_list":["post-5074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-black-lives-matter","category-civil-rights","category-racism","category-slavery","tag-akwamu","tag-amina","tag-slaves-revolt","tag-st-john","tag-talking-drums","tag-usvi","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-1jQ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4917,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/harps-of-granard-had-an-echo-far-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":5074,"position":0},"title":"Harps of Granard Had an Echo Far Away","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"10th January 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Airs that filled the Granard air Echo to us this day Fingers danced on the taut strings Of the harps that the harpists play We talk in wonder of the time When our music was nearly lost Yet saved at that festival at that time Yet few know the true\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lesser Known Ireland"","block_context":{"text":"Lesser Known Ireland","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/lesser-known-ireland\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Hapr-of-Erin-Engraving-19th-century.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2326,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/an-irishmans-apology-for-our-part-in-the-international-slave-trade\/","url_meta":{"origin":5074,"position":1},"title":"An Irishman’s Apology (for Our Part In The International Slave Trade)","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"6th November 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The slave ship HMS Glendower brought human cargo to South American and the Indies. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Sorry - one little word, not enough or near it For our part in a history we know little of from school And are taught less, we think it was just the British\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Civil Rights"","block_context":{"text":"Civil Rights","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/civil-rights\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2215,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/blaggards-and-blackguards-slavery-civil-rights-the-irish-and-the-longford-connection\/","url_meta":{"origin":5074,"position":2},"title":"Blaggards and Blackguards, Slavery, Civil Rights, the Irish and the Longford Connection","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"20th August 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was a child, I collected stamps. Sad, I know, but I loved it. One of the counties I got stamps from was Montserrat, the emerald isle of the carribean. A kind worded letter states I could be one of them, Carty being a very common name there, with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mother in her workplace with her colleagues at the 1925 F Street Club, on 1925 F Street, Washington, USA.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Ma-in-America-300x272.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2764,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/whisht-held-well\/","url_meta":{"origin":5074,"position":3},"title":"Whisht Held Well","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"12th June 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Hoult yer whisht\" ~ keep quiet about that A whisht held well, held for too long So none could tell of the wrong and the wronged Silence not alone deafened all to cries but struck dumb A judgemental society about those on the bottom rung By birth, by breeding, by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abortion"","block_context":{"text":"Abortion","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/abortion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Whisht - for a people fond of talking, we keep quiet when we want to about the things we should talk the most about...","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Whisht.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Whisht.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Whisht.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Whisht.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2239,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/bitter-sugar\/","url_meta":{"origin":5074,"position":4},"title":"Bitter Sugar","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"31st August 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The island of St. Croix has a Granard, Annally, Longford, Corn Hill, Cartys, Cartys Point, and Madame Cartys placenames. All very quant and interesting until we realise these were some of the slave owners... A distant isle, where it rarely rains Families in a Granard that never burned Bar neath\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Moral"","block_context":{"text":"Moral","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/moral\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writerscafe.org\/images\/quote_start.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1287,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/freedom-to-be-still-a-slave\/","url_meta":{"origin":5074,"position":5},"title":"Freedom – To Be Still a Slave","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"4th December 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Each man is free, so lucky is he To money to be, a slave so free... But he is not, let it not be forgot Master of his destiny, his lot... Before, his master, cruel, was Communism Today his master, unkind, is Capitalism Before, to speak was his fear Now,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Balkan Odyssey"","block_context":{"text":"Balkan Odyssey","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/travel-poems\/balkan-odyssey\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Freedom monument in Skopje, Macedonia. Defaced with graffitti of a Dollar $ sign, it shows to me how the country is now a slave to capitalism, as bad a tyrant as communism.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Free-To-be-a-Slave-to-Money-220x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5074"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5113,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5074\/revisions\/5113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}