"An Echo in the Bone" by Dennis Scott

More about the author Dennis Scott

According to various sources Dennis Scott was a creative Jamaican poet that was born in Kingston, Jamaica on the 16th of December (1939) and he died at the age of 51 (1986) . Dennis Scott was one of the most significant poet that wrote in the post-independence period in Jamaica.He was not only creative but he was also educated. He attended the University of West Indies at Mona and The University of Newcastle-upon tyne. Dennis Scott was a Director of the Jamaica School of Drama , and was visiting Associates Professor of Play writing at Yale School of Drama. During his secondary school days Dennis was a head boy at the Jamaica College. Scott dedication to teaching others about the significance poetry writing lead him to publish various poems that many people can relate to. Scott wrote his first book in (1973) in his first published collection  named "Uncle Time," where he won his first award which was the "Commonwealth Poetry Prize", he got this ward based off of his ability to effectively use his language of "Creole" in his poems: sticking to his culture and ethnicity.

Slavery in "An Echo in the Bone"

Dennis Scott "An Echo in the bone" that was set in 1930's and performed in the 1970's is also known as "Recalling the Dead". He knew that the main cause of black people anger towards the past was slavery. Scott wrote this book to make people understand the present in terms of the past. Scott realized that we West Indians had been too caught up in the past , not letting go and moving on.Therefore according to  Paul Ricoeur says in Time and Narrative, "history aims at knowledge, an organized vision, established upon chains of causal or teleological! relationships on the basis of meanings and values. According to "Plantation Life", the condition of the plantation was bad because its never right to enslave someone that is innocent, and it also stated that " Field hands tended to be labelled as unskilled, but their efforts were complemented by those of others. The plantations depended on skilled slaves – masons, joiners, coopers, metalworkers – to keep factories, fields, equipment and transport prepared and functioning. The needs of the wider slave community were served by other vital workers: cooks, nurses and seamstresses.  Those who were skilled and experienced in agriculture were often responsible for important decisions on plantations: when cane was ready to harvest, when sugar juices were ready, when tobacco leaves were ideal for picking, how best to pack, load and transport the commodities grown on the plantation." The Slaves used slave religion as a form of resistance because they encoded songs to provide secret messages of how 
to run away  by using an Underground Railroad.

Slavery Terms and Definition 

Toussaint L'Ouvenerture-  Francios Dominique  was a Haitian revolutionary leader. He was one of the leaders of Rebellion in the year (1791). He emancipated the island slaves.

Emancipation- this is the proess of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions" liberation.

A Wake- this is a celebration for the person that has died, this is like a feast after the funeral.

Nine Night Tradition-This s a ceremony of the dead, a wake-like ritual practiced by many of the syncretist Revival cults of Jamaica, but particularly by the followers of Pocomania. The ritual is celebratory. Family and friends who have gathered remember the past life at its best. The ritual also aims to free the dead so that the spirit may move onward to the next stage in afterlife.

Obeah- is a form of black magic, basically witch craft

Going Back in time

-Back in the days the Caribbean people would mourn by having a "wake " for the deceased person, celebrating the life they lived on earth.  This is why music is so significant to the West Indians because it is apart of our African culture, Music is a formal way of expressing ones self therefore the slaves used singing as there escape code as a form of rebellion, to be set free from slavery.

-The purpose of the Chorus is display the tragic events in the story "An Echo in the Bone". This book spoke on the reality of what we black people had to endure. It displayed the tragedy of our past ancestors being brutally abused for the colour of their skin, the way they looked, the way they talked and the way they walked. It was all about the tragedy of racism and its affect on not only the living but also the dead.

-According to the "Eyewitness to History " A slave trade is labor-intensive agriculture of the New World demanded a large workforce.  The various Crops such as sugar cane , tobacco and cotton were obtained unlimited and cheap supply of strong backs to assure timely production for the European market. Slaves from Africa were offered this solution. The slave trade was between Western Africa and the America's reached it peak in the mid 18th century when it is estimated that over 80,000 Africans annually crossed the Atlantic to spend the rest of their lives in chains because they rather not be on the plantation.