The Africans who walked beneath the water
Written: Jul 01 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Powerful
Cons: none
|
|
|
| althaea's Full Review: Kim L. Siegelson - In the Time of the Drums |
This is a heart pulling story of the island slaves of Teakettle Creek. The author, Kim L. Siegelson, is a talented and solid story teller.
This powerful story starts with a little boy Mentu who lives with Twi. Twi is feared by the African and whites alike on this Island. They say she is "Older than anyone living." Born in Africa, she learned her magic from her Grandmother.
Mentu was born on the Island. He longed for Africa. Twi, having been born there, remembered. She watched the Slaves in the fields, how home was beat out of them, how home drifted into the ground with their sweat. She tells Mentu he will have to be strong, his day will come to be strong. She teaches him the Old songs, teaches him sacred drum beats, speaks to him in the Old language until he has made it his own.
A ship comes in, a ship carrying slaves. The drum beat proclaiming the ship is answered by Mentu. The Africans think they are home, but they are far from home. They believe the water took them here, it will take them home. Twi tells Mentu it is time for him to be strong. When he goes to work in the fields, that is the time to be strong. Do not let Africa, home, slip away.
She leads the new Slaves into the water and it is said they walked the bottom of the ocean to get home. Mentu teaches his children and they teach their children.
The book was very well written and very well researched. The author explains that there are different versions of this story. That she heard it first as a ghost story. Growing up in Georgia, she remembers hearing about the Africans walking into the water. She tells us about "Slave's freedom," that physical death was not the end.
The pictures are great. They evoke as much feeling as the words that adorn the pages. The book provokes thought, disgust, respect, and a reverence for the art of story telling. Kim Siegelson is one of the best Storytellers I have come across in a long time. She listens to the story, the spirit of the story, and tells it respectively.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
althaea
|
|
Location: Orange County, NY
Reviews written: 125
Trusted by: 62 members
About Me:
Musician, Poet, Mother, and Wife, I remain teachable and willing.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.