GENERAL HOWARD AND THE HOMELAND OF THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES

There are 103 HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges / Universities) in the United States—just 4 percent of the total number. The premiere of these institutions, the veritable “Capstone” of Negro education, was founded by and is named after Major General Oliver Otis Howard, a white man from New England. The propagandistic biography provided by the PBS piece “New Perspectives on the West” speaking of Howard’s exploits in the campaign against the First Nations people, tells that in 1877, ten years after founding The Capstone, the founder, General Howard, was sent by the United States government “to persuade a Nez Percé band led by Chief Joseph to leave their homeland in the Wallowa Valley for the reservation assigned to them in Lapwai, Idaho. Howard found himself agreeing with Joseph that his people had never signed a treaty giving up their homeland, but in Howard's view this did not change the fact that eastern Oregon was no longer a place where Indians could roam free.”

Apparently he had a clear conscience about his right to impose the rule that “eastern Oregon was no longer a place where Indians could roam free.” In contrast, by their failure to take any action against the lawlessness of Cliven Bundy and his white supremacists, the United States government—and implicitly the goodly general—have established that white people do have the right to roam free over all of the vast territory stolen from Chief Joseph and his people, the First Nations people. On January 2, 2016, encouraged by the success of his father’s gang, Cliven’s son Ammon led a band of armed insurgents—who happen to have been Mormons—in the takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Burns, Oregon. The federal authorities basically allowed the white insurgents to “roam free” in that section of Oregon for a full three weeks before finally taking action on January 26.

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 22

Treasuring Our Carnival

     In Trinidad and Tobago, Africans have not been as powerless as their brothers and sisters in Latin America. For this reason, our nation has respected and has been guided by the African approach to and understanding of Carnival. Our Carnival has maintained its fundamental inclusiveness. Our nation has understood that civilized existence would be impossible without festivals and that Carnival is the ultimate pan-African festival.

     On this basis, then, Trinbagonians are right in thinking of Carnival as we (our) thing.  They are right, too, in believing that the festival known as Carnival is special to Trinidad and Tobago and that our version of the festival is the best in the world. We here in our twin-island republic have developed Carnival into an extremely valuable treasure. Many of our ancestors paid with their lives to create this national treasure. We must be extremely vigilant to ensure that we do not allow others to steal this treasure from us.

I PLAN TO TRAVEL TO T&T TOMORROW AND TO BE THERE UNTIL FEBRUARY 16. I’LL KEEP YOU POSTED ABOUT SEMINARS, ETC. DURING MY STAY THERE.

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 21

The Spirit of Carnival Betrayed

     Historians tell us that this acceptance of all, the temporary suppression of the normal class boundaries, was a feature of the Carnivals of Latin America from the earliest colonial days (that is, from as early as the sixteenth century C.E.). However, as the Carnivals of Latin America became more and more developed, they lost their spirit of inclusiveness. In our nation, one finds a similar tradition of exclusiveness, snobbishness, in the Carnival celebrations developed by the French Creoles, who constituted the local elite.

     Today, the Carnival in Barranquilla is an activity of the middle and upper classes. Africans have become marginalized. The Carnival bands have morphed into corporations. The mas players are members of an exclusive club who begin their rehearsals for the “parade” as early as October. It is inconceivable that a tourist would come quite from Australia just in time for Carnival and would be allowed to jump in the band to play mas in the Barranquilla Carnival.

     In Rio de Janeiro the situation is even worse. The mas players are generally professional dancers like the performers in Las Vegas shows. The Carnival parade is a grand extravaganza for tourists who pay big money to be spectators. There is generally no question of a tourist playing mas in Rio. Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule, and so there are cases of visitors being permitted to play mas in Barranquilla and even in Rio. The important point is that whereas in Trinidad and Tobago participation by tourists is encouraged, in Barranquilla and Rio, it is not.

     Our ancestors from the Nile Valley knew that civilized existence, what we call civil society, would be impossible without festivals. For this reason, the Pharaoh made it his sacred duty to have the festivals celebrated regularly and properly. There are one hundred and fifty million people of African ancestry in Latin America, and most of them understand the importance of festivals. Even though Africans and their descendants constitute the majority of the population in Latin America, they are basically powerless.

