In 2009 I went to Vincy Mas for the first time. As I made my way from the tarmac to the main building, I saw a poster at the entrance. I thought it was the customary welcome to visitors. It was a welcome sign, yes, but one that brought an immediate stop to my gait. The poster promoted their carnival as, “Vincy Mas, The hottest carnival in the Caribbean.” I was aghast. I froze. I could not believe the blatant blasphemy. How could they say that theirs is a hotter carnival than mine, the original Caribbean carnival? I gave that erroneous graphic a mental “steups” and entered St. Vincent & the Grenadines. My stay was for a week and what a week it was. I had a blast. I actually enjoyed myself much more at the oversea carnival than mine at home. Added to this, the very positive reports I have gotten from friends who have been to the carnivals in Grenada and Barbados caused me some concern as I thought that the future of Trini carnival is threatened by its regional counterparts. This made me wonder if the carnivals outside were indeed hotter.
Before a mob of pitch fork and torch wielding Trinis come for me, to persecute me for high treason, let me explain my statement. There is a spiritual side of carnival. According to Dr. Hollis Liverpool:
“Mas making and masquerading are traditions found all over Africa as interlocking aspects of most celebrations. Masking suggests spirit – associated transformations whereby the wearers cancel or obliterate their personalities by changing into other human characters and supernatural spirits so they are no longer themselves.”*
This is what makes any carnival magical. It is when the reserved bank worker transforms into the loud reveller on the street; when the decent old tanty next door dons uncharacteristic attire and sheds modesty; when grown men, like children, wear military fatigues, crawl on the ground and play that they are soldiers. This is what made T&T Carnival, “The greatest show on earth.” The everyday person became an actor for two days, performing their parts on the theatre of the street. Times have changed and the festival has evolved. To see the masqueraders today is more of a vanity parade as the men show off their chiseled bodies and the women, their sexy selves. That is not magical. When I saw the generally reserved people of St. Vincent let loose during Vincy Mas, I felt a wondrous spirit.
I believe that it was this spirit that caused me to have such enjoyment. Their carnival can in no way compare to the scope of my homeland’s, however, there was a raw element to it which gave it an authentic essence. I saw no enormous costumes to rival any we would see on our Dimanche Gras night, but the enjoyment level during the festivities was just as large. This, to me, is what Trinidad Carnival should be weary of; the spirit. As our carnival has evolved and become commercialised, that spirit is being lost. What I have seen and heard of the regional carnivals is not that they are hotter, but they are full of spirit so the allure in future may be to where the spirit is bigger.
As a side note, I will be going to Spice Mas for the first time in August and will definitely be in a jab molassie band!!!
* Source: International Journal of Art and Art History. The Spirituality of Carnival: Using Yoruba Cosmology to Read the Dragon Can’t Dance by Dr. Kela Nnarka Francis.
