A Spice Mas Overview
11 August 2015 | Port Louis Marina, Grenada
Lynn
Rather than the "We played Carnival, did this and that" post, which you can read from the 4 previous years, I figured a little cultural and historical context for the Spice Mas might be more interesting. Although we did get a surprise yesterday when the usual route for the Pretty Mas on the Monday was changed (What?!? Changed?).
Many visitors think Carnival is just the weekend, especially the Monday and Tuesday, that most of the parties are on. Carnival actually starts about two months before this, the climactic, weekend. There are lots of Carnival related parties long before this, and the qualifying competitions for the Calypso and Soca Monarchs occur in this time.
The term "Mas" is short for "masquerade", since so much of it really involves some type of costume or disguise. A "band" is a group of partiers, and one "plays" with a band, or plays Carnival. The first we time someone told us they were playing with a band, we asked what instrument they played... oops. Musicianship has absolutely nothing to do with it!
After two months of build up, and local soca music blaring from every radio and phone, we approach the final, big weekend, of Carnival. This has even more parties at a number of venues from Friday to Sunday night, as well as the Soca Monarch, Calypso Monarch and Pan Band finals. They sneak the King and Queen of carnival competition in on the Thursday; this is the competition of the people in the biggest, most extravagant costumes strutting their stuff. The kids' Carnival occurs the previous weekend. However, the Monday and Tuesday are the biggest party days, with the various parades and street parties occurring.
Starting with J'Ouvert, roughly translated as Daybreak (or other variations), this is the first parade of the culminating Monday and Tuesday of Carnival. Hardcore party animals have already partied all night and are just continuing the festivities from the night before. The rest of us get our sorry butts out of bed at about 4:00am and hit the streets while the stars and moon are still holding court in the sky. There are already some who are getting greased up in the used motor oil that is the signature of the Jab Jabs.
Jab is a Creole version of the French word "Diable", Devil. The history behind the Jab Jabs is strongly linked to the days of slavery. The slaves were not allowed to play Carnival, but after Emancipation, there was no stopping the ex-slaves from joining the party. The "black and greasy" Jabs stemmed from the slaves being roused to stop cane field fires. The "cannes brulee" created black ashes with a tendency to being a little greasy, which readily clung to the sweat soaked workers. This look was adopted by the Jab Jab players, as a reminder of what they had been through. This has morphed over the years into used motor oil, and eventually the addition of water based paints that creates a rainbow of colours (and is more tourism friendly). The real Jabs may also drag chains (again, a nod to slavery) and some will have a piece of saltfish hanging from their mouths; the occasional snake may be found, but that is far more rare. The Jabs are trying to look scary, and the addition of a horned helmet can add to this look, too. This, of course, is accompanied by a soundtrack of very loud Soca blaring from numerous trucks. There are bands that one can choose to play with, or one can just wander and soak up the vibes while wearing old clothes.
Later in the afternoon is the "Pretty Mas". This is the part of Carnival that many people think of when they think of a Caribbean Carnival. Bands of brightly and spectacularly costumed women, and some men, parade along the waterfront. This is repeated on Tuesday, in case you miss it the first day. This is also the parade that features the "Shorty Knees".
Shorty Knees is also a very traditional costume from the early days of Emancipation. The clothing is reminiscent of a jester's costume, with brightly coloured materials in a bit of a patchwork pattern. The players all wear masks, that are not dissimilar to the masks that fencers wear. They have small mirrors sewn to the body of the costume, and bells at their ankles. The masks were initially for anonymity, as many of the original players had been house slaves, and may still have been working as domestic servants...and they knew the plantation owners dirty secrets. The bells are a reminder of the shackles and chains, and bells were also used so that slaves couldn't quietly sneak off into the bush. The mirrors are to reflect the beauty of the people around them, and also as a backlash to most owners not letting slaves have access to mirrors. They also throw talcum powder on onlookers... I have no idea of where that came from! (This may not be 100% historically accurate, this is information gleaned from the people we have spoken with that play Shorty Knees).
Monday Night Mas is another parade with widespread participation. Generally speaking, various businesses or organizations sponsor bands, and sell packages to anyone wishing to play with the band. It used to be a Pan band or live band on the trailer, followed by revellers, then progressed to the truck-based decibel blasting sound systems. Now the bands provide LED festooned hats, drink containers and some kind of wand or plastic sword. A bar truck follows the band, so one can keep their blood alcohol level at a suitable level (included in the price of the package). A DJ tries to sort of choreograph the partiers to wave their wands in a somewhat organized manner that looks quite spectacular from the distance.
The Grenada Carnival used to be during the traditional time around February that corresponded with the start of lent, but it was changed to get it away from Grenada's Independence Day, February 7 (1974 was the year for the history buffs).
This is not indicative of Carnival in all of the Eastern Caribbean, just Grenada, but there will certainly be some places where there are similarities.