TO BE CONTINUED

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 20

No One Is to Be Excluded

     Without these festivals there could be no established society, since it was during the festivals that human beings made contact with the Creator, the center of their existence. It was crucial that every human being be allowed to participate fully in the festival. It was considered a God-given right. So much so that it would have been a serious sin for any Egyptian to prevent someone from participating in the festival and following the image of his patron orisha as it was paraded through the streets on a float. The festival belongs to the people, to put it another way, “the road make to walk on Carnival day.”

     The festival is an important mechanism for renewing society, for healing and strengthening society. It is essential that it be open to all, that it be inclusive. The Greeks never got fully with the program. In general, Europeans have whittled away at the spirit of the festival. In Trinidad, for example, Europeans of French extract kept themselves apart from the sweaty African masses. They played their mas around the Savanah and on trucks. When they did come down off the trucks, they would rope themselves off from the sweaty masses.

     We, the people of Trinidad and Tobago, have kept faithful to the tradition. Shadow is just one of the many great oral poets our country has produced. In his 2002 composition entitled “Stranger,” he reaffirms the distinguishing feature of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, as he advises a visitor on how to play mas:

         

          Buy a little rag and put it in your pocket.

          Buy a little flag, that’s the way they do it.

          Find yourself a band, find a good position.

          When the music blast, you’ll find out how to play mas.

     The tourist to whom Shadow gives this essential lesson in playing mas had come quite from Australia. Over the years our great bards have declared in their songs that the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is open to all. Our festival conforms fully to the specifications imposed by our earliest ancestors in the Nile Valley. Lord Kitchener, for example, sang:

          A tourist dame, I met her the night she came.

          Well, she curiously asking about my country.

She said, “I heard about bacchanal and the Trinidad Carnival,

          So I come to jump in the fun.

          And I want you to tell me how it is done.”

Kitch gives the formula. It is a very simple one, and it is the same one given by Shadow some three decades later.

          Ah said, “Doudou, come in town Jouvert morning.

          Find yourself in a band.

          Watch the way how the natives moving.

          Hug up tight with a man.

          Sing along with the tunes they playing.

          And now and again you shouting,

          “Play mas bacchanal, Miss Tourist.”

          That is Carnival.

     Come one, come all, regardless of race, color, creed, or class, and certainly of national origin. The special feature of our Carnival is this magical formula for instantly converting a rhythmically challenged foreign tourist into a full-fledged participant in the festival.

TO BE CONTINUED

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 19

Why

     The people of Barranquilla are convinced that their Carnival is the best in the world. Haitians, in their turn, believe that they have created the most impressive Carnival in the universe. Needless to say, the Rio de Janeiro Carnival is thought by Brazilians and, indeed, by many people throughout the world, to be the greatest. We, of course, in Trinidad and Tobago fervently believe that all of these views are fundamentally misguided. It is through the “Why” of the festival that the matter of which Carnival is the best will finally be resolved.

The Spirituality of Festivals

     The historical record indicates that Africans were the first human beings to celebrate festivals. These festivals were specially established events which enabled mortals to come into the presence of the divine. Africans in the Nile Valley instituted mankind’s earliest civilized societies. These Africans societies were centered on the Creator, who was worshiped, for the most part, through the forces of nature deemed to be manifestations and aspects of the Creator. These manifestations and aspects of the Creator were seen as persons in their own right, that is, as gods and goddesses. The gods and goddesses of the Egyptians exactly correspond to the orisha of the Yoruba people.

     The Egyptians approached the Creator through these gods and goddesses, these orisha, these intermediaries. There were special places, shrines, temples, “palais,” in which symbols or images of the gods and goddesses were housed. However, for the most part, only specifically designated individuals had regular access to these shrines. It was during the festival that the Creator walked among the people, that the symbols or images of the manifestations and aspects of the Creator were brought forth from their shrines to the streets.

TO BE CONTINUED

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 18

Carnival in Barranquilla, Colombia

     A considerable portion of the South American nation of Colombia is washed by the Caribbean Sea. In fact, the cultures of Trinidad and Tobago and of all the nations washed by the Caribbean Sea are very similar. And this is not really surprising, since the most important defining element of these cultures is the African heritage. Very few Trinbagonians realize that our term “mamaguy” comes from the Spanish expression “mamagallar.” This expression is dear to Colombians from the Caribbean region of that nation.

     It should come as no surprise that those Caribbean Colombians who pride themselves on being “mamagallistas” [mamaguyers] are also fiercely proud of their Carnival. The city of Barranquilla is one of the most important cultural centers of Caribbean Colombia. In the year 2000, the Fundación Carnaval [Carnival Foundation](the equivalent of our National Carnival Comission [NCC]) of Barranquilla, in conjunction with the nation’s Ministry of Culture, organized the Primer Encuentro Internacional de Carnavales [The First International Conference on Carniaval]. Twenty-three scholars from Latin America and the Caribbean as well as from Europe were invited to present papers on Carnival.

