THE CARNIVAL STORY
THE BIRTH OF
TAMBOO BAMBOO
By Terry Joseph
Episode Four
Express
February 24, 2000
Page 2
For all his benevolence and understanding, Sir Sanford Freeling, the
first governor to demonstrate any tolerance for the Black Carnival, was censured
and disgraced in 1884, a repeat of the earlier treatment of Inspector Fraser,
who held a similar view.
Ironically,
today's policing philosophy largely reflects the vision of those two men. By design, police now do little or nothing
to unduly upset revelers or disturb the general equilibrium during the parade
of the bands.
And
the same hands-off model, tried by Sir Sanford and police inspector Fraser
before him, has actually been re-exported to British policemen who, some 150
years after their countrymen were disgraced for that policy, came here to learn
how to handle the Nottinghill Carnival.
After
Sir Sanford's departure came Captain Baker whose ban on canboulay processions
and African drumming induced the emergence of the first tamboo bamboo bands. That astute alternative would later evolve
into the steel orchestra and gain the dubious prestige of being named the
national musical instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.
But
the vision of veteran canboulay revelers did not extend that far in 1884. They disregarded Captain Baker's ban. And, enraged by both the decree and the
recall of their beloved Sir Sanford, they came out in their umbers, refused to
obey commands to go home and rioted against police.
The
battles were extremely bloody. The
rioters' complete arsenal comprised sticks, bottles and stones. The police were far better equipped for the
fight and battered the lower-class insurgents.
The planters took careful note of the insurrection (as evidenced by
letters to the press) and must have been wondering if the rioters would next
turn their anger against the estate-owners.
The
major clashes took place in Port of Spain, San Fernando and Princes Town. However, when the presiding Princes Town
magistrate was struck by a bottle, he read the riot act, instructing police to
shoot to kill. When the smoke cleared,
a young boy had indeed been shot to death, several other persons were injured
and the festival's artistic integrity had been severely wounded.
Battle
lines had been drawn and while the canboulay demonstrators conceded physical
defeat, their spirit was clearly undaunted.
They developed mas portrayals that made their point in graphic fashion
and the chantuelles echoed those sentiments.
The
French continued with their version of Carnival, remaining aloof and making
contact with the masses only through the sprinkling of confetti - an activity
that requires a distance of at least one arm's length between the parties. As we noted earlier, their next move was to
play mas on lorries and when they finally came down to earth, they devised a
system of keeping possible infiltrators from contaminating their mas using a
rope.
The
rope, carried by consenting masqueraders and positioned on the band's
perimeter, kept the portrayal pristine and at once set up a psychological
barrier. That had the desired effect of
discouraging trespassers.
The
masqueraders took turns at holding the rope to ensure protection against the lower
classes, who were either playing less elegant mas or forming the throng that
came out to watch the portrayals of both social groups.
But
pressure from the influential upper classes, which informed police initiatives
during the late 19th century, was to resurface more than 50 years later,
now directed at the yet evolving steelbands.