the carriacou mas' as syncretic artifact references · in the rivalry between the...

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The Carriacou Mas' as "Syncretic Artifact" Author(s): Joan M. Fayer and Joan F. McMurray Source: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 112, No. 443 (Winter, 1999), pp. 58-73Published by: American Folklore SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/541402Accessed: 11-02-2016 03:41 UTC

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JOAN M. FAYER JOAN F. MCMURRAY

The Carriacou Mas' as "Syncretic Artifact"

Competitive performances of speeches from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at village crossroads by pairs of costumed men are part of the carnival celebrations in Carriacou. Poor or inaccurate recitations result in the whipping of one mas' player by his opponent and a challenge for additional recitations by another player. These performances, which are similar to those that once existed on other Anglophone West Indian is-

lands, combine English mummers, European carnival, and West African traditions.

CARNIVAL CELEBRATION IN CARRIACOU, the largest of the Grenadine islands, includes street performances of speeches from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the crossroads of villages and in the main street ofHillsborough, the largest town. The

Shakespeare Mas', as the performances are called, is a type of verbal dueling between two players to determine who can recite the most speeches in a competitive exchange. These all-male performances begin early on Shrove Tuesday morning when Shakespeare Mas' players wearing traditional Pierrot-like costumes "jump out" to join others in the first of several "clashes" at hilltop villages in the northern

part of the island. One player announces his readiness for the mas' when he jumps out by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, do you admire my garment?" He thenjoins his group of mas' men who will challenge players from another village to recite

passages fromjulius Caesar. A player who recites poorly or inaccurately is hit with a whip by his opponent. People from each village gather to cheer the players on, and, after several verbal and nonverbal challenges, the mas' players go to the next

village for "combat" with the players there. The audience increases at each village and follows the players to the next crossroads. These performances culminate in

less structured performances in the town when other carnival activities begin. Al-

though there were once similar folk performances of Shakespeare throughout the

Anglophone Caribbean, today the Carriacou Shakespeare Mas' is unique. This ar-

ticle examines this particular example of verbal dueling in the larger context of

African Caribbean carnival traditions.

Although the mas' has had a long history on the island, little documentation exists

before the 1950s. Older people recall fathers and grandfathers who participated

Joan M. Fayer is Professor of Linguistics and Joan F. McMurray is Professor of Literature, Department of English, College of Humanities, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus

Journal of American Folklore 112(443):58-73. Copyright ? 1999, American Folklore Society.



Fayer and McMurray, The Carriacou Mas' 59

year after year in this event, which now distinguishes Carriacou's carnival from other similar activities in the Anglophone West Indies. One of the oldest residents remembers mas' performances at the end of the last century. Over the years changes have taken place in the texts used, the costumes, and the type of fighting. Although similar folk dramas were common on islands such as Grenada, Trinidad, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Jamaica (see Abrahams 1967, 1973; Bettelheim 1979; Carr 1956; Mills,Jones-Hendrickson, and Eugene 1984; Nunley 1988; Payne 1990), it is only on Carriacou that this folk drama continues as part of carnival. Several factors have contributed to the survival of the Shakespeare Mas' in Carriacou. The early mas' performers were slaves, and in Carriacou slaves were a high percentage of the population. In 1833, just before emancipation, there were 3,200 slaves in the total population of about four thousand (St. George's Chronicle and Grenada Gazette 1833:273). After emancipation, European planters departed, and the ex- slaves were able to develop "their society and culture in splendid isolation [while] new racial and cultural elements were being introduced to larger possessions nearby" (Smith 1962:2). Other factors that made it possible for events such as the Shakespeare Mas' to survive are the small size of the island and its relative isolation.

The Shakespeare Mas' combines European and African traditions; but as Anto- nio Benitez-Rojo explained in his recent study of the Caribbean, "the combina- tion throughout the islands is not one of synthesis but a 'syncretic artifact ... made of differences' " (1996:21). He explained:

In the case of the Caribbean, it is easy to see that what we call traditional culture refers to an inter-

play ofsupersyncretic signifiers whose principal "centers" are localized in preindustrial Europe, in the sub-Saharan regions of Africa, and in certain island and coastal zones of southern Asia. [I]t could be said that, in the Caribbean, the "foreign" interacts with the "tradition" like a ray of light with a prism; that is, they produce phenomena of reflection, refraction, and decomposition. But the light keeps on being light; furthermore, the eye's camera comes out the winner, since spec- tacular optical performances unfold which almost always induce pleasure, or at least curiosity. [1996:21]

Benitez-Rojo's syncretic artifacts are dramatically present in Carriacou carnival celebrations but in particular in the Shakespeare Mas', which brings together European pre-Lenten celebrations, the British mummers' performances at Christmas, and West African masquerading traditions. These signifiers are com- bined in the Shakespeare Mas' where English literary text, verbal combat, costumes, and dance-like movements interact to create a Caribbean creole artifact. Opinions vary as to the relative strength of West African and Western European components, but the influences of both are dramatically illustrated in the performances from 1994 to 1997 that serve as the basis for this analysis.

