I think mention might already have been made regarding the ever-present
nature of cannabis-containing concoctions available to those at the Rasta
compound, whether resident or guest. One was a mixture of about twenty
parts chopped cannabis flowers to about one part wild tobacco leaf, from
plants found in the compound's environs. that mixture was used for smok-
ing; in joints (rare there) splifs (de rigueur) and chillums (filtered with
damp folds of terry cloth and passed among Rastas at work). Bob and I
were both tobacco smokers then and like most American weed smokers, we
never mixed the two. When I asked why they did mix the two, I was told
that Kali was too strong by itself, might make you temporarily crazy or at
least "mentally uncomfortable", maybe to a great extent. Having lotsa ex-
perience in the use of psychedelic substances, Bob and I figured we,d like
to try some of that "temporary craziness". Well,absent the tobacco, it was great smoke, but
nothing unusually powerful or strange about it. They also made a beverage
from fermented cannabis flowers and ginger root and a few other plants
and herbs taken from the forest. They called it a tonic, and though I drank
very little of it, I liked it and it's effect very much.
I'd have to admit, that while at the Rasta compound, Bob and I got what
seemed more than our share of smoke just trying not to look like pikers in
the eyes of our hosts, but it was all within our ability to weather without
any reduction in our faculties, especially those connected with perception.
I just wanted to get that in before I repeat: I really do think somehow
Brother Ivy got the Bible into his head. Maybe it's not all that unusual; any-
one, with a photographic memory could do what I witnessed Brother Ivy
doing and a trauma like the one he survived might leave someone with
just such abilities.
After his demonstration, Brother Ivy spent about half an hour greeting
members of the congregation individually and expressing his interest in
each one's life. Then he returned to the pulpit to lead the chants. It was
not long before we heard the name of the US's 37th president, Richard M.
Nixon. As with most of us, they just called him Nixon. (And I'm pretty sure
they didn't capitalize it). the chants were all about bringing down evil and
Nixon seemed to provide a good figurehead for so many of the world's
evils. During our visit, Bob and I attended night services every night we
were there; eleven in all, and Nixon was the star of the chants every
night. So, unless he was featured those nights, on our account (which
I doubt) the Rastas most likely chanted for Nixon's downfall every night.
I wish I could have been there for the first night service conducted there
after Nixon's last day as president. As he waved to us in the TV audience
from the helicopter which would take him to Andrews AFB, my head was
full of the Rastas and how good they must have been feeling. From their
perspective, it surely seemed that they had brought Nixon down! While I
knew at the time of Nixon's fall that the Rastas would give themselves the
credit for it (who else was up all and every night expending energy in
the specific direction of Washington D.C., demanding step-down?) I
certainly didn't agree with them; they might have helped, but it was
Nixon's own conduct that got him in trouble and our press and our justice
system that did the rest, right? I've learned a little about prayers offered
by ardent groups since then and am somewhat more willing to give the
Rastas more of the credit; they are the most ardent group I've seen. And
among the most deserving.
one, with a photographic memory could do what I witnessed Brother Ivy
doing and a trauma like the one he survived might leave someone with
just such abilities.
After his demonstration, Brother Ivy spent about half an hour greeting
members of the congregation individually and expressing his interest in
each one's life. Then he returned to the pulpit to lead the chants. It was
not long before we heard the name of the US's 37th president, Richard M.
Nixon. As with most of us, they just called him Nixon. (And I'm pretty sure
they didn't capitalize it). the chants were all about bringing down evil and
Nixon seemed to provide a good figurehead for so many of the world's
evils. During our visit, Bob and I attended night services every night we
were there; eleven in all, and Nixon was the star of the chants every
night. So, unless he was featured those nights, on our account (which
I doubt) the Rastas most likely chanted for Nixon's downfall every night.
I wish I could have been there for the first night service conducted there
after Nixon's last day as president. As he waved to us in the TV audience
from the helicopter which would take him to Andrews AFB, my head was
full of the Rastas and how good they must have been feeling. From their
perspective, it surely seemed that they had brought Nixon down! While I
knew at the time of Nixon's fall that the Rastas would give themselves the
credit for it (who else was up all and every night expending energy in
the specific direction of Washington D.C., demanding step-down?) I
certainly didn't agree with them; they might have helped, but it was
Nixon's own conduct that got him in trouble and our press and our justice
system that did the rest, right? I've learned a little about prayers offered
by ardent groups since then and am somewhat more willing to give the
Rastas more of the credit; they are the most ardent group I've seen. And
among the most deserving.
To my surprise, we were left to sleep that first night without any interruption.
We learned later that our hosts were aware that we had had a long day and
needed a good rest, so they cut us some slack. After that though, we had to
get by on 3 or 4 sleep sessions of 45 or so minutes each, every night. (The
main reason we decided to return to the U.S. three days early) Bless their
hearts, they truly believed that we put ourselves in real danger by giving in
to sleep. So, we were never without someone looking after us and waking us
regularly to prevent the Grim Reaper from mistaking us for dead and including us in her harvest. They were very apologetic about it but also completely
dedicated to their task. I was sure (am sure) that such a sleep schedule is
not consistent with good health but I was amazed at how good I felt, day
after day in spite of the schedule. Bob had much the same slant on it,
but after some discussion we decided to end our visit three days early, just
to be on the safe side, health-wise, and to no less extent, give those who
had been baby-sitting us every night,a break.
