Landship (Barbados)

The Barbados Landship is a cultural movement and organisation, known for its entertaining parades, performances and dances. Members are said to mimic the British Navy, dressed in naval uniforms and marching and performing to the music of the Tuk Band. However, it is a lot more than entertainment. The organisation was started in the island of Barbados after Emancipation, by the earliest plantation workers of African Descent to help them develop socially and economically. The Barbados Landship Association is the umbrella body and is essentially a Friendly Society. Each community had a Landship. It is based on a cooperative system, operating within communities and providing common services to them. The Landship, as it is locally known, has been an oral tradition handed down from members to members from the time of its establishment in 1863. It is held among the ranks of Barbados' cultural symbols such as the "Mudda Sally" and the "Shaggy Bear", but in much more esteem as a "cultural icon unique to Barbados". It is thought that the Landship existed long before it became officially established and that the ways of the Landship were practised within the plantation communities of African slaves long before emancipation. This would account for the interpretation of Landship manoeuvres as re-enactments of the Middle Passage, an experience that would have been embedded into the minds of the first shipments of enslaved Africans to Barbados. During the latter part of slavery, slaves were bred and the plantations had very little need for imported slaves.

Within the last decade much has been researched and written about the Landship but the first book on the Landship was published in September 2013 by Dr. Editha (Nancy) Fergusson-Jacobs, entitled, "Full Steam Ahead - Locating the Barbados Landship". It is a cultural organization which was declared unique to Barbados and was recognised for its contribution to Barbados' intangible heritage by the Government of Barbados. It engages in social activities and is also said to mimic the British navy in its organization and structure. It is also said that the Landship was founded in Britton's Hill in Seamen's Village, Barbados. This is not correct as it was more likely developed on the plantations in the countryside, since its members were plantation workers.

The Landship was said to have been formed by Moses Wood, a retired Barbadian seaman who had served in the British Royal Navy and then lived in Cardiff and Southampton. According to Louis Lynch, as far back as 1879, the sight of the white uniformed crew was a familiar one to the inhabitants of the colony. It is reckoned that the Landship as it is known today, started in October 1863, but it is not feasible that Moses Wood was the originator, since his records show his birth as 21 January 1860. It is more likely that Wood joined the Landship and started a branch of the Landship (which is known as a Ship) when he returned to Barbados. However, his fame may have come because the Landship had become low keyed (almost underground) by the time Wood returned and the then Governor Hodgson, had previously issued an edict forbidding "the wearing of quazi-military uniforms". Hence Wood was being openly defiant in starting a Ship because he wanted to continue wearing his naval uniform and the Landship provided that perfect opportunity.

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Wikipedia