THOUGH THE strong breeze blew out most of the candles placed along the roadway leading to the Asafu Yard in the Charles Town Maroon village in Portland, it could not keep away the great number of people who turned up on the evening of Thursday, October 24 for the candlelight vigil/nine-night for the late Charles Town Maroon colonel, Marcia ‘Kim’ Douglas.

She had passed away on Wednesday, October 16 at age 48. The outpouring of support was symbolic of the depth of the loss to the Maroon communities in Jamaica, and the wider cultural landscape on which the Charles Town Maroon Drummers and Dancers are ever present promoting Maroon culture and entertaining those who are interested in it. She died on the way to participate in the annual Seville Heritage Expo.

Before the activities in the Asafu Yard, on Thursday, there was a prayer at Colonel Douglas’ former home. The Asafu Yard was packed with well-wishers and mourners from all over the country. Colonel Lloyd Lattibeaudiere of the Scott’s Hall Maroons in St Mary, and Colonel Wallace Sterling of the Moore Town Maroons, were among the attendees. There were many young people, and people that Colonel Douglas might have taught in her capacity as early childhood educator, some years ago.

Near the entrance to the Asafu Yard, a red carpet led to a life-size cut-out of Colonel Douglas’ image surrounded by balloons under a tent. It was an opportunity for patrons to take a shot beside the woman who have had many photo opportunities in her capacity as colonel and presenter at the annual International Charles Town Maroons Conference and Festival.

Douglas was not onstage, but her presence was felt as the Charles Town Drummers and Dancers captivated the packed Asafu Yard with their peculiar style of dancing and drumming. The last time she danced was the day before she passed. When things were getting too hot, the Scott’s Hall drummers and dancers appeared with their drums, but it was an energy of a different type that took over the stage.

For those who did not understand what was taking place, it was a sort of wonderment that they might not forget. Ancestral spirits were in the space, it seemed, and Colonel Douglas herself might have been among them. A Kumina band from St Thomas continued to hypnotise the gathering before people drifted away in the wee hours of the morning.

Preparation for four days of activities, including the grave-digging on Thursday, November 7, are well under way. An all-day memorial service will start at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 15, the day before the wake. On Sunday, November 17, at 11 a.m., the Asafu Yard will be the place for the funeral service, after which Colonel Douglas will be interred in the nearby Charles Town Maroon cemetery, where many of her ancestors are resting.