     The organizers of the June 2000 Carnival conference in Barranquilla did not know that in 1999 the city of Port-of-Spain was host to what was billed as the third of a series of world Carnival conferences. Our NCC, which was primarily responsible for the 1999 conference, was unaware of the existence of the Barranquilla Carnival Foundation. Reciprocally, the Barranquilla Carnival Foundation knew nothing of our NCC.

TO BE CONTINUED

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 17

Where

The Spread of Trinbagonian Style Carnivals

     Wherever, then, there are African people, you will find a festival like the one we call Carnival. Furthermore, in an attempt to boost its tourist industry, almost every island nation in the Caribbean has established a Carnival. The authorities have coordinated their moves so that there is a Carnival somewhere in the Caribbean throughout the entire year. The model used for these reconstituted Carnivals has been the Trinidad and Tobago one. Furthermore, in the U.K, in Canada, in the United States, and even in countries such as France, Switzerland, Germany, and Australia, Trinidad and Tobago style Carnivals have been springing up.

     It should be recalled that in all of the Caribbean countries in which new Trinidad and Tobago style Carnivals have been introduced, there already did exist an authentic “Carnival” tradition. Even when this “Carnival” tradition was not labeled as such, it consisted of a festival which is basically the same in form and content as the festival we call Carnival. Furthermore, Carnival as we know it today was at one stage of its evolution a Roman festival which was a pale but unmistakable imitation of the original African festival. At that stage of its evolution, it was brought in line with the principles and practices of Christianity and given a European face.

     The people and organizations responsible for setting up Trinidad and Tobago style Carnivals all over the Caribbean, North America, Europe, and even Australia are, for the most part, unaware of the rich history of the festival. Clearly, a knowledge of this history would greatly facilitate efforts at enriching the global community with the considerable cultural gifts Carnival has to offer.

TO BE CONTINUED

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 16

Jonkonu, a Christmas Carnival

     It is generally believed that Carnival did not develop in those countries of the Western Hemisphere which were colonized by the British and Dutch. This misconception is bred of the confusion caused by the term “Carnival” itself, which declares the festival to be of European Christian origin. Once we understand that the festival is really the ultimate pan-African festival, we will not be led astray by the name Carnival. We will see clearly that the festival known as Jonkonu is a legitimate form of “Carnival,” for it involves masking, theatrics, processional dancing through the streets or other public places to rhythmic music. Most importantly, it involves the participation of people from all levels of society.

     Jonkonu is celebrated at Christmas time in countries such as Jamaica and the Bahamas, which were colonized by the British. It is not generally known that the Jonkonu tradition existed among Africans from the southern states of the United States. It flourished in the period right after the Civil War. However, it was suppressed by white supremacy, which was reinstalled with inhuman ferocity when the effects of the Civil War wore off. As a consequence, young white men were the only members of the society who were free to carry on the Jonkonu activities. They did so, and they give their antics the name “cooning,” an expression which came to mean “acting like an African.” Consequently, the term “coon” became a disparaging term to refer to Africans in the United States. It is even more offensive than “nigger.”

TO BE CONTINUED

THE “SYSTEM,” THE DONALD, AND BERNIE

The Donald as well as Bernie fervently declare that the system is broken and have with equal fervor committed themselves to fixing it. They appear to be in general agreement that the “system” is the unbridled free market capitalism which creates extraordinary wealth for a tiny group through the unconscionable exploitation of the rest of mankind.

The Donald is a trickster, whereas Bernie is a decent, honest human being. SO, I’M WITH BERNIE. 

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 15

When

Carnival and Lent

     From the very beginning there were two Carnivals in Trinidad and Tobago, one on the two days before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), and the other on Emancipation Day. The British colonial authorities were more inclined to tolerate the pre-Lenten Carnival. However, the Emancipation Day Carnival was the one which had the greatest significance for our African ancestors here in Trinidad and Tobago. 

     In Christendom, Carnival was a period of feasting and merrymaking prior to the forty days of Lent, days of fasting and abstinence. Thus the period of merrymaking was described as the immediate preparation for carnem levare, [depriving oneself of flesh (that is, meat to eat as well as the pleasures of the flesh)]. Over the years, the term carnem levare evolved into carnavale.

