Being a West 'Injun', Part 3

Okok. I ain't kno if dis is de last installment of this series...but I hea, eh?

LOL. Okok. So this is about our loss of culture. Seems to be an epidemic, huh?

Eric Williams.

Grantley Adams.

The West Indian Federation.

Hispaniola.

If none of those names sound familiar to you, then you've got some reading to do. LOL.

Or maybe you don't. It may be of no importance to you. But to me, it is a sad thing. I hear a lot of people when we're out in the club, fussing about soca music or reggae music, saying they don't understand what they're saying. Truth is, sometimes, they're right. My dad would call it 'a ball a tata dey singin'". Sometimes, he's right. Part of the beauty of the so(ul) of ca(lypso) [see? soca?] is that it is enjoyable, lively music, celebrating the season of carnival, which is, of course, more that just 'wukking up yuh waist'. Soca, and, before that, calypso, and, even before that, kaiso, said something in its words. The political struggles of the nation(s) of the Caribbean as a whole were reflected in the music that calypsonians would perform to the people. Men such as Lord Kitchener would talk about the now defunct West Indian Federation, when the major Caribbean islands attempted to form a union to enhance their trade and currency options. The Mighty Sparrow, when he wasn't fussing about 'never eat a white meat yet', talked about Ayatollah Khomeini and the Sheikh of Iran and how much problems they were giving the people. Shadow (or any calypsonian, pick one) could give you an earful about Basdeo Panday and how much of a problem he became.

And it's not just soca and calypso or kaiso. Reggae (not dub or dancehall, but Bob Marley and the Wailers reggae) had a message, too. Beres Hammond, Peter Tosh, Mr. Marley et al., all had a message. It didn't always have to be political in nature. But it was always something to listen to. A lot of current Caribbean music has lost its way, and it is indicative of a lot of the culture losing its way. It's almost as if we are 'trending': the fad of being proud of your country because the flag looks cool 'bout yuh head. I can't begin to tell you how many young people who claim to love Trinidad don't know that Trinidad is a Spanish name. Or that it was owned by three countries before becoming independent. Or that Barbados still has the Queen of England as head of state. Or that Haiti was the first independent Caribbean nation. Or that Jamaica's Rastafari movement relates to Haile Selassie and is not just really cool dreads that smoke weed.

I'm not trying to get preachy here. I had all these things in my mind after watching a Soca Monarch performance by Bunji Garlin. In the performance, he references all these historical musical happenings. And I respect that. He said "if you don't introduce the next generation to this wonderful culture, the culture dies with the greats". Pretty profound. Caribbean culture is dying at a rapid pace...I wonder what can be done about it...

My Caribbean people, what do you think?

Posted in: