How to Say Babylon: A Memoir

Esther is Safiya’s mother and Howard’s partner. The two never marry because he does not believe in marriage. Esther grew up in the village of White House, the only Black-owned land in Jamaica’s tourism-heavy Montego Bay, and has a strong affinity for the sea because of her childhood. Esther is extremely maternal and nurturing; she enjoyed taking care of her younger brothers and sisters when she was young. Esther is extremely smart; however, her family could not afford to send her abroad to continue her education, so she spent a lot of time learning on her own.

Like Howard, Esther turned to Rastafari because she felt incomplete and empty, mainly because of her belief that she was infertile. While Esther accepts Howard’s version of the religion, despite its increasingly extreme patriarchal character, Esther spends most of the memoir acting as her children’s protector, frequently taking the brunt of Howard’s anger to keep them safe. Esther has a strong moral code and frequently expresses her thoughts on injustice to her children, but rarely approaches Howard with her thoughts. Though he changes her name to “Makini Nassoma,” which means “Strength of character. Queen” (54), the appellation proves ironic—he does not respect her ideas or opinions the way he might those of a queen, and she has no power in the house.

Sinclair depicts Esther as an ideal mother and teacher. Esther has a reputation throughout Montego Bay for being able to raise smart children, so people from all over the city—including foreigners and white people—seek out her expertise. Her teaching jobs and workshops allow her to smooth her children’s lives somewhat. For example, Esther pays for Safiya’s broken tooth to be repaired. Because of the idealized maternal and protective role Safiya assigns Esther, it is even more devastating for Safiya when Esther falls short. Once, when Safiya hurts Esther’s feelings, Esther enables Howard to physically abuse her daughter. While this does not recur, the moment allows Safiya to see Esther not just as an ideal mother but as a flawed human who makes mistakes. This deeper understanding eventually results in a loyal and devoted relationship between mother and daughter.

Interestingly, many things change for Esther following her hysterectomy. After her surgery, she feels freed from mothering and wifely obligations. The independence her 10-year visa to the United States because of Safiya and Ife’s studies gives Esther the courage to start her life over, cutting her dreadlocks off and ending her relationship with Howard.

Safiya’s father, Howard, is a devout Rasta. His mother gave birth to him when she was 14; the resulting family dynamic was deeply abusive and dysfunctional. As he grew up, Howard never forgave his mother for what he saw as her sexual impurity and the consequences it had on his life.

Howard discovered Rastafari while living in the United States and fully embraced the movement once he returned to Jamaica. He was a talented Rasta singer who achieved a medium level of fame throughout his career. However, he was frequently taken advantage of by his band members and manager, leading to both of his bands breaking up. He also struggled with authority figures and was frequently fired from jobs for being too outspoken and confrontational.

Because of his grudge against his mother, Howard is determined to make sure his daughters do not become like her; as a result, he becomes obsessed with their sexual purity. His increasingly strict rules about what they are allowed to wear, whom they can befriend, how submissively they should behave towards him, and other isolating choices make the household emotionally and physically abusive.

For most of the memoir, Howard’s fanatical devotion to the version of Rastafari he wants to practice (which is much more conservative than that practiced by other Rastas, Sinclair notes) increases in dramatic ways, until he starts believing in online conspiracy theories. However, following Safiya’s return to the United States for graduate school and the rest of his family’s departure from his home, Howard becomes increasingly sad and desperate for connection. He eventually reveals to Safiya that his rage stemmed from a desire for his family to be together forever, something he did not have as a child. He realizes that his actions have driven everyone away from him, and he begins to reach out to repair those relationships.

Safiya’s younger brother is Howard and Esther’s only son. He is just as smart as Safiya and focuses his energy on becoming a champion debater. He is “named after Haile Selassie himself, from the emperor’s boyhood honorific,” which means “Blessed child. One who is highly respected or feared” (54). At the memoir’s close, he still lives in Jamaica with his wife and daughter. He keeps his dreadlocks and is still Rasta, but takes a much more lenient approach to the belief system.

Lij serves as his sisters’ de facto protector for most of their childhood. Because he is a boy, he is spared most of Howard’s ire because male sexual purity is not a feature of Howard’s beliefs. Lij is portrayed as extremely unselfish, willing to do whatever he needs to do to help his sisters escape Howard’s home. For example, he offers to give Safiya his scholarship to Bennington College, hoping to combine his and her grants so she can get a full ride. Lij is also indirectly responsible for bridging and repairing the relationship between Howard and Safiya—the birth of Lij’s daughter brings Safiya back to Jamaica and back to Howard’s home.

Safiya’s younger sister, Ife, is born in the middle of a hurricane; her name means “Little Lady of Love” (54). After seeing her older siblings struggle to escape Howard’s household, she works extremely hard in school to earn a scholarship abroad. As a result, she is the first Sinclair child to leave to go to the United States. She attends a private school in the United States for her senior year of high school and then matriculates Johns Hopkins University.

Safiya’s youngest sister, Shari, is named “Distinguished female ruler,” though Esther nicknames her “Sri” because she believes that “a yogi guru […] was reincarnated in” her (100). Shari is often babied and protected by her siblings and Esther from Howard’s physical abuse: Esther breastfeeds Shari until she is almost seven to keep Howard from physically abusing her.

Safiya and Shari are extremely close despite their age difference. They spend a significant amount of time alone together after Lij and Ife move out of the house. However, when Shari is left with Howard after most of the family moves abroad, she becomes “unsentimental, her tongue acidic, speaking older and wiser than her sixteen years, and she seemed tired, so tired of it all” (287)—such a dramatic change that Safiya no longer recognizes her baby sister. It is unclear how Howard treated Shari, who keeps mum about her experiences with her father.