     The conquering Europeans, whom Columbus unleashed upon the Western Hemisphere, were agents of Christendom. Christendom was not a spirituality system, but a sociopolitical, economic entity which supposedly had Christianity as its guiding ideology. The conquering Europeans consequently imposed their ideology on the New World.

     Africans understood that Christendom was a betrayal of the spirit of Christianity. They also understood that Christendom was a new system considerably less developed than the ones set in place by Africans thousands upon thousands of years ago. The ancient and venerable African systems taught our ancestors to put up with the barbaric world order created by the agents of Christendom. Accordingly, Africans in the New World opted to go along with Christendom’s timing of the festival called Carnival. Nevertheless, these Africans understood that Carnival had its roots in the original civilization.

     Under unrelenting resistance from the enslaved Africans, the British were forced to end the evil system of enslavement. The term Emancipation was given to this process, and for their convenience, the British set up the process in two phases. The first phase was more symbolic than anything else. And so in 1833, the enslaved Africans were declared emancipated. Still, as part of the reparation made to the Europeans who had brutalized Africans, the enslaved Africans were forced to remain on the plantations as unpaid laborers until 1838.

     In spite of the cruel imposition of five more years of hard labor working for brutal Whites, Africans celebrated their partial victory of 1833. Their celebration took the form which had been in place from the dawn of civilization, namely a festival. The festival par excellence for Africans has the same basic form and content as the Christian festival known as Carnival. The name given to the festival and the time of the year at which it is celebrated are not of great significance therefore. In Haiti today, for example, the festivities associated with Carnival carry over into Lent. Christian theology accordingly takes a back seat to another set of cultural values.

     In Brazil today, Carnival festivities also spill over into Lent. This goes against the very meaning of Carnival as a Christian festival. In Cuba, Carnival festivities took place on the Christian holy day known as the Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated traditionally on January 6. After the revolution, the main Cuban Carnival was made to coincide with the most important civic holiday, July 26, Revolution Day.

TO BE CONTINUED

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 14

The Festivals of Kemet as Carnivals

     Kimani Nehusi, coeditor with Ian Isidore Smart of the book, Ah Come Back Home: Perspectives on the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, is one the first scholars to spell out the similarities between the street scenes of the ancient Egyptian festivals and those of our Carnival. Nehusi asserts:

     Processions dominated the actual ceremonies [of the festivals in Kemet]. Special processional routes were built in some instances. The images of gods and goddesses were carried to song, music, and dancing; as were shrines, votive offerings, various royal, religious, regional, and other standards and emblems, as well as signs and figures representing significant ideas and concepts, provinces, towns, and divinities. Trumpets (known as Snbw), sistra (rattles, or even “shack-shacks”), tambourines, a barrel shaped drum called by the onomatopoeic name kmkm, and wooden clappers were popular in processions. So too was hand clapping. The Kemites were the first people in the world to recognize and exploit the suitability of these instruments for military and processional purposes. Priests, many of whom were dressed in panther skins and some of whom wore animal masks, officials, some of whom acted as marshals, and ordinary people also participted.

     It must be noted here in passing that people did not only play the particular masks they wore but that some of these festivals involved mystery plays in which different parts were played by different characters. . . . The color, gaiety, spontaneity, and power of these festivals made them irresistible and alone would have guaranteed their immense popularity. (82-83)

     Nehusi paints a vivid picture of the festivals of Kemet on the basis of his knowledge of history. Achebe, in the Egwugwu scene which was discussed in the preceding section, paints an even more vivid picture of a festival of Igboland. There are so many elements in both accounts with which those of us who have experienced the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival can fully relate.

TO BE CONTINUED

REPUBLICAN REASONING

ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLE / FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: A person born in a foreign country is NOT a “natural born citizen” of the United States, even though his mother may be a natural born White citizen.

If, then, Barack Hussein Obama had been born in Kenya, he would not be a LEGITIMATE president, since Kenya is a foreign country.

By providing an authenticated birth certificate President Obama proved beyond any shadow of doubt that he was born in the United States.

Rafael “Ted” Cruz was born in Canada to a White woman who was a natural born citizen of the United States, but to a father who was NOT a citizen of the United States.

Republicans now claim that the ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLE / FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE does not apply in Rafael “Ted” Cruz’s case.

WHY SO? Could it be because Kenya is in Africa whereas Canada is in North America? Could it be because President Obama is Black and Senator Cruz is White?

