Rhyging

Vincent "Ivanhoe" Martin (1924-1948), known as "Rhyging", was a Jamaican criminal who became a legendary outlaw and folk hero, often regarded as the "original rude boy". He became notorious in 1948 after escaping from prison, going on the run and committing a string of robberies, murders and attempted murders before he was gunned down by police. In subsequent decades his life became mythologised in Jamaican popular culture, culminating in the 1972 cult film The Harder They Come, in which he is portrayed by Jimmy Cliff.

His nickname comes from the term rhyging, also spelled rhygin, a variant of "raging". In Jamaican patois it is used to mean wild, hot, or bad.

Life

Early career

Born Vincent Martin in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica, he turned to a life of violent crime in his teenage years after moving to Kingston. Short and slim with an "effeminate" voice, he compensated by building a reputation for extreme violence. He was first arrested at 14 for wounding, for which he was sentenced to a birching. Further arrests for wounding and larceny followed, leading to a six-month stint in gaol. After this, he became part of a criminal gang and adopted a variety of pseudonyms, including "Ivanhoe", "Allan Ladd" and "Captain Midnight". In 1946 he was arrested for robbery, beginning his career of self-dramatisation by defending himself in court, irritating the judge with his with "long-winded" and grandiose speeches. After a year in gaol, he was released, but quickly committed another robbery, for which he was convicted and sentenced to a five-year term. On 30 April 1948 he escaped from gaol. What followed was a period of several months during which he eluded police, ending in an intense six-week crime spree in West Kingston. Lurid reports about the spree appeared in the Daily Gleaner newspaper, which popularised his nickname "Rhyging".