One of the sources of the Shakespeare Mas' is the English mummers' plays, in particular the "Hero-Combat Plays," and another is West African festivals. The European carnival Pierrot, which is found in other Caribbean carnival speech bands, provides still another influence. In Carriacou, Shakespeare appears to have been the most popular provider of the literary text; however, portions of the bi- ography of Queen Victoria and descriptions of historical events such as the Battle



60 Journal of American Folklore 112 (1999)

ofWaterloo were recited in the past. The only speeches in the mas' today are from Julius Caesar. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and the biblical plays of Hannah More have also been utilized in popular performances elsewhere in the British West Indies. Tea meetings in Nevis, St. Vincent, and Jamaica also have competitive recitations, but these are usually of original texts composed by the performers.

The earliest references to folk performances of Shakespeare in the Anglophone West Indies are found in the 18th- and 19th-century accounts ofJonkonnu inJa- maica. Although there is no evidence of extensive contact between Jamaica and Carriacou, there are similarities in the sociocultural histories of the islands. Nei- ther of the initial settlements were English. The first European settlements in Ja- maica were Spanish, and in Carriacou, French. In 1655 Britain attacked Jamaica and began settlement. France lost control of Carriacou to the British during the American War of Independence. Slavery and plantation society dominated both cultures until emancipation in 1834. However, there are important differences that are due not just to size and location. Smith noted that Carriacou "[s]ince its colonisation ... has remained a dependency with very little to say in its own gov- ernments" and added "there is no local elite, class stratification, or cultural plural- ity" (1962:4). Nevertheless, the mixture of African and British populations and plantation economies served to produce creole societies in the Caribbean that share similar folk cultures.

Because there are no historical data on the origins of the Shakespeare Mas' in Carriacou, evidence from other islands, such as Jamaica, that had similar performances can provide insights.' All the early accounts of Jamaican folk performances were written by Europeans traveling or residing there or by upper-class Jamaicans; there are none by the performers themselves. One of these performances, the Jamaican Jonkonnu Christmas festivities, is related in important ways to the Shakespeare Mas' in Carriacou. During the period of slavery in the Carib- bean, slaves were given several days off work at Christmas and New Year's. At this time, they received their clothing and food allotments and were allowed to par- ticipate in special meals and dancing in the master's house or yard. They often performed in masquerades and other theatrical activities. In early accounts the

masquerades are described as "African" and the dramatic performances as "Eng- lish" (De La Beche 1825; Marly 1828:294).

Though scholars differ as to the origins ofJonkonnu, all agree that it has its roots in West Africa. Orlando Patterson (1967) described three possible sources-one in the Yam Festivals of the Ibo, another in the harvest festivals of the Ga, and a third in the festival honoring ancestors of the Yoruba. The Yoruba celebrations had processions and plays that included pantomime as well as singing and dancing. Each of the Yoruba Egungun groups put on a play: "There could be much rivalry, even fighting, between the different Egungun groups. This feature was continued in the rivalry between the differentJonkonnus [in Jamaica]" (Wynter 1970:38).

These Yoruba Egungun masquerades honoring ancestors, which still continue in West Africa today, can be of several types using pantomime, music, and dance. The participants wear elaborate costumes, including masks that depict both human and animal characters. Furthermore, "Egungun are the creations of social relationships.




They reflect the continuing relationships of living to the deceased, as well as the relations of the living members of a family to one another" (Drewel, Pemberton, and Abiodun 1989:183).

The influence of the Egungun masquerade tradition, with its elaborate, colorful costumes, is found in the early recognition of the African origin ofJonkonnu noted by 18th-century writer Edward Long: "In 1769, several masques appeared; the Ebos, the Pawpaws, etc. having their respective Connus, male and female, who were dressed in very laughable style" (1828:425). The early distinctions among the masques of various West African groups no longer remain.

The most likely source of the name "Jonkonnu" is Africa. The earliest account of its origin is by Long, who in 1774 wrote,

In the towns [ofJamaica], during Christmas holidays, they have several tall robust fellows dressed

up in grotesque habits, and a pair of ox horns on their head, sprouting from the top of a horrid sort of vizor, or mask, which about the mouth is rendered very terrific with large boar-tusks. The

masquerader, carrying a wooden sword in his hand, is followed with a numerous crowd of drunken women, who refresh him frequently with a cup of aniseed-water, whilst he dances at every door, bellowing out "John Connu!" with great vehemence; so that, what with the liquor and the exer- cise, most of them are thrown into dangerous fevers; and some examples have happened of their

dying. This dance is probably an honourable memorial of John Conny, a celebrated cabocero at Tres Puntas in Axim, on the Guiney Coast; who flourished about the year 1720. He bore great authority among the Negroes of that district. When the Prussians deserted Fort Brandenburgh, they left it to his charge; and he gallantly held it for a long time against the Dutch, to whom it was afterwards ceded by the Prussian monarch. He is mentioned with encomium by several of our voy- age-writers. [1828:424-425]

Judith Bettelheim (1978:10) noted that it is not clear just howJonkonnu came to be associated with the celebrations in Jamaica. However, a plausible explana- tion is that the fame of this African who stood up to white invaders on the coast was transmitted throughout the Ashanti Empire and arrived in the Caribbean via the Gold Coast slaves sold throughout the area. As the first specific reference to the use of the termJonkonnu in Jamaica says that the name was shouted out, in all likelihood it was a coded cry of solidarity exclaimed in public and even in front of the "Great Houses."

