Introduction
The first book on the Land-ship was published in September 2013 by Dr. Editha (Nancy) Fergusson-Jacobs, entitled, "Full Steam Ahead - Locating the Barbados Land-ship". It is a cultural organization which was declared unique to Barbados and was recognized for its contribution to Barbados' intangible heritage by the Government of Barbados. It engages in social activities and is also said to mimic theEarly Land-ship
The Barbados Land-ship was established in 1863. It was formed by Africans living on the plantations tenantries in Barbados after they were emancipated from slavery. The organization provided a safe haven for them to progress out of poverty. Unlike the plantation owners who were compensated for each African that was freed, our African forefathers received nothing. They were kicked off the plantation and assigned to infertile lands called tenantries. They then had to build their own huts and find work to earn money as they endeavored to start from scratch. Many went back to work on the plantation. Skilled workers and artisans became more independent. Many of the benefits which workers receive today were not available to them. There was no pension after working and toiling all their lives on a plantation. There were no welfare services which would allow them some relief. They had no health or life insurance and did not even have the money to bury their dead. It is out of these conditions that the Barbados Land-ship was born. Some say it was the benevolence of their African ancestors brought with them that they employed to support themselves. The Barbados Land-ship is therefore a system of benevolence and cooperation which is based on a small contribution from each member. When pooled together these small contributions became significant and allowed the organization to develop the resources to help each member in times of need.History
The Barbados Land-ship is the oldest serving African-Barbadian organization in existence to date. The first known statistics of its membership was during the 1930s when it was recorded there were three fleets of sixty ships with a membership of over 3,000 men and 800 women. Over the following years, there have been several periods of adjustment with the number of ships and membership fluctuating until at present there is only one ship in 2021 remaining, the Director(located in landlocked Highland, St Thomas Parish) with twenty-four members. After all this time, not much is known by the Barbadian public about the Land-ship outside of its visual impact of lily-white uniforms decorated with colorful cords, and animated performance with the accompaniment of the Tuk Band known as its “engine”. The phenomenon known as the Barbados Land-ship is truly an example of an oxymoron of the English language. This is a combination of two contradictory terms - a marine activity on land. This institution carries within the body of its maneuvers the oldest African-based performance of the journey known as the Middle Passage. This traumatic experience of the enslaved West Africans, who were brought to Barbados mainly during the seventeenth century, created this re-enactment to ensure that their children never forget from whence they came. It demonstrates the predominantly African provenance of the Barbados Land-ship which origins can be traced to the traditional maritime organization of the Fante peoples from the Gold Coast region of Ghana known as theThe organization
The structure of the Land-ship organization mirrors the structure of the British navy, with each unit known as a "ship", which is based at its own "dock" (a wooden house similar to a chattel house), and leaders known as Lord High Admiral, Admiral, Captain, Boatswain, Quarter Master, Commander, Doctor, Matron, Engineer and other navy ranks. Each unit is named after an actual British ship. Land-ship performances symbolize and reflect the experience of the Middle Passage, where Africans were brought from the West Coast of Africa by ships to be slaves in the Caribbean and Americas. Land-ship performances are made up of maneuvers done to commands. These maneuvers are unique to the Land-ship and every movement is of historical significance as if coded in a manner not to be forgotten for generations. The Barbados Land-ship is defined as aThe maypole
The dancing and plaiting of the Maypole are the most spectacular aspect of the Land-ship performance. There are eight participants: four males, led by the King, with the red ribbon, and four females led by the Queen with the white ribbon. The six other ribbon colors are blue and green, yellow and mauve and orange and pink, which are plaited in a clock-wise and counter clock-wise movement, moving over and under each other. The ribbons are plaited around the central post until they become too short to intertwine, and then the weave is reversed to unwind. InDances and maneuvers
While many have referred to Land-ship Dances, the Land-ship does not dance. They perform maneuvers to the command of the Captain while on parade with the Tuk Band (Engine) providing the music to power the ship. They step, they don't dance. Even the Maypole, which many consider a dance is a maneuver based on a set cycle of stepping to plait and unplait the pole. Hence the only commands during the Maypole are to start the plaiting of the pole, to reverse the plaiting and to end the plaiting. The other type of performance done by the Landship on parade is basically a march with commands in-between which changes the pace and the actions of the parading members as they enact the movement of the ship, the piloting of the ship and the activities on board the ship. For example, during the march there would be commands such as: "Rough Seas" - meaning that the ship is going through rough waters and the crew must take corrective action; The Wangle Low - when the crew is exercising on the Deck; and "Man Overboard" - when the crew would spring into action to save the man who fell overboard and revive him.Duties and descriptions of officers.
