leela_ramdeen@hotmail.com

www.rcsocialjusticett.org

Saving our Carnival

• Being the leaven in the mass.
• Promoting decency and dignity in Carnival.
• Building culture based on shared values.

Before Carnival, I wrote an article entitled “A plea for modesty.” I challenged the media to focus during Carnival only on those who were dressed decently and who behaved in a decent manner. Sadly, the media were caught up in what ASJA terms “carnivalmania” and my plea fell on deaf ears.

But I will not give up hope. There is a divine spark in each human being. The challenge we face is to light this spark in each citizen/visitor, particularly during Carnival, so that we will all behave in a manner that is in keeping with our human dignity.

Last week I was a panellist on Gayelle’s On Guard TV programme with Marcia Henville. A key question was whether it was hypocritical or holy for individuals to “wine” and “jam,” wear bikinis and beads etc during Carnival and then go to church on Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent to repent and seek God’s forgiveness.

There are no statistics of how many, if any, Catholics “get on bad” during Carnival. Each of us should strive to adhere to the teachings of our faith. Catholics should be living the Gospel daily.

The Catholic Church provides guidelines for its followers, eg our scriptures/the Bible, encyclicals from our popes, our Catechism and the social teachings of our church.

Vulgarity and lascivious behaviour at Carnival or at any time during the year are not in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Because of our human frailty, we may “fall” at times. However, our church teaches us that true repentance means turning back to God and giving up our sinful ways (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Pope Benedict XVI said that Lent is a time “to look evil in the face and prepare to battle against its effects and especially against its causes… It means not blaming the problem of evil on others, on society or on God, but recognising one’s own responsibility.”

Unlike the other panellists, I believe that all is not lost and that we can save our Carnival from what the Inter Religious Organisation referred to as “undesirable and unacceptable features and behaviour at Carnival time”—especially “those acts that decrease the value and dignity of the human person.”

If we wish to save our Carnival from degradation and vulgarity, we should not stand outside and throw stones. Each of us has a role to play in transforming our society into one in which we will all be proud to live and call “home.”

Catholics are called to be the “salt of the earth” and the “leaven in the mass.” We should not withdraw from Carnival and lament the state it’s in. We will be ineffective if we simply sit on the sidelines.

Our task is to participate and reclaim our “culture.” Let’s show how enjoyable Carnival can be without immorality, nakedness, drunkenness etc. We can and must evangelise from within.

Remember the words of St Paul: “I urge you therefore…to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect… Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Romans 12).

As Mahatma Gandhi said, we must be the change we wish to see in the world.  

During this past Carnival, there were some signs of hope, eg the Harvard Boys’ Tuesday street party band, Pancho en Poncho. What a joy to see pictures of individuals in full costumes. Masqueraders were clad in ponchos, sombreros and other Mexican wear. It was reported that those who played in this band are still talking about the grand time they had.

Others, such as Allyson Hennessy and her group, were decently dressed and enjoying themselves without resorting to the kind of “wine” and “jam” and lewd dancing that is so common nowadays and which diminishes our human dignity.

And then there was Brian Mac Farlane’s Earth: Cries of Despair, Wings of Hope. Rosalind Gabriel’s contribution to this band is to be applauded. Each year she maintains a high standard of costuming for children. She is an exemplar to other bandleaders.

Not everyone wants to play mas in a bikini and beads, eg on Globewriter’s web log, someone wrote: “Would I pay $3,000 for a few beads and an open bar…nope. Would I pay for a beautiful costume that would give me memories of creating art on the streets of Port-of-Spain for decades to come… yes!”

I agree with ASJA that religious leaders should meet with band-leaders to discuss issues relating to costumes, behaviour of masqueraders etc. Bandleaders are key stakeholders and must be involved in any attempt to transform our Carnival. Are they prepared to forgo some of the huge profits they may be making by outsourcing the production of skimpy costumes to China etc?

Owen Hinds, president of the National Carnival Bands Association, is reported in the media as saying that “women were altering their costumes to expose their bodies. He said this happened in his own band and when he inquired about the changes, he was told that some women were saying that they did not want any cloth covering their bottom. He hoped for a return to ‘well designed costumes.’”

I pray that Mr Hinds will work with other bandleaders so that this hope will become a reality. I am sure that each bandleader, calypsonian, chutney singer, and judge of a Carnival event is a follower of one faith community or another. Our faith should enlighten us and lead us to promote morals and values that will build strong communities.

Our country is in crisis; too many of our communities are broken. I recognise that culture is dynamic and not static. However, what passes as “culture” in our current form of Carnival is often obscene. We are in danger of destabilising our country and further corrupting the minds of our young people. 

We have a duty to say “enough is enough” and take action to rectify matters. Let us not turn our backs on the outstanding Carnival offerings of those who have gone before us and those who are still with us.

Decency, dignity and a sense of decorum must be the hallmarks of our people if we are to move forward. If we pledge loyalty to our country, we cannot allow evil to overtake our culture. The late Pope John Paul II said that our future depends on a regeneration of moral culture.

I call on our leaders at all levels, including those at the Ministry of Culture, to play their part in helping us to turn the tide so that together we will build a strong culture based on shared values.

n Leela Ramdeen is a lawyer

and education consultant