Scholars, linguists, and early writers propose other explanations for both the name and its spelling. Isaac Belisario stated that the term "has had many deriva- tions applied to it, amongst others, that it has arisen from the circumstance of negroes having formerly carried a house in a boat, or canoe" (1837:5). Frederic Cassidy suggested the Ewe terms dzono ("sorcerer") and kunu ("something that causes death") as the source (1961:259). Although the derivation from John Conny, the African trader, seems most plausible, it is also possible that there are multiple etymologies for the term.

Other descriptions ofJonkonnu followed Long's. Matthew Lewis arrived inJa- maica on 1 January 1815,just in time to be charmed by the celebration:




[T]he sudden sounds of the drum and banjee, called our attention to a procession of "John-Ca- noe," which was proceeding to celebrate the opening of the new year at the town of Black River.

TheJohn-Canoe is a Merry Andrew dressed in a striped doublet, and bearing upon his head a kind of pasteboard house-boat, filled with puppets, representing, some sailors, others soldiers, others

again slaves at work on a plantation, &c. The negroes are allowed three days for the holidays at

Christmas, and also New-year's day, which being the last is always reckoned by them as the festival of the greatest importance. [1929:52-53]

The first account of the inclusion of drama inJonkonnu is in Lady Nugent's 1801

diary:

Rise early, and the whole town and house bore the appearance of a masquerade. After Church, amuse myself very much with the strange processions, and figures called Johnny Canoes. All dance,

leap and play a thousand anticks. Then there are groups of dancing men and women. They had a leader or superior at their head, who sang a sort of recitative, and seemed to regulate all their proceedings; the rest joining at intervals in the air and the chorus. . . . Then there was a part of actors. -Then a little child was introduced, supposed to be a king, who stabbed all the rest. They told me that some of the children who appeared were to represent Tippoo Saib's children, and the man was

Henry the 4th of France. -What a "melange!" All were dressed very finely, and, many of the blacks had really gold and silver fringe on their robes. After the tragedy, they all began dancing with the greatest glee. [1966:66]

The earliest reference to the inclusion of folk performances of parts of Shake-

speare's plays in Jamaica in Christmas and Easter celebrations is in H. T. De La Beche's 1825 account:

Some of the negroes go about at Christmas and Easter attended by drums, &c., and perform much

in the same manner as our Mummers. I was much amused by a party which came to my house from

a neighboring property, consisting of musicians and a couple of personages fantastically dressed to

represent kings or warriors; one of them wore a white mask on his face, and part of the repre- sentation had evidently some reference to play of Richard the Third; for the man in the white mask

exclaimed, "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" The piece however terminated by Rich-

ard killing his antagonist, and then fighting in a sword dance with him. [1825:42-43]

Isaac Belisario's Sketches of Character, in Illustration of the Habits, Occupation, and

Costume of the Negro Population in the Island ofJamaica (1837) includes both sketches

and descriptions of the Christmas festivities and provides a vivid account of these

festivities. Although previously "John-Canoe" through pantomime had asked for

food, Belisario noted the changes that had occurred: "At each request, an atten-

dant chorus repeated 'Koo-Koo,' this was intended in imitation of the rumbling sound of the bowels, when in a hungry state" (1837:5). This request has a clear

parallel in the quete or collection of a reward by the British mummers (Chambers 1933:70). The name "Koo-Koo," or "Actor Boys," came from this sound and request. According to Belisario there were several companies of Actor Boys that were

self-styled Performers, envious of each other's abilities[, who] strolled through the streets, habited in varied costumes considered by them however, as having been in strict accordance with the characters




they were called upon to sustain-for be it known, they dared to perpetrate "murder most foul" even on the plays of Shakespeare. [1837:5]

While dramatic performances of Shakespeare or historical events were being introduced into Jonkonnu in cities and plantations, in rural areas the African influences continued. In an account published in 1828, Jonkonnu and his wife, "metamorphosed into the appearance of a gigantic female, only by the whimsical dress," were described as "of true African extraction" (Marly 1828:294). Accord-

ing to Bettelheim,

an African theatrical element was slowly replaced by a European one. The originalJonkonnu with his ox horned and boar tusked mask was replaced by a performer in a white face mask, half military, half mountebank costume. At the same time, the increased white patronage of able and creative black performers assisted the organization of the groups known as Actor Boys who performed Brit- ish dramas. [1979:19]

The last recorded Shakespeare performances of the Actor Boys in Jamaica was on Christmas day, 1945, at the Imperial Theatre in Savanna la Mar.2 Actor Boys also

appeared after cricket matches and at tea meetings, and the last leader of a group remembered the roles of footman, doctor, messenger, queen, king, Warwick, Canteberry, Westmoreland, and Exeter in his group's performances.

