STRANGE FRUIT

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
And the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Lyrics of “Strange Fruit” recorded by Billie Holiday on April 20, 1939 at the Brunswick’s World Broadcasting Studios.

On April 20, 1939 just a few days after her 24th birthday (born April 7, 1915) Billie Holiday recorded “Strange Fruit” at the Brunswick’s World Broadcasting Studios. “Strange Fruit” was revolutionary in 1939 with its lyrics acknowledging the popular White pastime of lynching African Americans. The lynching of African American men, women and children (murdered with unspeakable brutality, often in a celebratory atmosphere) hanged on trees mostly in Southern states during the Reconstruction Era (1865 to 1877) and after was an epidemic. Lynching of African Americans was a pleasurable pastime for White people as evidenced by the innumerable postcards with crowds of proud, smiling/grinning White folks posing with their children under the hanging African American bodies, very pleased with what they had accomplished. This contributed to the “Great Migration” which was the fleeing of approximately 8 million African Americans from the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest and West between 1910 and 1970. In December 1939 one of the most racist movies “Gone With the Wind” was released to “critical acclaim.” “Gone With the Wind” embodied the blatant White supremacist culture of America during and following the Reconstruction Era. The movie glorified the White terrorist organization Ku Klux Klan and the lynching of African Americans in the same year that Holiday sang of the agonizing barbarity of “Strange Fruit.”

“Strange Fruit” is considered an early demand for Civil Rights and was recorded 16 years before Rosa Parks was arrested for breaking the White supremacist law in Montgomery, Alabama. The law at that time relegated African American passengers on public transit to the “Colored” section at the back of any bus and if the “White” section at the front of the bus was full then African Americans sitting in the “Colored” section were compelled to stand so that White passengers could sit. Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in the “Colored” section of a Montgomery, Alabama bus on December 1, 1955.

On April 20, 1939 when Holiday recorded “Strange Fruit” it was 17 years after the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill had been filibustered out of existence by members of the Democratic Party. The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was first introduced in 1918 by Representative Leonidas Carstarphen Dyer, a Republican from St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States House of Representatives as “H.R. 11279.” Anti-Lynching Bill was supposed to ensure punishment for lynching and mob violence. The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress and passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on January 26, 1922, but it was not passed because of a Southern Democratic filibuster in the U.S. Senate. A 1939 poll found that 60 percent of White Southerners believed that lynching African Americans was acceptable. According to official records 3,833 African Americans were lynched between 1889 and 1940. Unofficially, the number was much higher; many instances of this barbaric White pastime were never reported. Not surprisingly Holiday was sometimes subjected to verbal and physical abuse by irate White nightclub patrons when she sang “Strange Fruit.”


White British music journalist Leonard Geoffrey Feather referred to "Strange Fruit" as "the first significant protest in words and music, the first unmuted cry against racism." Ahmet Ertegun the late Turkish businessman who was co-founder and president of Atlantic Records has been quoted referring to Strange Fruit as "a declaration of war… the beginning of the civil rights movement." In January 2003 “Q Magazine” a British music publication, named "Strange Fruit" one of 10 songs that changed the world. In 1999 Time magazine voted "Strange Fruit" the Best Song of the Century. The same Time magazine that 60 years before in 1939 had published a less than flattering article about Billie Holiday and “Strange Fruit.” In 1939 Time Magazine described “Strange Fruit” as "a prime piece of musical propaganda" for the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP.)

On March 19, 2015 the year the United Nations declared the beginning of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024,) Otis Byrd a 54 year old African American man was found hanging from a tree and the authorities were quick to say it was suicide despite protests from Byrd’s family members. On April 20, 2017, 78 years after Billie Holiday recorded “Strange Fruit” there may no longer be that horrific image of “bulging eyes and the twisted mouth” of a lynched African American or the “sudden smell of burning flesh!” but there are many images of the bodies of African American men, women and children who were the victims of extrajudicial killing by police. With no arrest or trial there have been thousands of “Black bodies” laid waste by White police since 22 year old Amadou Diallo’s body was riddled with 19 bullets on February 4, 1999 in New York City. Still “a strange and bitter crop.”

