WHEN MAS WAS COW, BAT AND ROBBER
By Caldeo Sookram
Sunday Express Section 2
February 25, 2001
Pages 28,29
Old time mas is today an endangered species. That's why Val Rogers and his team on the Viey La Cou committee have been working assiduously over the past 14 years to preserve the mas of yesteryear.
"I was born on Jouvert morning," says Rogers, "so you see Carnival in my blood from day one." He then ventured to give reasons for working on the preservation of long time mas.
"Long time masqueraders have been neglected, forgotten, ignored, pushed aside, not recognised. More than that, the mas of the past has been swept away by modern day mas," he says.
Viey La Cou had its beginnings in 1988 and is in its 14th year at the Queen's Hall grounds. "Bringing the traditional mas back to the children is important," says Rogers, adding that the authentic mas covers choreography, costumery and oral tradition.
Now let's look at what took place last Sunday evening on the Viey La Cou programme.
The show started at 1.30 p.m. By that time some 20 tents were already posted up to house a bar selling beer, rum and other refreshments, a variety of food and snacks, handicraft, T-shirts and an information booth on Carnival and calypso, set up by the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS). Some tents provided temporary shelter from the hot sun, for those aging and tireless masmen of the traditional stock.
The resident DJ played vintage kaiso with Prowler and other bards singing in the minor, while the distinct notes of the clarinet led in orchestration. Recordings of authentic pan round d neck blasted through the stereo boxes bringing back that feeling of nostalgia among pan aficionados of that era.
Some masmen arrived carrying costumes and headpieces in plastic bags. There's Frank Smith, who at age 70, is proud of his track record as a masman for the past 64 years. As a band leader, he has been costuming bands in the African tradition for many years. This year he's coming with Black Glory.
Tourists arrived. Some clad in short pants and straw hats. They sipped beer and soft drinks. Their smiling faces indicated that they were there to enjoy the evening.
A UWI group with five characters took the stage. There were the Captain, Passenger, pirate, Mechanic and their Cargo. They were the crew from the ship SS Carnival and cam e ashore to indulge in some extravagance. Passenger, Dame Lorraine gave a good account of the history of her family, stepping in style to mesmerise the audience.
The minstrels chipped down the track, led by 84-year-old Theresa Montano that tireless lady of the minstrel tradition. "Clear the way, the minstrel coming down," they sing.
The audience, growing in numbers by now, loved the minstrels, who spelt the word minstrel in song and took leave. They were immediately summoned back. They finally departed while belting out the number,"Where have all the minstrels gone." There are only two known minstrel groups in Trinidad and Tobago today.
Six jab jabs from Couva cracked whips to the beat of DJ music. They got ready for battle. But their lashes were nothing more than a bluff or just a powder puff. It lacked real fire. In any case nobody was prepared to get bruised or battered before Carnival.
Nari Approo, the Black Indian followed. Poor Approo, he forgot his nose ring, spear and shield at home. But that did not curtail his performance. At 74 he showed the athleticism of a youth. He screamed and shouted out Black Indian language. Finally, he called for peace. Asked by curious people whether he knew the meaning of what he spoke, Approo rebuked his questioners and explained some lines of what he had just spoken. "Black Indian language is a real language. I know what I talking about," he said.
Two African warriors (a man and woman) danced then disappeared.
Firemen, redhead sailors, fancy sailors and a strayway sailor entered. They were joined by a lost sailor sailing in on a pair of roller blades, pipe tucked between his teeth. He made a hit, especially with the youths in the audience.
A mad bull got away and gnawed at anything in sight. A solitary figure, this mad bull with a lot of fig straw covering his torso, kept gnawing away at thin air, for there was really nothing in the way for him to inflict death and destruction.
A bat flew in, but soon became upset with all the cameras focused on him. He closed his wings and waited for his time to attack. Yes, Kelvin Peters a young batman was certainly carrying on the tradition set down by many a senior batmen of the past, among them the legendary Edgar Wiley who died only last Monday. Wiley kept that mas going during his lifetime. His name is etched in the history of our Carnival.
Pierrot Grenade, played by one of today's exponents, Felix Edinborough gave academic lessons in the art of spelling. "You know about the chicken in the car and the car can't go. Well, that's how to spell Chicago. Now I will tell you how to spell Connecticut. And that had to do with a man who made a swipe and connect a fella with a cut."
"Yea, yea, yea." The audience responded. Clap!Clap! Clap! This one went down well. Edinborough, it was announced by the MC, has been playing Pierrot Grenade for the past 22 years. He maintained that tradition with all its colours and costumery. Speech is one of the strong points that go with this costume derived from the European clown.
A midnight robber takes over. Armed with pistol and whistle, he threatened with talk and gave an account of how many people he killed in a short span of time. He warned of putting down more work.
Hilton Dollovan an Indian chief for the past 60 years, carried a boat on his head. Why he chose a boat instead of bow and arrow or spear. Well, next time you meet him you can ask him that.
Ah ha! Lucifer and his men came next. Lucifer led. His bookmen followed. Their movements suggestive. They wanted clients, souls for their bossman - Lucifer.
The bookmen were Benedict Morgan and Desmond "Jim Bill" Sobers. The DJ played music they didn't fancy. They objected to that. Sobers blurted out: "We doh like that kind ah music. We want horn. If you doh gee we horn, then we go gee you horn, and you wouldn't like that."
Shadow's You looking for horn boy blares through the boxes. The bookmen began to dance. They liked horn and showed their appreciation for Shadow's number.
The bookmen held large books in their left hand and a pen in their right. They looked at the audience and jotted down names, identifying people in the audience as clients. They wanted souls for Lucifer. They dipped their pens in ink and wrote.
Lucifer and his crew were followed by the Blue Devils from Paramin, who attacked from all fronts - east, west, north and south. Leaping, jumping, crawling and rolling on the ground, they looked hungry as their accompanists pounded empty biscuit tin drums.
They had tails, horns and were tied to one another by long ropes. But that's not all. They demanded money from patrons.
"Hee! Hee! Hee! They shouted as they thrusted spears and long sticks with plastic bags attached to the ends. Waving a dollar in one hand and pointing to their little bags, they indicated: "Pass some change".
With a tidy amount of cash in hand they seemed ready to drink some cold beers later.
The moko jumbies, fur youths gave a performance that left their audience gasping. They danced, skipped, lifted a foot high in the air, raced from one point to another, all in harmony with the DJ music.
And as soon as they left, Soogrim and Sons, one of this country's more reputable tassa bands kept up a lively tempo on their drums. One young lady just couldn't resist the hypnotic beat. She danced away merrily.
While most of the long time mas characters were adults in their 60s, 70s and 80s, the tamboo bamboo drummers were certainly an enthusiastic bunch of teenagers. They showed how they can follow the tradition as good as their elders. The different length of bamboos belted out different notes, creating a cacophony of tinkling sounds pleasant to hear. That was Carnival music before the advent of the steelpan arrived, the MC announced.
Stickfighters from Talparo were just another bunch of teenagers. They played a little stick fighting, sometimes, indulging in what looked like sword playing. But it was great fun at Viey La Cou before the setting of the sun.