BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - YEARS BACK, Carnival was not allowed to commence before Christmas Day hence Carnival activities would kick off on December 26th. In those days steel bands were never invited to play in churches, and the calypsonian was regarded as more of a sinner than a saint. How times have changed!
This year Sugar mas 40/40 is now celebrating 40 years of Carnival and runs from November 25th to January 3rd. Steel bands regularly give renditions in churches and the calypsonians this year, with their strong moral overtones, are being called pastors of political and social enlightenment.
On Thursday Dec. 8th, while the ‘Sashing’ of the Carnival ‘queens’ was taking place at Caribe Café, a large crowd had gathered at the Circus to witness “In the Spirit of Christmas” – the last of 4 nights of “a wide array of performances by Churches and musical groups all coming together to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas”.
One of the groups performing on Thursday night was a choir of young men from Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) who sang with missionary zeal and was well received by the crowd.
With a record murder rate this year in St. Kitts, a recurring theme in calypsos is the wickedness of these young criminals and how much we need to “tek back we country”. The ‘pastor’ calypsonians beseech them to ‘turn from their wicket ways’ and Trash Row particularly addresses them directly in “Youth man, you can turn around”. The choir from HMP proved that this was indeed so.
All of these elements of the Christmas/Carnival nature of St. Kitts’ December celebrations came under scrutiny at the panel discussion on "The Story of Carnival” held on Tuesday December 13th 2011 at the University of the West Indies Open Campus.
Initiated by the Department of Culture, this event brought together key persons whose participation in festivities of the pre Carnival era made them knowledgeable sources from which to learn of the evolution of Carnival.
Al Barker, Stanley Franks, Alexis Knight and Cyril ‘Puntan’ Webster have been eyewitnesses to and participants in the emergence of festivities from Christmas Sports to the nationalisation of Carnival in 1971 to the fusion of folklore and Carnival in Sugar mas 40/40 in 2011.
Al Barker and Stanley Franks, in taking us down memory lane, gave snapshots of the natural celebrations of the enslaved, possibly after a Christmas bonus on the plantation; of the early Christmas sports – of masquerades, mummies, Children of Israel, neaga business, Sagwa and serenaders.
They spoke of the early dramatizations of Plantation stories and of the incorporation of contemporary drama from abroad such as ‘Cowboys and Indians’, ‘Tarzan and Jane’, Giant Despair and ‘Red Cross’.
Among the visions recalled were those of groups going from village to village and culminating in Basseterre on New Year’s Day when they played around town and coins rained down on them from the upper class in upstairs houses.
Mr. Alexis Knight witnessed the birth of steel band in St. Kitts and he was instrumental in forming the first steel bands and making it possible for them to play first in the Methodist Church at a time when many churchgoers thought that steel bands symbolized the secular and were therefore evil. They stayed away wondering what was the Church coming to?
Mr. ‘Puntan’ Webster, whose association with steel bands goes back to the sixties, was able to reveal that at one time there were as many as 17 steel bands in Basseterre and rural districts of St. Kitts. Prior to this, the Big Drum and String Bands held sway.
Few in the audience were able to remember Steel bands like the Deperados, Eagle Squadron or ‘None shall escape’, but some remembered the Devil Dodgers, Red Army, Coronets and Boston Tigers.
With the nationalization of Carnival (why this was necessary is the basis of another story) came the importation of a ‘carnival culture’ from outside. Some felt that Carnival was not our indigenous culture and others still deplore the prominence Carnival has taken over the old time folklore of Christmas festivities.
The relevance of present day Carnival to our culture and historical identity came up for discussion. Minister of Culture, Hon. Marcella Liburd strongly defended the relevance of Carnival stressing that it was the creativity that ensued in all of the art forms including calypso that made the cultural activity important.
But since creativity is not a thing in itself but must be rooted in one’s being, perhaps a discussion is necessary on how creativity could be used to merge the evolution of our cultures so that it serves to strengthen our cultural and historical identity.
The story of Carnival is still unfolding. This year, it is noted that the extended Carnival programme of 40 days does seek to be inclusive and programmes of ‘bacchanalia’ and ‘Christ mania’ can be found therein. It is up to the celebrants to choose whom/what they will serve. All should be conscious that it should be a celebration of Love…which ‘came down at Christmas’.
It is very important that the history of the evolution of our Christmas/Carnival celebrations be recorded for posterity. The gentlemen on the panel on Tuesday night are the most creditable resources we will find and we need to ensure that this is done before it is too late.
In addition, it is important to record in print the lyrics of our calypsonians each year. This will serve to record our indigenous social history in the most authentic fashion.