PAUL LEROY BUSTHILL ROBESON

"Hell, 15 years ago I could have boasted that I personally was the most fortunate black man in the world. I had everything. But hell, man, what about my people? What about 10 million Negroes in the South? It's like I told Congressman Francis E. Walter; sure I was a concert idol and Jackie Robinson was a baseball hero, but nobody is going to use our success to make me forget about the masses of my people who've had the white man's foot on their necks for 300 years."

Quote by Paul Leroy Bustill Robeson from interview published in October 1957 edition of Ebony Magazine


Paul Leroy Bustill Robeson was born on April 9, 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey. Robeson was the youngest child of William Drew Robeson and Anna Louisa (née Bustill) Robeson. William Drew Robinson born on July 27, 1845 to enslaved African parents Sabra and Benjamin escaped in 1860 five years before slavery was abolished. In 1867, two years after slavery was abolished William Drew Robinson entered Lincoln University. He worked and paid his way through Lincoln University, received a degree in divinity, and was employed as a pastor at the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian church in Princeton. Anna Louisa Robeson transitioned when Paul Robeson was six and his father moved with his children to Sommerville, New Jersey.

In 1915 at 17 years old Paul Robeson earned a scholarship to Rutgers University, becoming the third African American admitted to Rutgers. In spite of the racism he endured he excelled in football, baseball, basketball, track and field and was the class valedictorian. In his valedictory speech, he challenged his classmates to work towards equality for all Americans.

Robeson attended law school at Columbia University and played professional football (NFL Akron Pros and Milwaukee Badgers) to earn money while attending law school and also took part in amateur dramatics. In 1923 Robeson graduated from Columbia University Law School and retired from professional football. He accepted a position at the Stotesbury and Milner law office in New York. As the only African American in the company, Robeson was subjected to blatant racist abuse from other members of staff. On one occasion, a stenographer refused to work with him saying "I never take dictation from a nigger." Following a meeting with Louis William Stotesbury about this incident Robeson resigned from the firm and never practiced law again.

Robeson had met and married Eslanda Cardozo Goode in 1921 and she had persuaded him to play a role in "Simon the Cyrenian" at the Harlem YMCA in 1921. After deciding not to pursue a career as a lawyer Robeson seriously became involved in acting. He turned to acting as a career, playing the lead in All God's Chillun Got Wings (1924) and The Emperor Jones (1925). He also sang African American spirituals. Robeson was the first to give an entire program of exclusively African American songs in concert and he was one of the most popular concert singers of his time. Robeson played the lead on stage in Othello, in London, England (1930), Toussaint L’Ouverture (1934), and Stevedore (1935). His Othello (1943–44) ran for 296 performances—a remarkable run for a Shakespearean play on Broadway. While playing opposite White actress Mary Ure, he became the first African American actor to play the role in England's Shakespeare Memorial Theater.

During the 1940s, Robeson continued to perform and to speak out against racism, in support of labour and for peace. He was a champion of working people and organized labour. He spoke and performed at strike rallies, conferences and labour festivals internationally. As a passionate believer in international cooperation, Robeson protested the growing Cold War and worked tirelessly for friendship and respect between the U.S. and Russia. J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began to monitor and gather information about Robeson.

On September 12, 1946 Robeson gave an anti-lynching speech at Madison Square Garden in New York City. “This swelling wave of lynch murders and mob assaults against Negro men and women represents the ultimate limit of bestial brutality to which the enemies of democracy, be they German-Nazis or American Ku Kluxers, are ready to go in imposing their will. Are we going to give our America over to the Eastlands, Rankins and Bilbos? If not, then stop the lynchers! What about it. President Truman? Why have you failed to speak out against this evil? When will the federal government take effective action to uphold our constitutional guarantees? The leaders of this country can call out the Army and Navy to stop the railroad workers, and to stop the maritime workers - why can't they stop the lynchers?” Almost two weeks later on September 23, 1946 Robeson led a protest of approximately 3,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, for the American Crusade to End Lynching, a coalition of some fifty organizations from thirty-eight states and dozens of celebrities. Following the rally he led a delegation of the American Crusade to End Lynching to see Harry S. Truman to demand that he sponsor anti-lynching legislation. He also became involved in the campaign to persuade African Americans to refuse the draft. During this period when dissent was scarcely tolerated (especially from African Americans) in the U.S.A and Robeson publicly questioned why African Americans should fight in the army of a government that tolerated racism he became a marked man. He was accused by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) of being a Communist. The accusation almost ended his career. His concerts were cancelled and in 1949 two outdoor concerts in Peekskill, N.Y. were attacked by racist White mobs while state police stood by. Robeson responded by saying: "I'm going to sing wherever the people want me to sing...and I won't be frightened by crosses burning in Peekskill or anywhere else."