High command
''The Chief Executive Officer of all Barbados Landships is the highest-ranking officer at the time. The highest achievable rank is the Lord High Admiral. Below are the executive ranks. Collectively these officers make up the executive authority of the Barbados Landship Association'' 1. Lord High Admiral 2. Admiral Second in Command 3. Rear Admiral Third in CommandShip’s officers
Captain: Commanding Officer of a Ship.And the person who takes care of every one. Vice Captain: Second in command of the Ship.Same like the first one. Commander: Prepares the ship to sail. No.1 Officer: Senior Officer on a ship under the Captain and Vice Captain. Boatswain: In charge of the Deck. The boatswain works in a ship's deck department as the foreman of the deck crew. Quarter Master: The Quarter Master is the keeper of property. Each ship has a Quarter Master responsible for uniforms, badges, etc. Master of Arms #1, #2: The security of the ship and ensures that there are no civilians within a specified distance of the Ship. Captain's Valet: Personal Assistant to a Captain. Admiral's Valet: Personal Assistant to an Admiral. Head Nurse: Senior Nurse. Lord Doctor/ Surgery Nurse: Senior Doctor. Doctor/ Matron: Medical Staff. Nurse: Medical Staff. Engineer: Senior Engineer. Navigator #1, #2, #3: Navigates the ship. Sailing Master#1, #2, #3: Operates the sails.Lowest ranks
Captain of the Blues / Deck Girl Captain: Equivalent to a Lance Corporal. Organises the Blue Jackets. Blue Jackets (males) Deck Girls (females): 1st Rank. Equivalent to a private in the navy. Skylight Boy / Skylight Girl Recruits: Carry torches to give light at night; other duties concerning the maintenance of the ship.Lord High Admiral Watson
The present leader of the Landship is former Captain Vernon Watson, who was promoted to Lord High Admiral when the BLA celebrated its 145th anniversary in 2008. Admiral Watson, who was also awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen in 1998 and is a Justice of the Peace, was a keen follower of the landship movement as a young child. His father was Lord High Admiral Nathaniel Watson. Lord High Admiral Watson recalls in the early days that there was a Landship organisation in every parish of Barbados, with great interest among young Barbadians. The Landship was a popular form of merriment and entertainment for villagers and workers on the plantations. He became actively involved in the movement in 1972 when he noticed a state of growing lawlessness among young people in his district and felt there was a need to keep the children active. He approached his father with the idea of forming a Landship in his community as a means of engaging these youths. His father approved of the idea which led to the formation of the Director I, based in Highlands, St. Thomas. Admiral Watson was sworn in as an official member of the Barbados Landship Association on 24 March 1972. During that period, there were five existing Landships: the Rodney, Cornwall, Iron Duke, Queen Mary II, and the Vanguard. When Admiral Watson refloated Director I and became an active member of the Landship, he assisted with forming the Queen Victoria in Rose Hill, St Peter, the Director II in Carrington Village, St Michael and then the Indefatigable in Back Ivy, St Michael. There were some 700 members among these ships, but since that period the vessels have floundered and the Admiral brought all members together to form one ship under one Association, called, the Barbados Landship Association. At present there are 30 active members in the BLA who parade, and overall there are 40 persons involved in the movement, with the original crew of the Director forming the core of the group.Landship activities
The Barbados Landship has performed across the 'length and breadth' of Barbados especially during the heyday of the 1970s and 1980s. They have been on stage atDock gatherings
The headquarters of a Landship is called the Dock. It is usually a small chattel house and would have the painting of a ship on it. Traditionally, every Friday night is Dock night. It is a time when all the members get together and have short meetings, during which they pay dues and conduct Landship business. Afterwards, members socialise until an appointed hour after which they depart the Dock. There is nothing in the rules preventing ships or clubs from designating a convenient day and time for Dock gatherings. Drills and rehearsals are also arranged to the convenience of members and members are required to attend all parades.Parades and performances
