Carnival Re-education Necessary

I don’t know how many persons were, like me, overjoyed to appreciate the efforts of the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC), under the inspiration of its new CEO, ace pannist Rodney Small, to infuse the spirit of the origins of the festival into last weekend’s launch of Carnival 2025.

What I feel confident about is that I was not alone, and the CDC can begin to throw its worries about public acceptance aside. There is still a long way to go, however.

I was particularly happy because for years, I have been among those who felt that in our enthusiasm to become the self-proclaimed “hottest Carnival”, we have been losing anchor and moving further and further away from our roots. Modernization and commercialism, the perspectives of younger generations deprived of knowledge of Carnival’s origins, have propelled us along the path of instant gratification. Yes, there have been financial rewards, (to all too few), but we are paying the price of development. Yet does it have to be that way? Can we develop our festival while retaining its originality?

This year’s launch was a tentative step towards answering this question and it is important that the CDC monitors carefully the response to its efforts as a guide to its initiatives. Even at this early stage however, it is clear that there is a yawning gap between yesteryear and today’s reality that we must attempt to fill. How to get Generation Z, and even its immediate predecessors, to reconcile their reality with that of two or three generations ago is indeed a formidable challenge.

To help to guide me in this search, I decided to go into my archives, dating back almost 50 years, for assistance. I plumped for the landmark year of 1977, our historic change over year from the traditional pre-Lenten mas to our June/July “Mas in the July sun” Carnival.

That changeover has turned out to be a stroke of genius for our Festival, yet how many of our revellers of today are aware of the pre-Lenten mas swamped by the much bigger T&T Carnival and our lack of media opportunities to promote our own? That is an important part of the equation which we cannot miss.

In 1977, I was dabbling in newspaper writing, being Editor of a local paper, FREEDOM, the organ of the nationalist YULIMO organisation. While FREEDOM was the mouthpiece of the organisation, it did not just devote itself to political issues. Social life, sports and culture were very much on the nationalist menu. Thus, such a momentous step as the Carnival changeover could not escape our attention.

It was therefore very revealing to note the comments made in assessing the first Carnival held in the June/July era. Let’s quote from the post-Carnival issue of FREEDOM, July 1, 1977. Incidentally, the front page of the paper reflected the general feeling in the country about the changeover. It proclaimed boldly, “Carnival in July a big Success”. What was the basis for this success?

According to FREEDOM, “Never before had one seen such huge crowds as those that witnessed the

Carnival shows, never have we known such a hectic 10-day period and never has the tourist trade got such a shot in the arm as Carnival 1977”. The immediate lesson is, never be afraid of revolutionary changes.

But it was not just the extended period, the wine and dine, which accounted for this success. Let’s again refer to the assessment by FREEDOM. The paper stated the following: “On Thursday night (June 30) a massive crowd came out to witness the Folklore Pageant which brought together all the old-time aspects of Carnival which commercialisation and modernisation have put out of the festival”.

Encouraged, Mr. Small? Let’s continue: “As was to be expected most of the performers came from the rural areas for after all, it is the masses who preserve our cultural tradition. There were quadrille dancers from areas as far north as Sandy Bay and Georgetown, string bands and boom drum bands from different parts of the island”. In other words, the inclusion of the Folklore Pageant stirred the cultural pot revealing the precious delicacies which had been lying at the bottom.

It did not stop there, for FREEDOM continued as follows: “the show was a source of rich cultural traditions and amusement especially when the wining donkey men did their thing. Old-time calypsonian Rhymer was there entertaining the large crowd”. Rural culture also came to the fore in the Pan-o-Rama competition for, in addition to the “big guns”, the larger Kingstown-based bands, this is how the newspaper reported the developments in that regard.

“Despite the numerous problems which the panmen face, there was a bigger turnout of steel bands than in previous years and it was gratifying to see steel bands from the rural areas like Simon Superstars and Steggy’s United from Mt. Pleasant….Another pleasing aspect was the appearance of the FAIU steel band from Union Island. It is eight years since a steel band from Union Island competed in the national championship”.

Space compels me to pause here but I hope we grasp the lesson. Cultural revival can go hand in hand with modernization. I will conclude next week.

• Renwick Rose is a Social and Political commentator.