Today portions of Shakespeare are no longer part ofJonkonnu celebrations in

Jamaica, although elements from British mummers' plays are still evident. In Ja- maica from the 18th until the 20th century, black males were the actors. In the

years following the first references, the influence of British mummers' plays and, historical dramas became more apparent in the texts and costumes. Data from other islands, while not as extensive, provide evidence of the performances of

Shakespearean plays other than Richard III cited above. The written accounts of the origin and development of Jonkonnu in Jamaica and Shakespeare Mas' on other islands provide a diachronic dimension not available for Carriacou. How- ever, in Carriacou the Shakespeare Mas' continues to be performed for enthusiastic audiences during carnival. As in Jonkonnu, the performers are only males.

Julius Caesar is the only text used now. The costumes, the whip fighting, and the rhetoric all seem to have strong African influences. Whether the Carriacou mas' developed in a way similar to the performances in Jamaica cannot be determined. It may have been brought to the island in the pre-emancipation period by either British planters or their slaves in a form that already included the performance of

Shakespeare. It can be said, however, that it is only in Carriacou that a performance similar to those that existed on many Caribbean islands still continues, probably because ofsociohistorical factors and lack of contact with other islands.

As mentioned above, in addition to the strong African influences on these performances, there was also an important impact from British mummers plays-Christmas folk plays that were common in the 16th century and earlier. Originally they were pantomimes performed by groups of men which evolved into three types: "Hero-Combat Plays," "Sword Plays," and "Wooing Plays" (Brody 1970:5). In Ireland these performances continued until the middle of the




20th century (Glassie 1975). The Hero-Combat Play is the type most directly related to the Shakespeare Mas' in Carriacou. The battle between the mas' players and the fighting that ensues are similar to the action in these plays.

William Archer gave the following description of the fighting that could occur between groups of mummers:

Sometimes a large village would furnish forth two sets of mummers. They would go to the farm- house round between Christmas and Twelfth Night doing some four or five performances each evening, and getting ale and money at every house. Sometimes the mummers of one village would encroach on the traditional sphere of influence of another village and there would be a battle in earnest. [1904:35]

Like the English mummers, Carriacou mas' players move from village to village for competitive performances; however, the time is not Christmas but, rather, before the beginning of Lent. For two periods in the 18th century Carriacou was a French possession. This early French influence is found in the French patois that continued to be spoken by many on the island until recently, and French place- names are common. It is this French Catholic heritage that is the source of the

pre-Lenten carnival celebration in Carriacou as it is in other areas that have a similar heritage. In other Caribbean islands that had less Catholic influence the folk celebrations are often held at Christmas, crop over (celebrations at the end of the

sugar cane harvest), or more recently on the anniversary of independence. Assigning a specific date to the beginning of what is now called the Shakespeare

Mas' in Carriacou may be impossible. Contemporary informants have widely different views not just about the dates but also about the content of the speeches, the use of the whip, and the traditions related to the costumes. The oldest island

resident, who was born in 1892, remembers seeing some version of the speech mas' as early as 1897. Another remembers what he calls the Shakespeare Mas' when he was a boy of seven or eight in 1915. He recalls a famous conflict between the players from the north and the south of the island, the Heroes and the Banroys. In this mas', the recitations ended not in one but two general battles between

players from the two parts of the island-one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. There were at least thirty men in the Banroy group. As a result of this

violence, participants were forbidden the use ofbrass knuckles and knives and had to fight with their fists. Today the fighting is between a pair of players rather than area groups.

One veteran performer thinks that historical texts (that is, recitations about

William the Conqueror, Napoleon, Queen Victoria, and so on) were no longer used after the 1940s, and] Julius Caesar became the only source for the mas' recitations.

Other parts of the Carriacou carnival-Queen Show, Dimanche Gras, Big Drum performances, Calypso Finals, J'ouvert Morning, Old Mas', Mas' Band

Competitions, and Street Parade of Bands also have important places in the island celebrations. However, the Shakespeare Mas' is unique in that it derives from an

English literary source and combines that source with West African costumes, whip fighting, and rhythmic body movements, as well as British mummers' plays




and European carnival traditions, in an example of what Benitez-Rojo calls "a signifier made of differences" (1996:21).

Preparations for the mas' begin months before carnival is to take place; players from the individual villages-Top Hill, Mt. Royal, Belmont, Six Roads (Tief), Brunswick, Windward, Mt. Pleasant, Belair-gather under streetlights on the open roads to learn or in most cases relearn their speeches from] Julius Caesar. This all-male group will represent the village in street competitions with other village groups and will be judged according to the ability of individual members to recite with accuracy and appropriateness passages from Shakespeare's play. During the rehearsal period the group selects a king and peacemaker or peacemakers; the king is generally an experienced mas' player who has won the admiration of other players in previous years, and the peacemaker is another performer who knows the speeches as well as the "unwritten" rules of performance. He is able to control the players on the frequent occasions when players from both sides get out of hand.

Preparation for the mas' not only includes getting ready to recite Shakespeare's "book"-which means ulius Caesar and not the complete canon-but also re- quires readying the costumes, which differ from player to player. A typical costume consists of a headpiece or crown made from colorful fabric pasted on cement bags which extends down the back of the player. The base of the crown is a cotta, woven from the fibrous air roots ofa ficus tree, which supports the crown and is tied around the head and under the chin. A mask, made from screen wire and painted white, also gives some protection. The white mask shows the influence of the Pierrot character from European carnival traditions who became a carnival figure on Trinidad, Grenada, and other West Indian islands. One experienced mas' player said that the masks used to be "pretty" but now are "Grenadian" screen wire painted with crude drawings of human or animal faces.

