A Carnival Story by M. Martin Lewis [part 2 of 2]

Reading Time 2 mins[Continued: Link to part 1 Like everything Shortknee their songs were just as much a mystery. Unlike Jab Jab songs, they were not created in any village on some moonlight night; no one claimed authorship, heck they were not even in our language. They seemed to have verses where chorus should be and they referenced things, places and people that were outside the known universe. There are Shortknee Q & A’s that have troubled me all my life. Why their sleeves were so big? And was there any significance to the colors of their costumes? Who made… Read More »A Carnival Story by M. Martin Lewis [part 2 of 2]

A CARNIVAL STORY by M. Martin Lewis [part 1 of 2]

Reading Time 2 minsA CARNIVAL STORY By M. Martin Lewis Note well: I’m not talking about this lovable cuddly Shortknee in New York that Val and company play every year, advertising in Carib News and lifting their masks to peer into NBC cameras on Eastern Parkway. As anything in New York, that’s the watered down version of my earliest fears. A real Shortknee’s face was never exposed; you guessed at who it was. Exposing the identity of the Shortknee was a no no. Not one part of a Shortknee body’s could ever be exposed, and therein lay the evil; how… Read More »A CARNIVAL STORY by M. Martin Lewis [part 1 of 2]

CARNIVAL PROCLAMATIONS

Reading Time 1 minsBakhtin wrote: “Carnival is a pageant without floodlights and without a division into performers and spectators.”   Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975) Russian philosopher, literary critic, semiotician, and the putative “father of Carnival Studies.”   “Carnival Proclamation”, the title of a Lord Melody composition. Melody [aka Fitzroy Alexander] was born in Trinidad to a Grenadian mother. A handful of Melody’s calypsoes were performed and recorded by Harry Belafonte. Belafonte’s likeness is featured on a Grenadian postage stamp. Melody’s “Carnival Proclamation” NOTICE   CARNIVAL REGULATIONS THE public is hereby warned that the following acts constitute offences against the law:- (a) Celebrating… Read More »CARNIVAL PROCLAMATIONS

Grenada’s Carnival Tradition (Hudson George) Pt. 2

Reading Time 1 minsGrenada’s Carnival Tradition (Hudson George) [Continued from August 4] Presently,  the government is getting more involved in our carnival celebration. However, I personally believe that government involvement in the festival is not in the interest of culture but in the interest of getting  financial revenue from the events.  I am saying so because our government officials are trying their best to commit cultural genocide within the rural communities within our tri-island state  by limiting the carnival activities in the villages and trying to influence rural citizens to come to St. George’s and play mas. I believe the government… Read More »Grenada’s Carnival Tradition (Hudson George) Pt. 2

Grenada’s Carnival Tradition (Hudson George) pt. 1

Reading Time 2 minsThe tradition of carnival will always remain, but the big question is: Why do we still play mas, even though the festival has become corrupted with domestic politics, foreign influence,  and some artistes always fighting among themselves for money and prestige during national competition events? During the colonial era, carnival had a vibrant rural influence. Villagers came together and organised themselves;  and play mas. The songs composed by the masqueraders were as political as they are today, but there were less repercussions from the authorities against the artistes, who sung those anti government songs. Today our political… Read More »Grenada’s Carnival Tradition (Hudson George) pt. 1