In 1950, the U.S. government revoked Robeson's passport, leading to an eight-year battle to recover his passport since he could not travel without a passport. Unable to travel abroad and prevented from performing in the USA, Robeson's income dropped from $104,000 in 1947 to $2,000 in 1950. During those years Robeson published his autobiography “Here I Stand” (1958.) In her 1981 published book “The Whole World in His Hands” Robeson’s granddaughter Susan Robeson writes: “From 1950 to 1958, an official but effective ban on Robeson concerts was imposed and his passport was taken away, because of his outspoken political ideas. His active creative life came to a standstill – a devastating situation for any artist, especially an artist of his enormous talents.” In 1952 and 1953, he held two concerts at Peace Arch Park on the U.S. - Canadian border (without a passport, Canadian officials refused to permit his entry to Canada) singing to approximately 40,000 people in both countries. In 1957, he made a transatlantic radiophone broadcast from New York to coal miners in Wales. In 1960, Robeson made his last concert tour to New Zealand and Australia. The government harassment took a toll on his health and Paul Robeson retired from public life in 1963. On January 23, 1976 at 77 years old Robeson transitioned in Philadelphia and his funeral was held at the historic African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church in Harlem.

Robeson paved the way for African American actors like Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte and Denzel Washington. He was the forerunner of African American activists like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., El Hajj Malik El Shabazz and Mohammed Ali. Harry Belafonte was one of the pall bearers at Robeson’s funeral and in an article published in Ebony Magazine, April 1976 said: "If there had been no Paul Robeson, there would be no me." In an interview with Ebony Magazine published in November 2015 for its 70th Anniversary edition Harry Belafonte said: "I was very fortunate in my earliest of years. I was touched by the presence of a man named Paul Robeson. He was a mentor to me, one of the great figures of the 20th century. It was he who connected with a group of then-young artists—Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier—at the American Negro Theater in Harlem and would help them to become some of the world’s most engaged activists. Robeson said something that made an indelible impact on my life: ‘Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. They are civilization’s radical voice and moral compass.’”

Paul Leroy Bustill Robeson born on April 9, 1898 was an artist who was one of “the gatekeepers of truth” he was also one of “civilization’s radical voices and moral compass.” There are not too many of them around today!

AFRICAN WOMEN WEARING HEADWRAPS

"Aunty can you take off your headwrap?" The question came seemingly out of the blue; no leadup just the question! "Why would I take off my headwrap?" was my puzzled comeback question. "Because I have never seen your hair." This was part of a conversation I had with my sister Carol's youngest child Ingvar as we (Carol, Carol's daughter Brandi, my youngest sister Coralee and I) were about to board an airplane to travel to Edmonton, Alberta in July, 2016. "My hair looks just like your mother's hair and just like Aunty Cora's hair; you do not need me to take off my headwrap!" the conversation with my nephew continued as I realized that I had been wearing a headwrap since my nephew was a baby and he had never seen me without a headwrap! Almost 20 years have passed since I made a conscious effort to always wear a headwrap. I had worn headwraps occasionally for special occasions before I decided that wearing a headwrap would be as essential as wearing clothing. I made that decision after spending many months (during rehearsals and performances) wearing a headwrap/gele in my role as the matriarch Madame Bambina Ajanaku (http://artword.net/website/Theatre/1999-2000/our_husband.htm) in the Ola Rotimi play "Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again" 1999 -2000. 

 

The headwrap or gele/ichafu (Nigeria,) duku (Malawi, Ghana,) dhuku (Zimbabwe,) tukwi (Botswana,) chitambala (Zambia) has been worn by African women for centuries. In some African cultures the headwrap of a woman has meaning depending on how it is tied. A headwrap can identify a woman as single, a married woman, a widow or a grandmother. In some cases the headwraps are improvised and may have no traditional meaning attached to them except that the wearer is expressing pride in their African culture. Most African women in the Diaspora wear headwraps to express awareness and pride in their Africanness. Many of the cultural meanings were lost, forcibly and brutally stripped from Africans in the Diaspora during slavery. The meaning attached to wearing headwraps in African socities was one of those casualties!