A player wears baggy trousers, a petticoat, tennis shoes or leather boots, and a loose-fitting, colorful shirt that has overlapping rows of fabric cut in triangles with a large black heart and mirrors on the front; he also carries a whip. Some players wear gloves and carry a bell. Trousers are tucked into the tops of socks. The designs and colors of the fabric of the shirt and crown are different for each player, and the brilliant clashing colors enable spectators to recognize the individual players from the different villages, such as Mt. Royal, Brunswick, or Hillsborough.

An island seamstress and mas' costume maker described the colorful designs and the history of the costumes. In the past, after carnival, part of the costume was cut up and made into clothing for family members, and part was given to the costume maker to repay her for her work. Costume making is a tradition in the seamstress's family; her mother made costumes in the early 1930s. Now the same costume can be worn from year to year.

According to the costume maker, red and black are common colors, but she says that the heart on the shirt "should be black . . just to tantalize." Several performers noted that the reason the heart should be black is that it provides strong con- trast to the many other colors of the costume. According to Thompson (1983), both red and black have special significance in many West African cultures. These are the colors of Eshu, the Yoruba deity (Thompson 1983:276); in Dahomean




myth, the color of the night is black, and twilight is red (Thompson 1983:176). While there are many aspects of culture in Carriacou that can be traced to African

sources, the significance of red and black in mas' costumes does not seem to have

any links with African deities or myths. What is a more likely source is that for centuries in West Africa there has been the use of high-affect colors in fabric "in

willful, percusively contrastive, bold arrangements" (Thompson 1983:209). The

multicolored fabric ofmas' costumes emblazoned with black hearts represent this clash of colors.

Players use their whips, made out of telephone or electrical cable wrapped in

plastic, both to challenge their opponents and to hit them on the backs of their crowns when they fail to respond. Hard blows are delivered, and the fighting fre-

quently becomes fierce. As Abrahams noted, a whip is "a symbol of masculine

power" (1967:475). Recently, when an ex-player was asked what he liked best

about the Shakespeare Mas', he answered without hesitation, "the whipping." Abrahams also noted the appeal of fighting and its integration in folk performances, saying, "Nothing is enjoyed by participants and audiences so much as a fight, and

if the fight is physical, interest and hilarity are highest" (1967:475). Local school principal and folklorist Christine David said that in the 1950s the

generalized fighting was prohibited by the local government because it became

too violent when the Shakespeare Mas' players from the northern and southern

parts of the island met for the final battle. At this now-famous event, women

joined in by supplying boiling water and stones for the attack (David 1985:49). While the fighting now is between individual players and is less violent, it contin-

ues to be one of the more popular parts of the mas'. The Shakespeare Mas', like every other event in the Carriacou carnival, has a

schedule, but the schedule changes to conform to the unpredictable conditions of

the moment. The theoretical schedule, which was formulated through reading and later modified by actual experience, begins with an early morning "warm-

up" mas' at Top Hill and another in Bogles. These mas' players then proceed to

the first major encounter in Mt. Royal, a second in Six Roads, a third in Bruns-

wick, and a final, more relaxed one in the major town of Hillsborough. At each

location the players fight a series of verbal and physical battles that test their virtu-

osity and memory; one village appears to be recognized champion, and the king leads his group to the second site where the newly crowned victors face challeng- ers from that village. Verbal and physical battles are again fought, winners are un-

officially declared, and the crowd moves to the next location. The series of

performances finally ends with the informal declaration of that year's champion

village and king. Then the players and the crowd move on to Hillsborough for

freer, less structured recitations-simply for the fun of it-and much drinking of

beer andJack Iron, a very strong rum. The coming together of groups from contending villages has the appearance of

preparation for battle. Players walk down the hills and roads in loosely formed

lines; they wave their whips in response to the encouraging crowd until they reach a wide section in the road where they will engage in verbal warfare, whip-

ping and fighting with players from a different village.




All performances revolve around a challenge and response format. In a series of interviews, the mas' players summarized the following order for each encounter: A player initiates his first recitation by asking his opponent to relate a specific speech from the play, for instance, "Will you relate to me Mark Antony's speech over Caesar's dead body?" His opponent responds, "Go back and relate," which tells the first player that he is free to recite the passage he mentioned in his question. After the first player finishes his speech, the second player is free to initiate a speech he wishes to recite with the same question, for example, "Will you please relate the speech about Caesar's will?" If properly prepared, he will recite the passage; and the first player will prepare for his second turn. If, however, either player fails to come forward with the speech he himself has cited in his question, the opponent will threaten to use his whip with the words "Break for your crown," and the failing player must raise his own extended whip above his head in preparation for the blow. The victor then taps the loser's whip-or in most cases strikes the crown or back of the cape; the loser withdraws, and the winning player readies himself for a new opponent. In the performances we observed, the noise level was so intense and the crowd so large that it was not always possible to hear the question "Will you please relate ... ?" Nor were the sentences "Go back and relate" and "Break for your crown" always audible. In addition, the tapping of the extended whip or crown was seldom honored but became instead a vigorous whipping action that was saved from becoming a melee through the intervention of the peacemakers and other males in the crowd. The reason for the differences in the descriptions given by the players and what happens in actual performances may be attributed to the excitement that is generated as the mas' progresses. The physical fighting increases in the encounters at each crossroad and can result in cuts if a player's mask is not in place. In the last encounters in Hillsborough, the players do not wear their crowns and masks, and there is no whipping.

Spectators take active roles in the performances by cheering their village players on with words like "Brave," "Tell him," "Go on," "That's right," and "Yeah, yeah" or shouting out the mistakes of the opposition: "He got the will wrong." At one lively moment in a 1995 recitation a Mt. Royal player, overwhelmed by the spirit of performance and Jack Iron, inserted an obscenity in his speech; the de- lighted crowd recognized the player's invention and shouted almost as a chorus their correction-"Ain't no F words in Shakespeare!" Peacemakers frequently have to intervene to prevent overly zealous spectators from interrupting performances and contributing to the constant threat of violence.

The number of pairs in a given performance depends on the number of players. Recently Mt. Royal has been the most active community, with eight players and a large group of enthusiastic village spectators, many of whom appeared to know by memory the lines from "Shakespeare's book." It seems that 1995 was the year of revival for the Shakespeare Mas', which in previous years had been fading; the small village of Six Roads alone produced perhaps as many as six new players.

As noted, people in Carriacou refer to Julius Caesar as Shakespeare's book and boast about grandfathers, great grandfathers, and famous players in the 1940s and 1950s who knew the whole book by heart. The first question asked of all local




informants was "Why Shakespeare?," but this question was never answered ade-

quately. The process of re-evaluating Shakespeare and trying to decide why he, instead of other equally prolific European writers of the 16th and 17th centuries, holds the highest and most "privileged" position in world literature is being un- dertaken by such scholars as Gary Taylor (1991). The question was not asked, however, to raise matters related to Carriacou's intellectual history but, rather, to stimulate memories of studying Shakespeare in primary school and suggest that this introduction to the play had inspired local villages to use it for the competitive performance.

The next question was "Why]Julius Caesar?" We received two responses. One was given by a former mas' player who is now chairman of the Carriacou Carnival Committee. He believes that because the historical date of the play is close to the birth of Christ, Julius Caesar is appropriate for the pre-Lenten carnival celebration. The other answer for the selection ofjulius Caesar-which might seem more believable but which is even more doubtful than the first-is that the political un-

certainties, cycles, and philosophies developed by Shakespeare in Julius Caesar have parallels in Carriacou's 20th-century history and are therefore topically rele- vant. The political and economic upheavals of the 19th and 20th centuries in Gre- nada and Carriacou (Grenada's sister island and dependency) do in fact have many analogues in Julius Caesar and for that matter in all of Shakespeare's plays that deal with Roman or English history; but research has not as yet uncovered any information that indicates that the play is popular because of its political philosophy or relevance.

The historical reason for the survival ofJulius Caesar in this lively form is probably to be found in books and examinations used in the educational system from the late 19th century through the 1950s. The school readers used throughout the British West Indies well into the 20th century were The Royal Readers; selections from Shakespeare appear regularly beginning with book 4. Two different editions in the series contain condensed versions ofShakespeare's KingJohn and Julius Cae- sar with a selection of passages in the original language, vocabulary lists, topics for

discussion, and sample questions. What seems likely is that, if the play was studied and selections memorized by schoolchildren, it would have logically found its

way into the speech mas'. The influence of the reading materials from The Royal Readers on the older population in Carriacou is still great. During interviews with

various residents, there were impromptu recitations from the biographies of Na-

poleon, William Tell, William the Conqueror, Queen Victoria, and Henry V. The passages were recited with pride. Even with a limited familiarity with the se-

ries, the sources can be identified in the readers. The only Shakespeare now available in the Carriacou school supply store was the New Swan Shakespeare 1983 edition ofJulius Caesar.

While it has not been possible to determine when Julius Caesar became a school text in Carriacou, Shakespeare is presently taught in the schools, though there is more emphasis given to more contemporary literature. The syllabus issued by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) effective May 1993 includes Julius Cae- sar in the list of non-West Indian plays for third-year students. Additional plays




for third-year students are Macbeth, Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and A Mid- summer Night's Dream. For the fourth year the list includes Henry IV, Part I, Rich- ard III, Henry V, and Othello (CXC 1992).

In addition to the importance ofJulius Caesar as a reading and examination text in Carriacou's educational system, the language of Shakespeare's poetry is equally responsible for his continued popularity in performance. One player in describing the tradition of speech mas' claimed that the histories of William the Conqueror and Queen Victoria had been used in the past but that Shakespeare was better, or in his words "sweeter," and he recited Antony's familiar oration-"O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth," which indeed is an example of their sweetness.

Julius Caesar, in particular, is appropriate for the type of verbal combat that takes

place in the carnival performance, in that it is built around rhetorical structures that allow characters to exchange passages of debate in set speeches. A dialectic text written in dialogue is a "natural" vehicle for competitive verbal activity in which characters "throw one speech against another." This is the phrase that was used by a former player who took part in the Shakespeare Mas' as a young man. He believes that Shakespeare, which he learned to love as a boy, is both unique and

important in Carriacou's culture and thinks that local people should get together and insist that more Shakespeare be taught in the schools. The fact that Elizabe- than drama "flourished" and still flourishes as "an art of contest, dialogue and debate, agreement and disagreement" has long been recognized by scholars of Renaissance literature such as Hardin Craig, who appropriately praises Shake-

speare for his "ability to see both sides of a question, and a sympathy with all sorts and conditions of men" (Craig 1936:157).

In an interchange at the Shakespeare Mas' of 15 February 1994, two players recited a total of six passages from Julius Caesar. Player one recited, player two re-

sponded in an appropriate manner, player one took his second turn, player two

responded, and so on. However, the players were not in fact following the chro-

nology of Shakespeare's play. Recitation one, by player one, was Calphurnia's plea to Caesar to not go to the Senate House; recitation two, by player two, leapt ahead to Mark Antony's funeral oration and also included lines Shakespeare wrote for the plebeians. Player one's response returned to the beginning of the play when two enemies of Caesar drive the plebeians from the streets of Rome; player two responded with Antony's soliloquy over the recently murdered body of Cae- sar-"O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth." Player one's response moved forward to act 4 when Cassius begs for Brutus's forgiveness-"Cassius is aweary of the world"; player two's final speech consisted of lines Shakespeare gave to the crowd, Antony, and three plebeians which come at the end of the funeral oration. Player one retired at this point, and another player took his place. Although no two interchanges between the players are the same, in general older, more experienced players can recite more passages than younger players. There are common passages that many players have learned, but there are no set passages that must be memorized.

A comparison between this performance and Shakespeare's text allows several broad generalizations to be drawn about the Carriacou Shakespeare Mas' and




speculations on how that text relates to the performance. First, as is clear from the summarized performance, the recitations are a dialogue between two performers, but the passages recited do not follow the order in Shakespeare's play, nor are passages related thematically. Furthermore, the performers do not restrict themselves to the speeches of a single character but take over lines assigned to two or more characters in the original.

A general observation seems appropriate at this point. Some of the information

given in interviews with the players and spectators about the speeches in the inter-

changes is different from what was actually observed during the mas'. In reporting on the content of the verbal exchanges one of the players insisted that the con- tenders were not allowed to recite the lines of more than one character, and he corrected an opponent for making this mistake during a performance. However, when this same performer recited "typical" passages after the mas', he included

multiple characters' speeches in his recitation. What players say should be recited and what is recited in an interview are not always the same.

The recitation of extended passages in this manner is not done to fulfill some

previously agreed on numerical or quantitative requirement, for lines recited in all the performances observed vary in length from 52 (the longest) to four (the shortest). Only occasionally does a player take on the identity of the character whose lines he recites. Some passages selected for the Carriacou mas' fit in the

category of famous speeches from Shakespeare and thus can probably be found in books of famous quotations from English literature; this fact would suggest that the players memorize only well-known speeches such as those found in The Royal Readers. However, the speeches by Cassius and Calphurnia are relatively obscure and do not fit in this category, and their inclusion could serve as evidence that the

performer has memorized at least the major speeches in the play. Information from players refutes the idea that the performers memorize the en-

tire play; without exception they speak ofJulius Caesar in terms of speeches and

claim to know a certain number-30 was the highest and three the lowest. The

younger players believe that with every year's performance they will acquire more speeches; this is a natural supposition clearly illustrated by the fact that the

man claiming 30 was a senior member of his group whereas the one claiming three

was performing for the first time. The second generalization has to do with the other components of the perfor-

mance; and while the verbal activity is dominant, it is mixed with rhythmic dance

motions before and during the recitations, actions and gestures with the whip, and

movements that call attention to the elaborate costumes. These components are

in fact the details that make the Shakespeare Mas' an example ofBenitez-Rojo's

syncretic artifact. Each component-the procession, the verbal challenge-

response format, body movements, and whipping-is related to but nonetheless different from folk traditions in West Africa and Europe.

The verbal exchanges themselves are in the English of Shakespeare, but the de-

livery and the noise of the crowd make many of the passages difficult for English- speaking outsiders to understand-especially those in the back of the very Xarge crowd. Although the complete speeches may not be audible or intelligible to




everyone, this is not to say that they are not "impressive," for they are indeed delivered with feeling and extraordinary energy and generate feeling and energy in the audience.

