Mock hanging well received at National Performing Arts Festival

by Eldonte Samuel

An old Vincentian tradition, Mock Hangings, was displayed through the art of stage acting last Saturday, November 23, 2024, at the Peace Memorial Hall as the National Performing Arts Festival nears an end.

The hall was filled with supporters of the creative arts, as well as theatre arts students and teachers, who were fully engaged with the play. Fifth-form Theatre Arts students who were there, asked about the play from the cast, and director, David “Darkie” Williams, for their School-Based Assessment (SBA).

The cast comprised Kenneil Bess, playing Larry; Sean Fredrick, playing Dock; Jamar Grant, playing the accused- Cantamus Han-mus-touch; Gloria Williams who played the victim- Maybe Han-mus-touch; Lynthon Samuel, in the role of the prosecution lawyer; Alessandro Roberts, as defence attorney; Jakki King, as Mavis Cockburn, the neighbour; Eldonté Samuel, as Judge Rumposie; Shanique Bailey, as the court clerk; and Kellon Hutchins as himself, singing the closing song.

Artist, David ‘Darkie’ Williams, placed a cast of 10 actors in a court setting where the “accused” man , Han-mus-touch, was on trial for incest involving his daughter. The victim, Maybe Han-mus-touch, along with the neighbour, Mavis, presented evidence and were cross-examined by both the prosecutor and defence attorneys, played by Lynthon Samuel and Alessandro Roberts respectively.

The stage play was a re-enactment how a typical mock hanging trial would proceed, and how it was used as a deterrent for socially deviant behaviours such as incest; bestiality; robbery; gangsterism; and other frowned upon conduct in poor communities where people could not afford to, or make the time to access the court system.

Mock hangings were prevalent during the 1930s-60s, and addressed social irregularities in St Vincent, the only country said to have ever had a history of practising mock hangings; it was later abolished.

Back then, mock policemen investigated and filed a case against the accused, who was given a false name. The community was fully involved, and various locations were used as the courthouse.

The first sitting of the case involved a judge, magistrate, lawyers, witnesses, and the police- who all were given false names. The case always was taken to the High Court, where a jury of around 12 persons, and prosecution and defense lawyers, were present. The accused always was found guilty and sentenced to hang by the judge.

Hangings took place on a moonlit night, and an artisan constructed two effigies- one depicting the condemned man, and the other the victim. The effigy’s head was detached from the body by a tug of a rope, after which the body was burnt, and the community celebrated, often into the wee hours of the next morning.

This Saturday’s performances in the National Performing Arts Festival will feature another stage act, Dance Bongo, directed by another local artist, Jaykel Mars.