There’s a time every year when Barbados isn’t quite itself. Between June and August, after all the sugar cane has been harvested, Crop Over ushers in several weeks of no-holds-barred exuberance. There is no limit to the amount of music, dancing, fetes, drinking, costumes or casual affairs one might indulge in. Call it a warmup for the big day – the island’s well-known Carnival, which takes place on the first Monday in August. Hidden inside those events is a trove of historical and cultural information.
Beginning in July, the whole island is abuzz. Drums (normally forbidden) and dancers take over the streets. Little girls rehearse their choreography to the rhythm of a soca* song in the shade of a tall mahogany tree. Seniors attending gym classes on Miami Beach focus on perfecting their pelvic twists. Fetes last all evening and late into the night, whether revellers are dancing barefoot under the coconut trees or on a 5-star cruise boat. Everywhere you go, people are discussing costumes or new songs entered in competitions, or wondering whether Rihanna will make an appearance.
Here’s a crash course in terminology. You’ll need it to avoid any embarrassment when answering certain questions.
“Are you jumping this year?” What they want to know is if you’ll be wearing a costume and taking part in the parade. Not if you’ve taken up rope skipping.
“Which tent is your favorite?” has nothing to do with camping. Tents are where finalists for this year’s best calypso** songs will be nominated at the conclusion of parties and music competitions.
“Do you wukkup?” Think twice before replying. You may be a natural on the dance floor but not everyone is uninhibited enough to move their hips Caribbean style…
“Do you want to join me for Emancipation Day?” Did you think the FEMEN were going to demonstrate? That day is a tribute to enslaved ancestors and to the abolition of slavery.
And what magic word is on everyone’s mind, young or old? Kadooment! No one will even bother explaining it to you. It’s a given to Bajans*** that you know it refers to the big event taking place on the first Monday in August: the costume parade, or Carnival.
If you’re worried that a few feathers on your head and body won’t protect you from the blazing sun on the big day, then Foreday Morning is your thing! This overnight Carnival takes place between the Friday evening and Saturday morning before Kadooment. You’ll be expected to smear yourself with paint and mud. I can tell you’re already raising your eyebrows in horror, but until I had actually tried it, I had no idea what fun it was!
Unsuspecting Westerners may have a hard time taking in this unbridled outburst of music, partying, dressing up and sheer provocation. The feathery, scanty costumes worn by dancers in parades can cost up to US$2,000; the more skin is exposed, the higher the price! Calypso lyrics are meant as political and social satire but also ooze with sexual innuendos. However, what really does it is the special carnival dancing. Wukkup, or Wining, takes ‘dirty dancing’ to such heights that first-time onlookers may feel incredulous or even uncomfortable if they’re strangers to Caribbean culture.
That’s not all. Crop Over is also a kaleidoscope of local artistic expression – sculptures, paintings, jewellery, costumes, as well as religious processions with prayers, chants and incantations celebrating the African roots of the inhabitants and the memory of their enslaved ancestors.
In short, beyond their celebratory nature, these events are the ultimate expression of the complexity and syncretism of Barbadian culture. In Christian tradition, Carnival gave populations a few days to indulge in excesses before Lent brought on its restrictions. In the socio-economic construct of sugar cane plantations, a time was set each summer for slaves to rest and let off steam when harvest concluded.
Drums and music, which were normally forbidden as the sole means of communication between slaves speaking different languages, were temporarily allowed. Through wukkup and its openly sexual connotation, slaves celebrated fertility and the triumph of life over the daily slaughtering of their identity and freedom.
I’m hoping you’ll join me in experimenting this mix of tradition, commemoration, emotions and unbridled fun in the next issue!
*Soca: Caribbean musical genre, similar to calypso but with a faster tempo.
**Calypso: Folk songs from the Caribbean with witty and satirical texts.
***Bajans: a name Barbadian people call themselves.
Translated by Edna Setton
August 9, 2020