It’s Not Just Jump Up; Carnival, Mas, and its Emancipated Origins

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

Call it a carnival, mas, jump up, costumes, or whatever you choose to name it, there is a serious and not so pretty history behind the African-Caribbean celebration most popularly known as Carnival.

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper was privileged to engage retired award-winning mas designer, educator, and veteran mas man Mr. Clarence Forde himself in conversation about the history of mas, carnival and The Freedom Fete as he calls it.

Forde explained how in 1834, the House of Lords in England delivered what was called The Emancipation Act. This act was not recognized in Trinidad until 1837; reason being the emancipated celebration was not going over well with the plantation owners. The plantation owners began to pressure the British politicians to muzzle the celebration because the Africans wanted to celebrate until they were tired, and this meant there was little work getting done. The British politicians, in an effort to shorten or control the former slave’s celebration of freedom came up with what they called Carnival. Before this, the African slaves used to call the celebration Freedom Fete.

One cannot speak of Carnival without speaking of mas, and the veteran mas man told Toronto Carribean Newspaper, “Every costume has a symbolic meaning; we were taunting the plantation owners and dressing like them, that’s why we have the Dame Lorraine charater. The slave masters did not care who impregnated who, and as a result of this mindset, big and strong men were pushed into huts at night to breed the women. This is why we have the Baby Doll character who goes around telling every man she meets he is her child’s daddy. From looking at some of our young men today, it looks like they inherited the Baby Doll tradition by having lots of baby mothers.”

Mas and Carnival itself has a very painful history Forde explained “Even drums were banned on the plantation because the slave masters thought it was a way of communicating with another plantation. This is when the creativity of these slaves took over. They made holes in the bamboo joints and used them to make a musical instrument called the Tambu Bamboo. The Pierrot was a way of using lots of different pieces of cloth to cover the body, and a face mas was to hide their identity from the slave masters  hence the word mas, meaning to conceal.”

Mas and Calypso are cousins some would say, and Forde gave some insight into that part of the roots of Carnival too. “The calypsonian as a slave would put on a facial mas, hide in the bushes where the plantation owners had their garden parties and taunt him by singing out the problems of the plantation in calypso in order to embarrass the plantation owner, a practice known nowadays in the calypso tent as picong.”

Mr. Forde’s purpose is that of an educator in the art and history of carnival and mas. He told Toronto Carribean Newspaper, “Carnival these days is heavily monetarized, and that is what we are staying away from, the slaves did not have any money to buy costumes therefore they had to be creative. From the Jab Jab with the oil and molasses on their skin, to the Dame Lorraine’s who stuffed the breast and bums with whatever they could get.”

Cajuca Mas Arts – of which Forde and his wife Jackie Forde who is an artist are a part of  is in the business of entertaining while educating at the same time. Forde told Toronto Carribean Newspaper, “We are walking in the footsteps of our forefathers; that is why we try to keep our costumes very affordable. We are not in this for the money; we are trying not to have any costumes that are hundreds of dollars.”

For folks who think that Carnival is all about getting drunk and doing stuff that they would not ordinarily do, Forde says, he has sympathy for them and that is why he is in the business of enlightening others of the origins and suffering that has created this great culture. Forde told Toronto Carribean Newspaper his favorite words are “The story must be told.”

Here are some of the events that Clarence Forde and his crew will be making appearances at