Educating black Bermudians about the richness of their African heritage and culture is the thrust behind this year's Emancipation Day production, ‘Suleymane's Song, 1765-1835', which is to be performed at Dockyard on July 29.

“We are not only encouraging people to understand their full heritage and to be proud of it, but also we see how slavery destroyed and devastated the family structure,” says Mrs. Heather Whalen, cultural affairs officer at the Cultural Affairs Department, which sponsors the annual event that celebrates emancipation.

Written by well-known Bermudian storyteller Mrs. Florenz Webbe Maxwell, the premise behind the fictitious story of bondsman Suleymane (pronounced sooly-mahnee) is to dispel the stereotyped concept of arriving in the west.

Instead, through word, music and dance, the public will learn that many slaves were actually highly educated, family people who were reduced to mere chattels by western slave owners.

“My story goes beyond (that impression) and looks at where these people came from, what their lives were like before they entered the west, and Suleymane depicts one of those bondspeople,” the author says.

“He came from a very cultured and progressive background, studied at the University of Timbuktu, and was on his way to becoming a leader of his country when he was captured and brought by ship through the Middle Passage to the west where, as a chattel, he was demoralised.

“In the story, Suleymane ended up in the Caribbean where he was bought by a Bermudian and brought here. Also, in Africa he had been in love before he was abducted, so it was dramatic never to see his fianc?e again. He fell in love again in Bermuda, and that is part of the story which is folklore.”

Mrs. Maxwell said the movitating force for the story was her deep concern about “the portrayal of Africa and its effect on black people”.

“If you don't have pride in your background you don't have pride in yourself,” she says. “Many of them have no idea that they come from such a rich background.

“What has always bothered me is that everything is degraded: black people, the language - ‘It's a black thing' - the pictures, the music, so we are now dealing with people who have no concept that someone like Suleymane existed.”

The title of the story reflects the fact that the central character was both a poet and an admirer of David's psalms in the Bible, but who also wrote his own psalms.

Director Dr. Gary Burgess has composed the music and song which, along with dancing choreographed by Eric Bean, is interwoven with Suleymane's narration, and says his inspiration was drawn from 16th century music composed by an ancient music writer of Timbuktu in West Africa, and he notes that while written music is commonly associated with Europe, research indicates that it was actually the ancient Egyptians who were the first to do this.

By way of marking the contrast in the two phases of the bondsman's life, Dr. Burgess' modal music for the African part of Suleymane's story will be very different to that which relates to his western existence.

Describing his role in the project as “exciting”, the director/composer says Mrs. Maxwell's story inspired him so much that he hopes it will lead to something greater.

“This year's production is authentic, and as a result it makes us realise that it can be larger than what we are doing here. It has the potential for growth, and as an opera singer I see it as an opera.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Burgess' excitement is shared by the rest of the Cultural Affairs committee associated with ‘Suleymane's Song', among them Mrs. Shirley Pearman who has been responsible for the research and collation of pictures and illustrations which will be screened before and during the production.

In terms of West Africa, her focus has been those which reflect the depth of civilisation in D'Janne (where Syleymane and his family lived and studied) and Timbuktu (where he also studied), and particularly the amazing architecture, whose structures, some of them three-storey and including mosques, were built of mud bricks, and are still standing today.

Since the Bermuda portion of the story is set in the Harrington Sound area, Mrs. Pearman has collaborated with the Department of Communication and Information on slides which represent the 18th century, including paintings by Thomas Driver courtesy of the Bermuda Archives.

“The shots of Africa are awesome. I don't believe people will have seen them before,” Mrs. Pearman says. “They were resourced from ‘Timbuctoo' (sic) by nineteenth century writer Felix Dubois.”

She notes that added research by the celebrated Harvard black historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. indicates that “D'Jenne was founded in the 12th century (although some historians claim it was the eighth century) and predates Timbuktu, which it also rivalled as the centre of trade and scholarship.

In the Middle Ages D'Janne was equated with Jerusalem and Timbuktu with Paris. Considerable archaeological digs are taking place now and excavations and findings are rewriting the history of West Africa”.

Mrs. Maxwell's son, Dr. Clarence Maxwell, has been invaluable resource in assisting his mother with regard to the authenticity and feasibility of elements of her story.

The Bermudian cast will feature Alan Smith in the role of the elder Suleymane, with lead dancer Tyler Baker portraying him as a young man in Africa.

Eric Bean is choreographing the dance elements which will be performed by six dancers from various dance schools. Nancy Smith (flute), Mandy Wong (keyboards), Kenneth Ebbin (drums), Luanne Wainwright (soprano), and a vocal sextet will perform the music.

“Drama is a means of further educating people about the history of those of African descent and it should be very exciting,” Mrs. Whalen says, who is the producer.

“Education is not restricted to the classroom, so during a beautiful evening in Dockyard people will see history come to life,” Mrs. Pearman adds.

The hour-long production will take place on the eastern lawn adjacent to the Clocktower Building in Dockyard, beginning at 8.30 p.m. Admission is free. Some seating will be provided but patrons are advised to bring whatever they want to sit on. For further information ( 292-9447.