The wining phenomenon of Trinidad and Tobago

TERRENCE HONORÉ

IF THERE is one behaviour that seems to define the Trini culture, it’s the prevalence of wining in our festive times. That’s the rhythmic gyration of hips, mostly seen during the Carnival season, a time of much fete and fun when the revelry is high and morality is low.

The social activity that has evolved over the years can best be described as the wining phenomenon. It is an observable event that draws much attention. It is characterised as an inexplicable urge by participants to wine, grind, rub and cavort in expressions of pelvic manipulation that leave little to the imagination.

In fact, nothing happens in Carnival without the wine – not the beverage, but the movement of bodies to the pulsating beat of the music, served in gracious measure to the dancers’ delight. Some even contend that you can’t enjoy the Carnival without a little wine – with the intoxicating version in hand. People get drunk in revelry and the wining action flows from that, while others just simply wine.

Behind the artistry of the masmen, or the creative lyrical compositions of the calypsonians and soca singers, the performances, and the various genres and styles of dance, there is the wining. It is arguably the main highlight of the two-day event. And women love it. Men love to look at it. People warm up to the festivity with wining on their mind.

It is visibly clear that the wining action showcases the season. To some, this makes it arguably the best in the world. Brazil’s carnival has seductive "walk and wine" with a lot of samba, but in TT it’s the raw version, with an African influence that features movements of the hip and buttocks that bring each Carnival dance to its climax.

The contortions seem like a mix of the Arabian dance, the Spanish sway, with a movement the locals call a "jook," the thrusting of one's hips forward sharply into the rear of another as defined by Wiktionary, an appendix of Trinidadian English. It appears as if every part of their lower anatomy is trying to break free.

The real spirit of the Carnival season is reflected in the movements of the masqueraders as they parade across the stage or along the streets. Wining is the real attraction for the many onlookers, aficionados, and the hordes of photographers who follow the rhythmic movements of women, wearing as little as possible and wining as much as they could in public view.

The mass of movements by masqueraders sometimes seems closer to a large orgy than an artistic festival, with excited participants trying to vigorously wine on each other. It’s a free and uninhibited act of erotic expression. For many years the consequence of the gratification has resulted in an increased number of babies being born nine months after the grand affair.

And as the children grow, they are taught how to wine. Some have graduated from the school of "wineology." They go through the stages, practising at the kiddies carnival with its more circumspect movements and then prancing to the full-blown bacchanal that is Carnival.

Children as young as three years old are encouraged by their guardians to "wine on somebody now" to loud approval when they master the "dollar wine" to the envy of their friends. Even traditional school bazaars have become a showcase for unofficial wining contests.

Each year a new wave of enthusiastic participants would wear themselves out for two days and more, and party in a frenzy of excitable actions and perambulations. Then there is a plethora of songs from composers and music arrangers encouraging people to wine, not to be afraid to "wine, get down low or wine it slow."

There is no shortage of encouragement to "wine it, jam it and doh hold back." They pay no attention to the calypsonian Delamo who once sang "Doh ask me to wine, I cyah wine." Others even answered in song that "the wining will never stop" or a "little wine never hurt nobody."

The wining action is infectious, making "wineaholics" of many among us.

So, for masqueraders it’s all about wine, at least by the actions and gyrations. The artistry and the wizardry both play their part, but wining is at the heart of the Carnival. Recently people seem to want to do more than "wine down so, or bend down low," they want to let their clothes go.

The mess is in the mas, cultural item or no, economic contributor or not. Look what we’ve got. Even Brazil preferred to tone down its sex country image by banning a too-revealing ad campaign for the World Cup back in 2014. And although there is no proven correlation between the activity and the increase in sexual crimes against women, the issue is one for serious consideration.

But the arguments for wining are persuasive and as infectious as the music. Some people contend that they need to get rid of pent-up emotions and "free themselves up." But wining has become an all-year-round cultural norm. Everywhere the music plays, people are inclined to wine. Highfulutin people wining with gentle gyrations, or the inebriated doing the "rumshop wine" at street corners. Wining has become a real Trini thing.

So, we welcomed the recent move by the police to try to "arrest the wine" and name it a crime. For even in wining there must be rules. But enforcing this law would be as difficult as it has been to contain the crime wave. It seems that with the best of efforts, there may still be some slow wine, but no wine, it would seem, is a figment of someone’s imagination.

The concept of wining is mesmerising to many. Especially to see the women with a natural sway that would please the King Herods of our day and cause good men to lose their heads. It’s hard to look away and harder not to feel the sway of the hips, especially those who love to wine. But there is much more to be said about this wine-and-grind and having-a-good-time activity of the country.

There must be some concern about the pervasive nature of the wining phenomenon. Thank God it’s still not fine to wine in such places as churches and government places. But it has become normal at birthday parties and river limes, and it has even found its way into the church culture.

For those who try to "unwine," it poses a real challenge to undo years of wining. The heart is singing praise but the hips still want the old wining ways. Many argue that it fits in with the traditional free flow of dance and worship common to certain religious faiths. But it’s sacrilegious to see shades of Carnival wine when people gather to sing and share communion wine.

After all, it seems that this wining phenomenon will never done. But as a people we need to focus more on creating a winning culture, and not merely a wining culture. And maybe the Ministry of Tourism should assess whether all this gyration is really helping our nation.