I Speak to the Wind

by Tule Tanko

I — Tule Tanko — speak to the wind.
And so, wind…
we call upon you to listen.
Let it be heard
by God,
and by all.

To the wind of the North —
You witnessed the storm.
The storm that tore our ancestors
from their people,
from their land,
dragged them down into dungeons,
branded them as property,
shipped them to the greedy shores
of empires without soul.

To the wind of the South —
You saw it too.
In silence, you watched
as names were stripped,
bodies enslaved,
women raped,
children stolen,
lives packed in chains and shipped like cargo.

To the wind of the West —
You carried them —
the ones with greed in their blood,
the ones who had forgotten what it means to be human.
You carried them to our sacred shores.
You were there —
when they raped,
when they tortured,
when they murdered.

So now we summon judgment.
Fire.
Lightning.
Water.
Brimstone.

To the wind of the East —
See how far we’ve come.
See how hard we’ve fought.
Tired…
but resolute.
Tired…
but resolute.

So we call upon our mighty names:
Nana Badu Bonsu.
Nana Tula.
Nana Boni.
Nana Marcus Garvey.

Nana Kwame Nkrumah.

Nana Subukwe-

Grant us strength
to speak our truth.
Grant us strength
to tell our stories.

We speak to the Winds that witnessed it all.

It is true —
what Bokor Anyidoho said:
They who took away our songs…
forgot they could never steal our voices.
They who took away our songs…
forgot —
they can never take our voices.

 

Dutch Version. I

Ik spreek tot de wind
Ik — Tule Tanko — spreek tot de wind.
Wind, luister.
Wind, hoor ons.
Laat God, laat Allen het horen.

Noorderwind
Jij zag stormen — 
stormen die voorouders losrukten
van volk, van grond.
Ketens.
Kerker.
Koopwaar voor de kusten van hebzucht.

Zuiderwind
Jij zweeg maar zag:
namen gescheurd,
lichamen gebroken,
tot slaaf gemaakt,
verkracht, verscheept.
Eigendom gestempeld op de huid.

Westerwind
Jij droeg hen met hebzucht in hun bloed.
Zij zonder menselijkheid
zetten voet op onze kusten.
Jij hoorde hun zwepen,
rook vuur,
zag marteling,
moord.

Wij roepen oordeel:
Vuur.
Bliksem.
Water.
Zwavel.

Oosterwind
Kijk hoe ver wij kwamen,
hoe fel wij streden.
Moe — maar standvastig.
Moe — maar standvastig.

Nana Badu Bonsu, Nana Tula,
Nana Boni, Nana Marcus Garvey,

Nana Kwame Nkrumah, Nana Subukwe —
geef ons kracht om te spreken.
Geef ons kracht om te spreken.

Wij vertellen ons verhaal
aan de winden die getuige waren.

Bokor Anyidoho sprak waarheid:
Zij die onze liederen stalen
vergaten één ding —
onze stemmen nemen ze niet.
Zij die onze liederen stalen
vergeten nog steeds —
onze stemmen nemen ze niet.

 

 

Dr Nii Ocquaye Hammond

Groningen

30th June 2025