When I was just a little child, a small group of Rasta men landed on Great Bay beach in canoes. I don't remember how long they stayed but at the time they seemed alien and mystic to me. This was early 1960's and the idea of Rastafari in the distict was unthinkable at the time. They kept singing a song about "....Kanata bring me come yah and now mi wan' go home...."

The dreads left at some point that's vague in my memory but there has been a lingering question all these years: I don't know how to spell it but what is "Kanata"? I have tried googling but haven't found any explanation. Does anyone know anything about the word or the song?

What a great mystery! I don't know the word or the song, but I'm wondering if this is a version of maybe an untranscribed folk song taken up by the Rastafari? And "Kanata" could be the name of a slave ship or slave owner?

Google is still weak on these kinds of materials. Someone to consider asking would be Dr. Olive Lewin. Sorry, I don't have any contact info beyond this: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080414/flair/flair2.html

I was told that 'Kanata' was 'John Hawkins'. Supposedly a slave ship captain. The Rastas were net fishers that were tolerated at the time. Rastafari and the locksman were strange in TB then. If so, we all turn what is garbled into what we understand. Interestingly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Canada

Time for "The Cultural and Natural History of the Pedro Plains, 500-2000 AD" Or is someone already working on it? There is so much content available, to put it in a publishers terms.

Thank you sisterfire and turey. It's interesting that the both of you independently suggested that Kanata could have been a slave ship. I think I will do some checking along that line. Time is running out for archiving turey; the elders are dropping off faster than I can count. I encourage anyone with a recorder to look up some of the older heads and "talk" with them.

I remember those Rastafarians who landed in great bay,they were fishermen and they stayed up by the rock,i think it was in the late sixes,i remember one of them was called brother Moses and the police was always checking them.