A J’Ouvert bacchanal

LAWRENCE ARJOON

As Michael B Jordan gets ready to make some millions off his (et al’s) beautifully-packaged J’Ouvert Rum, I have a few thoughts on the matter that disrupted people’s peace under weekend curfew.

Louis Ryan Shaffer’s US trademarking of the word noted that it has “no meaning in a foreign language.”

The meaning and origins of said word are then used in the product packaging.

Leave it to capitalism to rewrite entire histories, reshape experiences, and beautify the bits and pieces that those with the power and influence see fit for profit. That is, after all, how the system works. Anyways, the “Party Start,” so lewwe jam.

Language, patois and profit

J'Ouvert/Jouvay is derived from French patois and means "daybreak." Most colonising and oppressing cultures don’t care much about acknowledging the importance of patois – pidgins, creoles, dialects, or vernaculars – of colonised and oppressed people because the entire engine of colonialism is fuelled by seeing people as less than, less important, or as a means to profit and profitability.

The colonised and oppressed are only seen as valuable or having worth for what can be taken from them to be monetised for the benefit of the coloniser or oppressor. I mean, we’re still seeing the impact of this ideology today in many ways. But, coming back to the point, some people with power somewhere (and here as well) decided that the languages developed by people forced together in a space to figure out their lives through and after forced or oppressive labour have no meaning or value. Despite calls from many Caribbean linguistics experts and people with these shared lived experiences, those with the power continue to say, nah, wine to side with that. So, alas, our meaning has no “real” value.

Canboulay, blood and tears of ancestors

If you haven’t realised by now that this is a bigger conversation than who trademarked what, this is me saying it explicitly.

There are people way more qualified than me to give more detailed information about how we actually got to today’s Carnival and all the fetes, revelry, and niceness that have their origins deep in the backstories of J’Ouvert and Canboulay. These were protests, uprisings, rebellions, and retribution that are very much part of who we are today, and who many still try for us to forget. We have come from a dark and oppressive past that has yielded much magic and beauty through the literal blood, sweat, tears, and struggles of people who are the direct ancestors of very many people here today.

But, alas, we don’t talk about those things as much as we should. We don’t even learn about it as we should in school. I guess, with all that happening, we’re often so busy fighting to enjoy the things we have today (or stay alive these days) that we forget how we got here.

Not everyone has forgotten though, because, for some, these stories are the legacies of the people who brought them into this world, and helped build the society in which we live. There are also very many people here actively working to increase the attention and recognition of these critical parts of our culture and history, but that can sometimes feel like the same struggles in a burning cane field because of the kind of support they receive. It’s really not hard to find these people either – we have a whole department at UWI, and you can often find them working for free around Carnival trying to keep the legacy alive.

Cultural exploitation

The reality is that the struggles through colonialism and capitalism are still very much ongoing in the Caribbean in very many different ways. So, yes, we want everyone to enjoy and celebrate all that we have to offer, but we also want them to acknowledge and respect the value that we create in ways that help us continue to do so.

Cultural exploitation is the same to me as energy and mineral (oil, gas, gold, and diamond) exploitation. We’re happy for you to come here, enjoy with us, learn and grow with us, share with us and we share with you, but let’s be fair to one another, support one another, and help each other get better together.

A progressive system also relies on elected officials and state officials doing the work that says we, as a country, see what we have and what we do as valuable, and putting the structures in place to ensure that people and cultural products are treated as such.

With all the lived experiences and personal histories interwoven into a culture that we want globally recognised and respected, it’s not difficult to understand how global brand launches connected to the story of people’s struggle for survival can cause emotional reactions, especially when there seems to be no connection to the work actually being done on the ground to keep the culture alive while respecting the history. I hope very much to be corrected as to the connection, as it holds a great opportunity.

Carnival history struggle

Carnival, on the whole, despite the glitz and glamour, continues to be a struggle by many people to keep alive a history that can easily be lost or forgotten in all the prettiness. Culture evolves with time, but as more and more people find ways to capitalise on what the culture offers, not as much support is being given to keep alive the legacy and meaning that started the culture.

So, Mr Jordan, his Trini partner et al have found a beautiful way, as many have and continue to do, to capitalise on the Caribbean, particularly TT culture – the lived experiences and journey of a people connected to the topic at various lengths.

The rum looks like it tastes nice, the packaging is well put together, I like the logo but I can’t take the blobs that look like they could or couldn’t be TT, the launch party seems to have been lit, and all the legal undertakings seem to have been put in place for the business to do its do. I can appreciate that they have an appreciation for the culture and for what they know of J’Ouvert. I actually think it’s a brilliant idea for a rum product.

However, J’Ouvert remains to many more than just the popularised celebrations of today, and rightly so.

A lot to unpack

Naming a product after something connects what you are putting out into the world to all the meanings, feelings, and understandings associated what that thing. Naming a product after something with as much history and significance as J’Ouvert isn’t the same as naming something after a place, flower, beach, or tree, for instance.

There’s a lot to unpack and consider from very many perspectives on this particular topic. There are also many opportunities that can be beneficial to the product and the inspirational origins, based on the intentions and motivations behind them, of course. Again, J’Ouvert is more than mud, paint, and jam on the road.

Who knows, maybe we’re all jumping the gun before the full appreciation is shown. Perhaps Mr Jordan, his Trini partner, and the rest of the team have plans to support a really cool digital museum to capture and showcase the J’Ouvert story. Maybe next year for the mother of all Carnivals, they plan to show their appreciation for our culture and the continued struggles of our people with free bottles of rum packages with J’Ouvert registration (this one’s a joke, but ya know, one can hope) and a nice global marketing campaign encouraging people to visit the place where it all started. After all, some of the people who keep J’Ouvert alive have been out of work for 15 months now so increased tourism and activity will help greatly.