 

In one of the more famous cases of how the headwrap lost its African meaning during slavery and gained a new meaning in a slave society was the passing of the “Tignon Law.” In 1785-1786 during the Spanish colonization of Louisiana the “Tignon Law” was passed by Governor Esteban Rodriguez Miró. The “Tignon Law” compelled enslaved African women and those who were free to wear a “tignon” or headwrap whenever they appeared in public. The law was made so that White looking enslaved women and “free women of colour” could be distinguished from White women at a glance by what they wore on their heads. The infamous “one drop” rule was (and still is to some extent) very much a part of the history of African enslavement. Some of the enslaved women throughout North America looked White enough to “pass for White” and were indistinguishable from White women except for the fact that it could be proven that some of their ancestors had been enslaved Africans.

In the culture of Louisiana there was a unique system which led to the passing of the “Tignon Law.” The unique system of Louisiana was the plaçage system where a White man would buy an enslaved African woman and keep her solely for a sexual “relationship.” The women were bought at “Quadroon Balls” or “Octoroon Balls” given especially so that White men could choose to buy a light skin (almost White) enslaved woman. The women were known as “placées” in this unique plaçage system. The children who were born of these “relationships” were also enslaved and were the property of their fathers and the girls would frequently be sold by their White owners/fathers at these "Quadroon Balls" or "Octoroon Balls."

There were various terms used to identify the children depending on the amount of “African blood” in their “pedigree.” Mulatto 1/2, Quadroon ¼ and Octoroon 1/8 were popular terms but then there were those with 1/16 and 1/32 amount of “African blood” who were White in appearance and except for the fact that they were connected to an enslaved African ancestor were White.

It was practically impossible to just look at a woman classed as an “Octoroon” and know that she was not White except if she was wearing a tignon. Historian Virginia M. Gould notes that Miró hoped the law would control women “who had become too light skinned or who dressed too elegantly, or who, in reality, competed too freely with white women for status and thus threatened the social order.”

 

To the surprise and chagrin of Governor Miro and White Louisiana, the women who were compelled to wear the tignon embraced the tignon and made it fashionable. The tignon was proudly worn, fashionably and intricately tied. Brightly coloured fabrics were used and the tignons were decorated with jewelry, feathers, ribbons etc., What was supposed to be a badge of shame and inferiority became a fashion statement. With the transfer of New Orleans to US control in 1803 following the Louisiana Purchase the "Tignon Law" no longer applied. Yet, according to African American historian Lisa Ze Winters

 

(in the 2016 published book “The Mulatta Concubine: Terror, Intimacy, Freedom, and Desire in the Black Transatlantic") the women who had been compelled by law to wear the tignon continued to voluntarily wear it. They had claimed it and made it their own.

In Suriname, a country in South America once colonized by the Dutch, enslaved African women also wore headwraps and gave it their own unique twist. The "angisa" worn by African Surinamese women can be tied to send various messages including  the very popular style "let them talk." 

Since we are in the middle of April 2017  and the weather is warming up there is hardly any need for me to huddle under the hood of my winter coat. So I plan to become more ambitious/adventurous with my style of headwrap and practice the Surinamese style "let them talk!"

When I first began wearing a headwrap it would take approximately 10 minutes standing in front of a mirror to get it "just right." Now I can tie my headwrap in two seconds without benefit of a mirror if need be. Practice makes perfect and I am practicing. It might even encourage my fashion conscious sisters to begin wearing headwraps especially when they realize that a headwrap can send a message without having to say a word!

THE WOMEN OF EASTER

Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday are all part of Holy Week and the most sacred time of the Christian calendar. Where does the Easter Bunny, chocolate eggs and fluffy yellow chickens come into this holy week? I will get to that.

Before 325 AD, Easter was celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the first full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox. Beginning in 325 A.D. with the Council of Nicaea, the Western Church decided to establish a more standardized system for determining the date of Easter. As astronomers were able to approximate the dates of all the full moons in future years, the Western Christian Church used these calculations to establish a table of Ecclesiastical Full Moon dates. These dates would determine the Holy Days on the Ecclesiastical calendar. The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in A.D. 325. The Council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.

Though modified slightly from its original form, by 1583 A.D. the table for determining the Ecclesiastical Full Moon dates was permanently established and has been used ever since to determine the date of Easter. Thus, according to the Ecclesiastical tables, the Paschal Full Moon is the first Ecclesiastical Full Moon date after March 20 (which happened to be the vernal equinox date in 325 A.D.). So, in Western Christianity, Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the Paschal Full Moon. The Paschal Full Moon can vary as much as two days from the date of the actual full moon, with dates ranging from March 21 to April 18. As a result, Easter dates can range from March 22 through April 25 in Western Christianity. There is also an Eastern Christian Church whose members celebrate Easter using a different calendar resulting in different dates for their Holy Week.

All that aside, Easter is supposed to recognize/commemorate the crucifying of (Jesus of Nazareth) Christ and his resurrection 3 days later. According to the Christian Holy book, the Bible, Jesus was crucified by the Roman state, the government of the Roman Empire. Death by crucifixion was reserved for those convicted of treasonous acts against the state. The crucifixion reportedly took place in Jerusalem on April 7, 30 CE or April 3, 33 CE. It is recorded in all four gospels of the New Testament: Mark 15:22-32; Matthew 27:33-44; Luke 23:33-43; and John 19:17-30. The execution was ordered by the Roman government of Judea represented by Pontius Pilate (possibly the Governor) on the charge of sedition (treason) against the Roman Empire during the rule of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar Augustus.

This information comes from the New Testament of the Bible from the books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Even though Mary Magdalene was one of the earliest and most devoted followers of Jesus, was among the few who saw him die on the cross and was the first person to see him alive after his resurrection there are no books with her name. Not even one, the books are all male. The women really get short shrift here even though according to the New Testament books five women arrived at Jesus’ tomb before any of his male followers. These women did all the work of spreading the news and Jesus appeared to them before he did so to any of his male followers.
The reported sequence of events three days after the crucifixion: 1. Five women arrive at the tomb 2. They see the stone is moved 3. They go inside and see that Jesus' body is not there 4. The angels talk to them 5. They split into two groups to tell the disciples 6. Mary Magdalene runs to tell Peter and John 7. Peter and John run to the tomb 8. Mary Magdalene follows them to the tomb 9. They go into the tomb 10. They see and believe the tomb is empty (but not that Jesus rose) 11. Peter and John go to Bethany 12. Mary Magdalene weeps at the tomb 13. The angels talk to her again 14. Jesus appears to her 15. She sets out to Bethany to tell the disciples she saw Jesus 16. Meanwhile, Jesus appears to the other four women 17. They arrive in Bethany and tell the disciples they saw Jesus 18. The disciples do not believe the women 19 Mary Magdalene arrives in Bethany and tells them she saw Jesus 20. They do not believe her either. Somewhere along the line they were convinced because Easter is a time that is honoured by nearly all of contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

With all that; how did it come to now when Easter is a holiday that often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an "Easter Ham", decorated eggs and stories about rabbits? From celebrating the day when Jesus arose from the dead to decorated eggs, chocolate eggs, rabbits, cross buns and ham we have to go back a bit to the goddesses Ishtar, Eastre, Eoestre, Oestre and Ostara. Or are they the same goddess with many names?

Ishtar was the goddess of romance, procreation and war in ancient Babylon while a similar Saxon goddess was known Oestre or Eastre and in Germany there was Ostara. Since these were fertility goddesses naturally there would be some eggs involved there. Eoestre is also considered the origin of the word estrogen the female hormone. Her symbol is a rabbit, which has a connection to the modern-day Easter bunny. The pagans worshipped the goddess Eostre by serving tiny cakes, often decorated with a cross at their annual spring festival.

The history of Easter as we know it today seems to be a mix of the Christian faith and some related practices of the early pagan religions. Easter history and traditions that we practice today evolved from pagan symbols, from the ancient goddesses to Easter eggs, the Easter bunny and hot cross buns.

Easter, the most important of the Christian holidays, celebrates Christ's resurrection from the dead following his death on Good Friday and a rebirth that is commemorated around the vernal equinox, historically a time of pagan celebration that coincides with the arrival of spring and symbolizes the arrival of light and the awakening of life around us.
The Easter of bunny rabbits and eggs is named for the Babylonian goddess Ishtar and/or the Saxon goddess also known by the names of Oestre or Eastre and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She was also a goddess of the dawn and the spring and words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east are also derivatives of her name.

