Talk Stories Read Online Free PDF Page A

Dimanche Gras:
    Â 
    After The Mighty Sparrow went off, a light rain began to fall. A steel band began to play, and people “jumped up”—all over but especially on the stage. Many people made use of their “Fred Richmond for Congress” plastic bags to keep the rain off their heads. One person who did this was Marcia Manners, the 1974 Carnival Queen. The band was good, and people had a fine time. It was very pleasant to “jump up” in the light rain. We had a good time talking with Ruddie King, who said he introduced steel bands in this country, and who told us how West Indian-American Day parades used to be in the old days when they were held in Harlem—starting at 110th Street and going up to 150th, ending with a celebration at the Rockland Palace. He showed us a group of props he had assembled for an “Ole Mas.” There was a big clock, there was a figure of a man in a white pith helmet, there was an old pushcart, and there was an old-fashioned coal scuttle. Mr. King said that this “Ole Mas” was called “Behind Time.” Then the rain got heavier. We took refuge in a booth where Mrs. Lezama, wife of Carlos Lezama, the hardworking man who organizes the Carnival each year, was presiding over pots of
souse, rôti , and other West Indian food. We had some souse and some ginger beer made with fresh ginger, and then the rain really came down, spoiling the “Ole Mas.” At five minutes past midnight, there was a cloudburst. Most people left. A dozen people went by under a tablecloth, still dancing. We left soon afterward. We found out the next day that Mr. Lezama and his co-worker Mr. Herman Hall stayed until the rain stopped, late in the morning, to properly look after the chairs, the stage, and other rented equipment.
    Â 
    Â 
    Report from Jamaica on the History of Carnival:
    Â 
    â€œErrol Payne is an impressive-looking man who is the vice-president of art and culture of the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association. He is considered Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival ambassador to North America, and this is why: he has been entering costumes in band competitions since 1946; in 1956, he was made a Grand Knight of the Carnival Court for life; one of his winning costumes, ‘Peacock,’ was once used as a postage stamp for Trinidad and Tobago; he has had so many winning costumes that for a few years he was asked not to compete in costume contests in Trinidad and Tobago; his authority on costume-making is so widely respected that other costume-makers often come to him for assistance. So, naturally, if you want to know anything about Carnival, you ask him. This is what he says: ‘Carnival started in Trinidad in the days of slavery, when the slave masters were
French. Around Christmastime, the slave masters would celebrate with eating and drinking and dress themselves up in costume. The slaves would be allowed to celebrate, too, and it was the only time they could dress themselves up and pretend they were anything they wanted. A man could pretend he was a king or a prince. They didn’t have fine things to dress up in, so they would use old rags and old things to do it. That was the beginning of “Ole Mas.” After slavery was abolished, the ex-slaves went into the streets, singing and dancing and beating drums, and that was Carnival. It was also with the slaves that calypso music was born. If a slave master was standing in the presence of two or three slaves and they wanted to say something that they didn’t want him to know about, they would start singing it in picong tone, which is broken English, and patois French. That was their way of communicating with each other without the slave master’s knowing what they were saying. Ever since then, Carnival has been growing like a wild vine, and nobody can stop it!’
    Â 
    Â 
    Excerpt from program of West Indian-American Day Parade down Eastern Parkway to Prospect Park:

    While