I get ahead of myself, though. We're barely into day two, here. Another day
of wonder. Bob and I were among the last to finish breakfast and catch up
with the main body of Rastas who, by the crack of dawn had finished break-
fast and were setting up for the day's work. They were making lumber, using
hand-tools without motors; an ax, an adz, a 16-foot rip saw with a handle
at either end, a plane and a lot of rope. The procedure was simple but labor-intensive: One man with one ax makes quick work of felling a conifer and
removing it's branches. Then, for most trees a period of drying must pass
before milling, while some others may be milled immediately after cutting.
as we arrived in the area, we saw one timber, about 24 feet long and about
2 feet in diameter at the large end and about 20 inches at the small end. It was lying on a flat, level piece of ground while a man using the adz cut a flat
area, perhaps 17 inches wide and the length of the timber on the side facing up. That finished, the timber was rolled over to flat side facing down and another flat area was cut into the side opposite the first cut. A chalk string
with powdered charcoal mixed in, is used to mark the flat faces with lines two
inches apart that run the length of the timber. Once marked, the timber is
hoisted into a tree which has a couple of near-parallel branches about seven
feet above the ground to which the timber is securely tied; a job that takes a
half-dozen men more than a half hour to complete. Then, one man climbs into the tree and onto the timber, while another gets the 16-foot saw and hands one end of it to the man on top of the timber. The saw is engaged; aligning the saw with the corresponding lines on the opposite sides of the timber the men cut the piece noted into six pieces, each 2 inches by about 16 inches wide
and 24 feet long. The guys driving the big saw are relieved after about ten
minutes of cutting. With a crew of ten cutters it takes about 2 hours to hand-
mill a timber such as the one noted here. When I realized that all the buildings
in the Rasta compound had been built with lumber made by the process here
described, I felt my respect for them grow by leaps and bounds. For days after
that, I found myself closely inspecting details of construction of the buildings
in the compound. I have some knowledge (and experience) with carpentry and
can testify that the Rasta carpenters did near-perfect carpentry using full-size
(not nominal) lumber. (something not seen since the 19th century).
end of Visit with Jamaican Rastas 5
We learned later that our hosts were aware that we had had a long day and
needed a good rest, so they cut us some slack. After that though, we had to
get by on 3 or 4 sleep sessions of 45 or so minutes each, every night. (The
main reason we decided to return to the U.S. three days early) Bless their
hearts, they truly believed that we put ourselves in real danger by giving in
to sleep. So, we were never without someone looking after us and waking us
regularly to prevent the Grim Reaper from mistaking us for dead and including us in her harvest. They were very apologetic about it but also completely
dedicated to their task. I was sure (am sure) that such a sleep schedule is
not consistent with good health but I was amazed at how good I felt, day
after day in spite of the schedule. Bob had much the same slant on it,
but after some discussion we decided to end our visit three days early, just
to be on the safe side, health-wise, and to no less extent, give those who
had been baby-sitting us every night,a break.
I get ahead of myself, though. We're barely into day two, here. Another day
of wonder. Bob and I were among the last to finish breakfast and catch up
with the main body of Rastas who, by the crack of dawn had finished break-
fast and were setting up for the day's work. They were making lumber, using
hand-tools without motors; an ax, an adz, a 16-foot rip saw with a handle
at either end, a plane and a lot of rope. The procedure was simple but labor-intensive: One man with one ax makes quick work of felling a conifer and
removing it's branches. Then, for most trees a period of drying must pass
before milling, while some others may be milled immediately after cutting.
as we arrived in the area, we saw one timber, about 24 feet long and about
2 feet in diameter at the large end and about 20 inches at the small end. It was lying on a flat, level piece of ground while a man using the adz cut a flat
area, perhaps 17 inches wide and the length of the timber on the side facing up. That finished, the timber was rolled over to flat side facing down and another flat area was cut into the side opposite the first cut. A chalk string
with powdered charcoal mixed in, is used to mark the flat faces with lines two
inches apart that run the length of the timber. Once marked, the timber is
hoisted into a tree which has a couple of near-parallel branches about seven
feet above the ground to which the timber is securely tied; a job that takes a
half-dozen men more than a half hour to complete. Then, one man climbs into the tree and onto the timber, while another gets the 16-foot saw and hands one end of it to the man on top of the timber. The saw is engaged; aligning the saw with the corresponding lines on the opposite sides of the timber the men cut the piece noted into six pieces, each 2 inches by about 16 inches wide
and 24 feet long. The guys driving the big saw are relieved after about ten
minutes of cutting. With a crew of ten cutters it takes about 2 hours to hand-
mill a timber such as the one noted here. When I realized that all the buildings
in the Rasta compound had been built with lumber made by the process here
described, I felt my respect for them grow by leaps and bounds. For days after
that, I found myself closely inspecting details of construction of the buildings
in the compound. I have some knowledge (and experience) with carpentry and
can testify that the Rasta carpenters did near-perfect carpentry using full-size
(not nominal) lumber. (something not seen since the 19th century).
end of Visit with Jamaican Rastas 5