Ostara was, of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion for new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of babies, both animal and human. The rabbit was supposedly her sacred animal. Given their ability to produce up to 42 offspring each spring, it is not surprising that rabbits are a symbol of fertility.

Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny featured in the spring festivals of Ostara, which were also held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar. Eggs are an obvious symbol of fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of new growth. Brightly colored eggs, chicks and bunnies were all used at festival time to express appreciation for Ostara's gift of abundance. The history of Easter Eggs as a symbol of new life should come as no surprise.

In ancient times in Northern Europe, eggs were a potent symbol of fertility and often used in rituals to guarantee a woman's ability to bear children. Rural "grannywomen" (lay midwives/healers in the Appalachian mountains) still use eggs to predict, with uncanny accuracy, the gender of an unborn child by watching the rotation of an egg as it is suspended by a string over the abdomen of a pregnant woman. Dyed eggs are given as gifts in many cultures. Decorated eggs bring with them a wish for prosperity and abundance during the coming year.

In anticipation that the arrival of spring with its emerging plants and wildlife would provide them with fresh food in abundance, it was customary for many pagans to begin fasting at the time of the vernal equinox, clearing the "poisons" (and excess weight) produced by the heavier winter meals that had been stored in their bodies over the winter. This practice of fasting might very well have been a forerunner of "giving up" foods during the Lenten season.

Easter eggs, the Easter Bunny, the dawn that arrives with resurrection of life, and the celebration of spring all serve to remind us of the cycle of rebirth and the need for renewal in our lives. In the history of Easter, Christian and pagan traditions are gracefully interwoven. The role and symbolism of the female during Easter is not widely advertised but it is very much a part of the history. Have a happy Easter!

CELEBRATING EASTER IN GUYANA

In the Guyana of my youth we enjoyed two weeks of Easter Holidays instead of March or Spring Break. Guyana does not have four seasons and the weather hardly changes between the two (rainy and dry) seasons. I recently checked and yes schools in Guyana will be enjoying two weeks of Easter Holidays so at least that tradition continues. Unlike Easter in Canada, there was no Easter Bunny nor were there any eggs, chocolate or otherwise, in the Guyanese Easter celebration. Although Easter is supposed to be a Christian holiday, the Easter bunny has no connection to Christianity. The word Easter is also pagan, supposedly from the pagan fertility goddess Ishtar (Babylonian) or Eastre (Anglo-Saxon.) There are actually several goddesses from various nations who are credited with lending their names to the Easter celebration as we know it in North America. Until I immigrated to Canada Easter was a time for people to attend church and Good Friday was the holiest day of the year when everything was closed. Imagine my surprise to find that in Canada Easter is a holiday that often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an "Easter Ham," decorated eggs and stories about rabbits. I often wondered how Easter as I knew it transformed from commemorating the period when Jesus was crucified and arose from the dead to decorated eggs, chocolate eggs, rabbits and ham. My research led me to the goddesses Ishtar, Eastre, Eoestre, Oestre and Ostara. Or they might be the same goddess with different names. Ishtar was the goddess of romance, procreation and war in ancient Babylon while a similar Saxon goddess was known as Oestre or Eastre and in Germany there was Ostara. Since these were fertility goddesses naturally there would be some eggs involved. Eoestre is also considered the origin of the word estrogen the female hormone. Her symbol is a rabbit which has a connection to the modern-day Easter bunny. The pagans worshipped the goddess Eostre by serving tiny cakes, often decorated with a cross at their annual spring festival; maybe a forerunner of cross buns.

The history of Easter as we know it today seems to be a mix of the Christian faith and some related practices of the early pagan religions. Easter history and traditions that are practiced today in Canada evolved from pagan symbols, from the ancient goddesses to Easter eggs, the Easter bunny and cross buns.

Easter, the most important of the Christian holidays, celebrates Christ's resurrection from the dead following his death on Good Friday and a rebirth that is commemorated around the vernal equinox, historically a time of pagan celebration that coincides with the arrival of spring and symbolizes the arrival of light and the awakening of life around us. The Easter of bunny rabbits and eggs is named for the Babylonian goddess Ishtar and/or the Saxon goddess also known by the names of Oestre or Eastre and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She was also a goddess of the dawn and the spring and words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east are also derivatives of her name.