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 13

The Central Role of the Mask

     Not only do we have the text of a version of the Wosir play, but we also have one of the basic stage props of the theatre, the mask. The Egyptians used masks to reenact events, to make present the cosmic forces. The oldest surviving mask in the world is one which represents the jackal-headed Egyptian orisha know as Anubis to the Greeks, but whose African name is Inpw. This mask, which is now on display in a museum in Germany, was once used in the festival processional dances of ancient Egypt. (See Ah Come Back Home, 86)

     In chapter ten of his classic novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, the late great Nigerian novelist, portrays a convocation of the egwugwu, the highest judicial authority of Igbo society. The scene Achebe describes is really a Carnival one. The event takes place in the ilo [village square], the site of communal cultural expressions. Everyone is present to witness and participate in the drama. An iron gong rings out, and it can be felt in the small of the back. We can all identify with what Achebe calls the “wave of expectation,” the sound of metal on metal which sends a shiver of excitement through the Africans gathered in that village square in Igboland. We have all felt the electric shock, the Shango electric as David Rudder calls it, generated by the ringing of metal on metal or rubber on metal, that is, by the steelband.

     What Achebe is describing is a dramatic scene. The nine orisha who preside over legal matters are made present through the masks. Indeed, the masks must be worn by certain members of the society, but once a man puts on the mask, he becomes the orisha represented by the mask. He is no longer a mortal man, he is one and the same with the orisha whose mask he is wearing. And everyone in the clan accepts this idea.

TO BE CONTINUED

BERNIE, DONALD, AND “THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH”

We all agree that the first step taken by the United States on the way to becoming the most powerful nation in the history of humanity was, in fact, the commission of the two most heinous crimes against humanity, namely, the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the conquest of the New World. The unholy profits gained from these heinous crimes constituted the necessary condition for America’s greatness.

Times have changed; and America can no longer continue to dominate the global economy. What goes up must come down. Since White Americans reaped the lion’s share of the benefits derived from America’s greatness, these same White Americans are bearing the lion’s share of the pain associated with America’s demise.

White Americans feel that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump can best relate to their pain. This is fine. However, what about the non-White people of the United States and the rest of the world. America’s greatness was built on their exploitation. America grew rich by sucking up their wealth, leaving them destitute.

“The Wretched of the Earth” must be taken into account, because they are the majority of humanity. 

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART - 12

      Sampson affirms that this chant had the effect of taking the stickfighters to a level at which they felt no more pain. He tells the story of a stickfight between Rocou John and Tiny Satan, that took place in Laku Pebwa (in lower Belmont [VERIFY]) in 1875.

     Tiny Satan hit Rocou John six times in succession. Just one of these blows should have been sufficient to call an end to the contest. Because it was part of the established practice that stickfights were over at the first bus’ head. But Rocou John’s head was baddened by the power of the chant. He felt no pain. He identified totally with the power and force of Set, one of the great warrior divinities (orishas) of ancient Egypt.

     Rocou John was no Set, however. He was just a stickfighter with a baddened head and six bus’ heads. He was just a mortal man. He fell to ground finally still mumbling “Djab se yo neg, Die nom-la bla, Bamboula.” He died still mumbling the powerful chant. His skull had been completely crushed in (156-57).

TO BE CONTINUED

CARNIVAL IS “WE THING” - PART 11

     The Africans who developed Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago were faithful to the original African systems. Satan is named after Set. So Satan is not totally evil. Of course, under the domination of Christendom, it would have been extremely dangerous to engage in this kind of theological thought. So our African ancestors who developed Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago opted to let well enough alone.

     The dominant Europeans said that Satan, the devil, was totally evil. That was alright. However, our African ancestors realized that this was simply one style of theological reasoning, and one that had evolved from the original model developed in the heart of Africa, when there was no such thing as Europe.

     So our devils are not wholly evil. The jab-jab is a scary character, but he is also a source of inspiration. One of the most powerful of the warrior chant kaisos created for the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival was presented in the classic 1956 Trinidad Carnival issue of the Caribbean Quarterly  by Mitto Sampson. The chant is cited below in the original French Creole followed by an English translation:

          Djab se yo neg

          Me Die se nom-la bla

          Bamboula, Bamboula

          Bamboula, Bamboula

          The Devil is a Negro

          But God is a white man

          Bamboula, Bamboula

          Bamboula, Bamboula (156)

TO BE CONTINUED