Rum with a twist of bitters and jouvay

Dara E Healy  -
Dara E Healy -

Culture Matters

DARA E HEALY

DO NOT think it is over. That this is the last time. It has blown over, but it has not gone away. That feeling of déjà vu is still there. Why? Because a different version of yourself already fought this battle.

In 1945, you fought when Rum and Coca-Cola by calypsonian Invader was taken by the US group the Andrew Sisters, changed slightly and eventually topped the music charts. You fought again in 2001 when a collaboration between the US and several European countries filed a patent for an apparently new process to create lighter pans called “hydroforming.”

The fight in 2021 was a much shorter affair. Take our J’ouvert, the people jouvay? A Hollywood mega star, once voted the sexiest man alive, humbled himself and apologised after a Caribbean-style flare-up. But why should the world not take our culture? After centuries of being told that Carnival is just a party, that patois is a language cochon (a language fit for pigs), that Laventille is not good enough for the pan, that Ifa/Orisa, Hinduism and the Great Spirit represent the belief systems of savages; after 1606, 1845 and 1498 – after all of it, we are still not sure of our truth. So, we continue to hesitate.

In tears, Edwin Ayoung lamented the lack of recognition for Winsford Devine, the quiet but potent writer of songs, whose lyrics thrust performers into the limelight. Ayoung’s pain is no doubt a reflection of a wider confusion caused by other lapses such as no premier training institute for pan. Or the absence of effective centres for calypso, mas or dance. What will the next flare-up be – perhaps someone claiming to have invented limbo, doubles, stick-fight chants or bush tea?

The apology from Michael B Jordan was respectful. He admitted to doing a “lot of listening, a lot of learning and engaging in countless community conversations.” But is it theft if no one wants it? And even if we wanted to work with a global powerhouse like Jordan, how would we represent a culture that we have yet to validate?

Once a year, we cover ourselves in oil, mud and, confusingly, chocolate to welcome the spirit of Carnival. Are we aware of the ancestors walking behind us? Do we feel them holding the flambeaux, chanting as they put out the fires they themselves set as an act of resistance to enslavement. Do we understand the cleansing and rebirth of the mud on our skin in the cool jouvay air?

Too many of us do not have the answers. In our schools, we are not taught the visceral connections to African spirituality and other aspects of our culture. We may know that J’ouvert is from the French, opening of the day. But this week on our Facebook page, a learned person described the patois word jouvay as a “mutilation” of the French language.

But this does not have to be our future.

It would seem that in October 2020, TT became part of the Madrid System of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The agreement allows for a single application towards “trademark protection in up to 122 territories...” Trademarks protect goods, services, sounds, even smells. Copyright laws protect creative works. Patents safeguard original inventions. All of this may seem rather confusing, but the point is, if we really want to protect our traditional cultural expressions, we can.

“George Bailey I'll always remember/Jumping when a steelband pass, playing mas/Sugary, peppery George was never ever one for class/...it is our duty, I mean each and every one/To see that their memories live on/Even though they are dead and gone.”

More than déjà vu, I felt overwhelmed, numb. Leah, Wayne, Sandra, Torrance, Winsford – so many practitioners closing their eyes, knowing that not enough has been done. There are global organisations established solely to teach, promote and even make pan. More than 100 carnivals are inspired by our festival, our music, our food.

In this interconnected world, our heritage is our power. Yet, after all the trade shows, foreign film crews and marketing plans – after all of it, we are still not protected. Our culture is not promoted in a way that will benefit the communities that unfailingly produce beautiful tadjahs, black Indian masquerades or crab and dumpling.

Perhaps we are fortunate that the Hollywood star was so gracious. Perhaps his purpose was to send a warning, that the real battle for our culture is yet to come. 1884, 1970, 1881 – déjà vu all over again.

Dara E Healy is a performance artist and founder of the Indigenous Creative Arts Network – ICAN

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"Rum with a twist of bitters and jouvay"

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