The Landship takes part in the Independence Day Parade annually. It also participates in other national parades when called upon to do so. Members are required to present themselves for national parades. This rule is less strict for performances and the Ship may decide how many members will take part in a performance.Benefits
The Landship represents not simply a cultural icon but an institution which strives to be relevant to the very existence of its members. The Landship to the lives of Barbadians was a Credit Union, a Bank, a Welfare Department, a Counsellor, Entertainment on special occasions, a coordinator of training and apprenticeship and, in general, a friend and family when one is needed. Every end of the year, members who performed at the various events are given a bonus. Your bonus will depend on the frequency of attending performances and members are judged according to decorumObjectives
The main objective of the Landship is to provide support for its less fortunate members and incentives for all its members to assist them in achieving their stated potential. However, the Landship is also very much concerned with the general development of its members and endeavours to remain relevant to its members bearing in mind the struggles of the People and their effort to attain economic empowerment.Future of the Barbados Landship
The Lord High Admiral has been instrumental in getting the Landship into the schools and teaching the craft to other groups including the Yoruba Dancers,Yoruba Dancers were the first group to learn and choreograph what is known as Landship Dances. Pinelands Creative Workshop and Dancin' Africa. He welcomes other groups who wish to learn the craft of the Landship. Barbados Association of Non Governmental Organisations (BANGO) has been working with the Barbados Landship for nearly two decades, providing secretariat services in order to enhance the visibility and capacity of this cultural organisation and to help preserve an important aspect of Barbadian culture. The Secretary General of BANGO has placed great emphasis on officially documenting the history of the Landship and was very instrumental in publishing its first book, written by Dr. Editha G. (Nancy) Fergusson-Jacobs in September 2013, to coincide with its 150th Anniversary. Prior to this, he completed the first written record of its rules in 1991 and produced a draft handbook for members, but this remains unpublished. The Barbados Landship continues to be a vital part of the cultural landscape of Barbados and as the organisation celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2013, persons such as Lord High Admiral Watson who continue to "fly the flag" for Barbadian indigenous folk culture must be saluted. The Landship is a testimony to Barbados’ unique history and culture and every effort must be made to ensure that its contribution to this nation is never forgotten.Notes
#Fergusson-Jacobs, Editha (Nancy): "Full Steam Ahead - Locating the Barbados Landship" September, 2013 #Forde, Addington et al.: The A-Z of Barbadian Heritage, MacMillan Caribbean Series, 2004. #Downes, Aviston: “Sailing from Colonial into National Waters: A History of the Barbados Landship.” Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society Vol. XLVI, 2000. “Friendly Societies in Barbados: An Oral History.” (paper); “Searching for Admiral Moses Wood: Oral Tradition and the history of the Landship” Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society Vol. XLVIII, Nov 2002, 64 –78. #Gilmore, John: “Landship and Tuk Band” New Bajan July, 1988. #Lynch, Louis: The Barbados Book. London: Andre Deutsch Ltd., 1969. #Mottley, Elombe: “Ahoy de Landship pon de Reef!” (Article). #Vaughn, H. A: ‘Some Local and Political Changes 1910 – 35.’ In J.M. Hewitt (ed.) Silver Jubilee Magazine (Bridgetown, 1935), 31-32.See also
*References
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