Delayed Burial Of Reggae Legend Bunny Wailer Puts Strain On Family

Carl Livingston, elder brother of the late Reggae legend Bunny Wailer, said an initial funeral date was planned but had to be cancelled due to the Government’s COVID-19 restrictions.

“I am waiting on the Prime Minister to make another announcement, whatever he says will determine what we do. We had set a date until the change in protocols and the lockdowns in these consecutive weekends, so there is no date at the moment,” Livingston told DancehallMag.

On March 25, Jamaican PM Andrew Holness announced that until April 13, all burials will have to be conducted on weekdays between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and that no more than 15 persons can be present. In addition, a burial cannot be longer than half an hour.

The announcement also affected the planned funeral of Daddy U-Roy, the Godfather of Dancehall.

Wailer, who passed away on Tuesday, March 2, at the Medical Associates Hospital in St Andrew will reportedly be buried at Dreamland Farm, the 142-acre estate located snugly on the border of St Thomas and Portland. The burial spot where he will be physically interred will be kept secret to the public. The farm’s name is a nod to Dreamland, his signature song which is a cover of El Tempos’ My Dream Island.

Maxine Stowe, close partner of Bunny Wailer, believes that “sacrifices from close family and friends will be required to cope with the pandemic”.

“It is definitely not business as usual. I hope that the April 12th announcement by the Prime Minister may hold some way forward, but we shall see,” she said.

In the meantime, the delayed burial of Bunny Wailer is exacting a heavy emotional toll on his extended family.

“It has been a very stressful time, I haven’t even had the time to properly grieve Bunny’s death. I know that his soul ascended on the ninth day and he is reunited with Bob and Peter. His fans, family in Jamaica and abroad continue to grieve him terribly, but it is a time of sacrifice, it is what it is,” she said.