Gypsy, Mac Farlane weigh in on Jason Griffith's death: Protect mas legacy

VETERAN masman Jason Griffith, renowned for his fancy sailor portrayals coming out of Belmont, died on June 19, just one day short of his 98th birthday.

Many mas aficionados posted online tributes in the hours after his passing became widely known. However Griffith's death also symbolised the demise of the art-form he championed, according to two well-known figures in TT Carnival – National Carnival Commission (NCC) former chairman Winston "Gypsy" Peters and designer/masman Brian Mac Farlane.

His passing was first announced on Facebook by fellow Belmont resident calypsonian Robert "Mighty Trini" Elias.

His tribute said, "Jason Griffith, a barber by trade, played fancy sailor mas from 1946. He learnt from 'Diamond Jim' Harding who started the fancy sailor mas in the late 1930's."

Elias said Griffith had been a top footballer with Colts football team, The Belmont Battalion, and brought out fancy sailor bands from 1980.

"He, Senor (Nascenio) Gomez and Cito Velasquez kept the fancy king sailor mas alive for may years. May he rest in peace."

Peters, a former national calypso monarch and extempo monarch, told Newsday he had known Griffith since Peters had first come to Port of Spain as a young man.

"He was an elderly man and we had been friends for a long, long time."

"He was always in the calypso tent and he liked my songs. I'd spent some time in Belmont and I knew him well.

"We have lost a very good creative in our country now, a man who has done a lot for the mas fraternity and the culture of TT."

Peters offered his condolences to Griffith's family and the mas fraternity. He fondly remembered Griffith dancing his sailor mas.

"It is a great loss. A great creative has gone. We will miss him tremendously."

Newsday asked if there was now any danger of Griffith's work dying out.

Peters replied, "TT has a very fragile memory of things that we do. I say fragile because it is easily forgotten and easily broken.

"TT is a start-over country and not a country which believes in preserving." He said TT must be extremely careful with this approach.

"It takes nothing out of us to demolish something which is of significance, just because there is something that is new. It is like there is no room for posterity.

"I would not guess that his memory in the next 30 years would not be as significant to people of that era."

Peters said word of Griffith's passing should have made a big news splash – rather than be hardly reported – as he was a man of significance.

"The preservation and the perpetuation of his memory is hardly there.

"I know we have a very short street named after him, but apart from that I do not know what we do or will do, but I believe in preservation, so his memory will not fade from me. In a general sense, we have a short memory and we don't believe in preservation."

Saying TT has statutes for two calypsonians – Aldwyn "Lord Kitchener" Roberts and Slinger "Mighty Sparrow" Francisco, he wondered about tributes to other artistes.

"We are a society of forgetfulness, especially for our icons."

He wondered about the role of local museums in preserving the arts.

Peters said the Morris-Griffith Link Road in Belmont was named after Griffith and Ken Morris who made mas using copper. He urged TT align itself with places like the US and UK, which have monuments to people who had done great things.

Mac Farlane, for his part, said he met Griffith a few times in about 2010 when presenting his band Resurrection.

"It is always sad when you hear these things. I wasn't aware.

"It is always sad because it is a whole era that is just disappearing and literally dying in its own way. There is nothing that is rejuvenating or keeping an old tradition alive, very little."

Mac Farlane said he himself had left the mas scene because nowadays so many things were different to what he had known growing up as a child.

"I just felt like I was fighting a losing battle with what I was doing and decided to just exit.

"And I listen to these things as you are seeing here now and it just makes me sad, that these forerunners are leaving."

While he had not known Griffith that well, he offered his sympathy to his family. "I am sad today because these are the forerunners of our history and our culture. I am just sad to know."

Newsday asked what Mac Farlane remembered most above Griffith's mas.

He replied, "I remember his King Sailor costumes and all the intricate work he would put into them. He was an artist of his own in what he created. And most time created out of nothing.

"I am sorry to hear the sad news."

Belmont mas band leader Vanessa Forde, of Classix Productions, told Newsday she lived next door to Griffith on Pelham Street, Belmont.

"I paid tribute to him this year in my children's band, Celebrating the great mas men. I had gone to him and had a conversation with him before Carnival.

"I didn't realise he got so ill after Carnival because before he had been so coherent."

Forde related that even after Griffith stopped producing mas portrayals, he would come over to visit and offer tips to her on bringing out her children's band.

"My father played sailor mas with him. His headpieces were immaculate."

She said Griffith had each intricate headpiece was highly decorated as the focus of the sailor costume, unlike nowadays when it has been reduced in impact, even as appendages have become prominent as kept up by the backpacks now worn by sailor mas masqueraders.

"He had said to me,'Vanessa, you are the future of Belmont mas.'"

Forde said Belmont had been a hub through which many different types of mas had passed including burrokeets, copper work portrayals, and mud mas, with all bands passing through the area.

Minister of Culture and Community Development Michelle Benjamin in a ministry statement said, “Mr Griffith was more than a mas-man. He was a guardian of tradition, a craftsman of joy, and a living archive of our Carnival history. His life’s work bridged generations, reminding us of the value of protecting and celebrating our cultural identity."

The statement said Griffith was a barber by profession, master of mas, and a beloved cultural ambassador.

"Mr Griffith dedicated more than 70 years to the preservation and evolution of the Fancy Sailor tradition, our local Carnival industry, and cultural landscape.

"From his formative years under the guidance of George 'Diamond Jim' Harding to founding the celebrated Old Fashioned Sailors in 1969, Mr Griffith breathed new life into a fading art form. "Through elaborate craftsmanship and vibrant storytelling, he was able to preserve and promote a unique legacy and love for traditional mas that transcends generations."

The creative spirit of Griffith helped him to elevate this cherished Carnival tradition, earning him national honours, including the Hummingbird Medal Gold in 1990, the statement said.

"Throughout his life, Mr Griffith remained a central figure in Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival, inspiring generations of masqueraders with his inventive portrayals, signature oversized headpieces, and unwavering commitment to the heritage of mas.

"In 2015, his legacy was proudly honoured through a public exhibition and symposium, with his Belmont home later being recognised as a cultural landmark.

"His life’s work bridged generations, reminding us of the value of protecting and celebrating our cultural identity."

The Ministry acknowledged his legacy and extended heartfelt condolences to his family, loved ones, and the mas community.

"The Ministry of Culture and Community Development encourages all Carnival enthusiasts and citizens to honour Mr Griffith’s memory through continued support for the Fancy Sailor tradition – its dance, costume, and community spirit that he so lovingly nurtured and embodied throughout his extraordinary life."