The performances can be placed in the tradition of West Indian verbal dueling meant in fun and play, popular on other islands in the Anglophone Caribbean. However, the earnestness that characterizes the majority of the performances sug- gests a seriousness that goes beyond carnival festivities. In this creolized condition, the recitations have unique beauty or "sweetness," as one player contends. This is due at least in part to the rhetorical features of Shakespeare's poetry which are responsible for the survival ofjulius Caesar in this popular form. The aesthetics of Shakespeare's rhetoric are best understood through the classical figures and tropes he acquired in the process of learning Latin and used in his English plays; however, Shakespeare's power of invention is far greater than any of the figures, devices, grammatical patterns, or ornaments he was forced to commit to memory as a schoolboy. But the methods of persuasion conveyed by the sounds, images, rhythms, and even the thoughts in the individual passages have lasting appeal and relevance. Their effectiveness strike the ear repeatedly in the recitations and con- tribute to the pleasure, sweetness, and "impressiveness" of the Carriacou performances. Because this example of a folk play that derives from Shakespeare does not follow the plot, the individual speeches are the most important aspect of Shakespeare's original work to these folk performers.

In the 19th century there were other carnival bands in the Caribbean which also used speeches from Shakespeare, British literature, and European history. The Pierrot Grenades in Trinidad wore shirts similar to those of the Carriacou mas' players and also carried whips. When encountering another Pierrot, "[t]he boast- ful speeches of victories and counter speeches came into play. Questions and counter-questions were put .... Pierrots were also always strong, sturdy, adven- turous men, and a fight was usually inevitable" (Carr 1956:282). By 1896, the fighting became so fierce that it was necessary to get a special license, and soon the Pierrots were no longer part of carnival. The similarities between the Pierrot in Trinidad and Carriacou both in costume and performance are many.

Pierrots also performed in Grenada, but these spoke in French patois mixed with Creole English. Their speeches, which were often satiric, were about farm- ing, political and social events, and so on and were recited in a type of spelling by syllable game (Carr 1956:284). As the number of Grenadians who understood French patois declined, so did the number of Pierrots in carnival. The Midnight Robbers in Trinidad carnival also took their speeches from literary and historical sources. They went around in pairs carrying guns or daggers to threaten the spectators and collect money from them. Originally the costumes were based on American cowboy attire, but then there were variations such as Hunting Rob- bers, Railroad Robbers, and so forth. According to Crowley, "the victim is threatened in a long and elaborate speech full of horrendous phrases to give up all your hidden treasures" and "choose what death you will die" (1956:263).

There are other Caribbean folk performances that do have plots based on literary texts. In Nevis, performances of Giant Despair continued at Christmas in




yards and along the roads and now are a part of Culturama, an August celebration. In Giant Despair performances, a group of male performers recite a set text taken from Pilgrim's Progress. The plot is the Christians'journey to the Celestial City and concludes with the mock death of Despair. The players then threaten and chase the spectators, especially the children. A string band accompanies the performers, an- nouncing their arrival and playing during the performance (McMurray and Fayer 1996).

There are similarities as well as contrasts in many of these Caribbean carnival performances. Some follow a plot, whereas others consist of the recitation of speeches from literary sources. In some performers threaten the spectators and re-

quest money, and in others the performers whip each other. Varieties of Pierrot costumes are worn in some, and in others the performers wear costumes resem- bling the characters they portray. In each distinctive creole setting, the supersyn- cretic signifiers that they all share have produced folk performances that enrich carnival celebrations. In describing this hybridity Abrahams said,

In bringing together these two vital traditions in a world alien to both, each was drawn upon at those places where it came closest to the other: the process of "syncretism." European forms and

subjects were adopted in which African patterns of performance and technique could be prac- ticed, African forms and subjects persisted where they were enjoyed by the masters. Out of the

newly-created world of the plantation grew the traditions and aesthetic which drew upon major Old World cultural expressions and adapted them to their new situation. [1967:460-461]

Although all of these carnival folk performances in these and other Caribbean islands combine both West African and European traditions, they developed in different ways. Some have survived and others disappeared, but one strong common element is the opportunity provided for the players to demonstrate that they are men of words, men who are good talkers and good arguers, as well as men of action, men who have talent competing with other performers (Abrahams 1967:470-471). The folk performances on Carriacou and other islands have inte-

grated both types of verbal skills. Carnival events provide the opportunities for men of words and men of action

to demonstrate their skills. But these carnival events have even more significance. Benitez-Rojo concluded that "[o]f all possible sociocultural practices, the carnival-of any other equivalent festival-is one that best expresses the strategies that the

people of the Caribbean have for speaking at once of themselves and their relation with the world, with history, with tradition, with nature, with God" (1996:294). The Carriacou Shakespeare Mas' continues to reflect the history and tradition of this small island and to produce pleasure for the players and spectators alike.

Notes

1Christine David, Carriacou historian and folklorist, and the Carriacou Historical Society have no

data on the origins of the Shakespeare Mas', nor have any been found in research libraries in the Car-

ibbean and the United States. Few European travelers in the 18th and 19th centuries visited Carria-

cou; thus this important source for early data on other islands is not available here. If the people who lived in Carriacou kept diaries, they have not survived. Government records ofvarious types provide data about population, agriculture, and so on but not folk traditions. The early history of the Shake-

speare Mas' and other folk culture in Carriacou is oral.




21n a taped interview available at the African Caribbean Institute in Kingston,Jamaica, Mr. Hewitt recounted the last performances of the Actor Boys. The age of the players and the popularity of other

types of performances are among the reasons for the disbanding of the group.

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