It is not surprising that Ostara was also a goddess of fertility. Signalling the end of winter after the vernal equinox with the days growing longer and brighter Ostara’s presence was credited for the flowering of plants and the birth of babies both animal and human. The rabbit was supposedly the sacred animal of Ostara. Given their ability to produce up to 42 offspring each spring, it is not surprising that rabbits are a symbol of fertility.

Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny featured in the spring festivals of Ostara which were also held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar. In appreciation of Ostara's gift of rejuvenated life brightly coloured eggs, chickens and bunnies were all used during the spring festivals. The history of Easter Eggs as a symbol of new life should come as no surprise.

In ancient times in Northern Europe, eggs were a potent symbol of fertility and often used in rituals to guarantee a woman's ability to bear children. Dyed eggs are given as gifts in many cultures. Decorated eggs were used as a wish for prosperity and abundance during the coming year. In anticipation that the arrival of spring with its emerging plants and wildlife would provide them with fresh food in abundance, it was customary for many pagans to begin fasting at the time of the vernal equinox, clearing the "poisons" (and excess weight) produced by the heavier winter meals that had been stored in their bodies over the winter. This practice of fasting is probably a forerunner of "giving up" foods during the Lenten season.

Christianity is Guyana's dominant religion because of the country’s colonial history. The colonial European administrators made Christianity a prerequisite for social acceptance and in many cases education and employment. Enslaved Africans, stripped of their languages, names, cultures and religious practices, were forced to embrace the foreign beliefs of their enslavers. After several generations, this was all that many of them knew. The arrival of indentured labourers after the abolition of slavery, East Indians/South Asians from the Indian sub-continent (May 5, 1838) and Chinese (January 12, 1853) with their language, religion and culture intact did not lessen the British/Christian stranglehold on Guyanese culture. The first group of Portuguese indentured labourers arrived in Guyana (May 3rd, 1835) with a Catholic celebration of Easter. For generations, embracing Christianity was the means of achieving an education in schools founded and run by missionaries so it is not surprising that Easter a supposedly Christian celebration has been embraced by Guyanese of every religious belief and race. After the solemnity of Good Friday, the day that the faithful believe Jesus was crucified and Easter Sunday, when those who could afford attended church in their best, new outfits, everyone looked forward to Easter Monday and kite flying.

Kite flying even though not a British activity was part of the Guyanese Easter ritual for people living on Guyana’s coastland. The seawall at Kitty, Georgetown and # 63 Beach on the Courentyne coast were two of the most famous places for kite flying in Guyana. Extended families with several generations (children, parents, grandparents, even great grand parents) would pack baskets of food and spend the day socializing with family, friends, neighbours and sometimes strangers as they flew their kites.

Easter in Guyana's interior (Rupununi) is very different from Easter on the coastland. There is no kite flying except for those families who move from the coastland to the interior. The annual Rupununi Rodeo at Lethem is the highlight of Easter in the Rupununi where Guyana shares a border with Brazil. Lethem, the Guyana-Brazil border town is host to the Rupununi Rodeo where vacqueros (cowboys) from the various ranches of the Rupununi region compete for vacquero supremacy. Some of the activities at the rodeo include bareback horse riding, cattle roping, bronco-taming, bull-riding, wild-cow–milking and catching the greasy pig! Thousands of spectators gather from across the Rupununi savannas to attend the annual Easter Rupununi Rodeo in Lethem and Brazilians cross the Takutu River to attend this spectacular Easter event also. In modern times no one has to risk life and limb to cross the Takutu River from Brazil to Guyana. The Takutu River Bridge (Portuguese: Ponte do Rio Tacutu) is a bridge across the Takutu River linking Lethem in Guyana to Bonfim in Brazil. Takutu River Bridge/Ponte do Rio Tacutu was opened on July 31, 2009. Easter in the Rupununi is so different from Easter on the coastland of Guyana that it is almost as if the celebration was held in two countries. My family was very fortunate to live on the coastland of Guyana and also in the Rupununi and enjoyed Easter flying kites at the Kitty seawall in Georgetown (on the coastland) and attending the Rupununi Rodeo! Whether we were living on the coastland or the Rupununi one thing remained constant; the Easter holidays meant two weeks away from school!!