To Maya Gupta,
for her brilliant editing of the Encyclopedia of Rootical Folklore.
I saw the Starhopper tonight, jumping from one celestial gem to another, onward through Bougainvillea Constellation. And on each star he stopped, he sprinkled orange; floating down, to lighten the nightmares of the shaking child, a billion miles from home, crying for Eritrea. Descending, passing the shooting stars and the lights of the planes; orange, down the chimneys and through the open windows, emblazoning the darkened pillow, soaking up the tear fall.
And so he goes, from sunset till sunrise, evangelising kindness. And he chants as he goes along…
“Let there be gases,
As well as hydrogen:
Let there be red and gold.
I’m the Moonlit Soother,
Bougainvillea Blessings,
For the lonely one out in the cold”
And in his leisure time, resting from his work as the Envoy of Kindness from Empathy Embassy, I’ve seen him kiss chasing the red dwarfs and playing tag with the hypergiants.
The astronomers say he comes from the prettiest of all constellations, interspersed with apricot and pink. They like to observe the others, but their telescopes are happiest, when viewing the one called Bougainvillea. Did you ever see a telescope smile? The grin of widest lens. Or an astronomer, dancing a jig of celestial glory? Happier than the Moongazer, the tall thin giant of Guyanese folklore, when the Moon is in full bloom. Some have said the only thing prettier in the sky, is the aurora borealis, known as the northern lights. I heard one of them describe the Bougainvillea Constellation as ancient confetti, blessed by the original rainbow.
I’ve seen Starhopper, looking into the clouds of dust, sensing that something new is coming; then he chants the welcoming song at the ceremony of the newborn, who is named Protostar.
I remember one time, when he wrapped the shivering one, just out of rehab, in a blanket of magenta, as he tried to sleep in a shop doorway. I thought of him then as a sentinel, at the Shrine of Midnight Benevolence.
For the believers in Vodou, Damballa is the primordial one, instigator of Creation, whose favorite plant is this shimmering vine. The Starhopper, connected to the collection of stars that carries the plant’s name, is the Patron Saint of Compassion, lavishing blessings from Bougainvillea Constellation.
— Due to the dearth of provision in Oxford, England, in 2009, Natty Mark Samuels set up African School, offering African Studies to the general public. Teaching has taken place in a wide range of settings; schools, community projects, museums, colleges, youth clubs, universities, libraries, carnivals and botanical gardens. It has a specialism in African and Caribbean folklore. He is the founder of Rootical Folklore and Birago Day: African and Caribbean Folklore Day. He wrote the Encyclopedia of Rootical Folklore and The Birago Diop Trilogy. Visit the African School website to learn more.
