WE'LL BE jamming, jamming here on Ring Road, We'll be having carnival here on Ring Road... sang Fab Five in the 1980s. The song was more than just a cute ditty to 'wine' to. It was paying homage to the genesis of the carnival movement in Jamaica on Ring Road at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus.
Shortly after the UWI was opened, students from the eastern Caribbean exported carnival to the north westernly shores of Jamaica. At that time the words 'carnival' and 'playing mas' were not a part of the Jamaican vernacular but soon after Jamaicans that had enrolled on the campus became part of the revellry and carnival in Jamaica was born.
The UWI carnival has continued throughout the years but it has not had the 'vibe' of the earlier days. Current Cultural and Entertainers Affairs Chairman Floyd Green attributes this to the declining number of non-Jamaican students.
"With the growth of the other campuses, we had less students from the Eastern Caribbean coming. They gave carnival its authenticity. So when they stopped coming as much as they used to, carnival declined because the interest that these students brought got less. But aside from that poor organisation has contributed in some instances."
Although not shedding much light on the instances, he pointed to 2001 when no carnival was held.
"That was the year with the Benz raffle. I think they were going to hold it but due to that incident it got overshadowed and so none was held," he said.
A carnival was held last year, but the support from the general public was not forthcoming. Mr. Green hopes that a merger with Jamaica Carnival this year will give the festivities a boost.
However, the Jamaica Carnival has also been having some level of problems. They have scaled down their carnival offerings in 2003 but they say they will be back stronger in 2004.
The loss of the Liguanea Park lands caused a major dent in that group's road march and judging plans. "We have never been able to identify a property capable of holding the kind of crowd that comes with road march," said Jamaica Carnival's Andrea Gordon.
Thus in 2003, Jamaica Carnival says that it has returned to its roots by joining forces with the UWI Carnival. The UWI students are pleased with this turn of events.
"With Jamaica Carnival helping us, it will have a greater impact on Kingston and Jamaica," Mr. Green said. "We are taking carnival into a new dimension, trying to bring back younger energy without alienating the older people."
Jamaica Carnival's initial appeal had been to young soca lovers in their early 20s, Mr. Green said.
Green adds that the merger is for one year but it is hoped that a long term relationship can be forged.
In terms of the students, he pointed out that they were excited about a bigger and better carnival.
"The students are excited about it and we are excited as well. It will be the most memorable carnival ever and the campus is buzzing with a carnival atmosphere as we speak. I think we are going back to the days when carnival had a vibe on campus," said Green.
So Jamaica Carnival is going back to their roots but how did the move away from the campus happen in the first place? In the late 1980s with the birth of the Oakridge Carnival, the movement began its trek from the campus. However, at that time 'playing mas' became an exclusive affair for those of the upper ecehlons of society who chose to party that way.
That changed in 1991 when Byron Lee sought to bring to the carnival movement to the rest of Jamaica. By the mid-1990s all the various carnival groups which then included 'Revellers', 'Joker's Wild' and 'Frenchmen' joined with Jamaica Carnival and attempted to put on one large show. The concept worked for a while, that is until Byron Lee and his Jamaica Carnival decided to go it alone.
Since 1998, Jamaica has become accustomed to having two carnival groupings, Jamaica Carnival and Bacchanal Jamaica, which includes the 'Reveller', 'Oakridge Carnival', 'Frenchmen' and 'Jokers Wild'.
However, many persons have been wondering, what is happening with carnival this year?
Well, while Jamaica Carnival has restricted its activities to the UWI campus, the organisers of Bacchanal Jamaica, say they are increasing their activities.
Bacchanal Jamaica, which leased the Mas Camp property on Oxford Road, says that it is coming bigger and better in 2003.
They have chosen 'Survivor' as this year's theme and from all accounts, they are more than surviving. Bacchanal Jamaica's spokesman Michael Ammar Jr. pointed out that last year the group did very well. "It was our biggest year. We had very good turnout at all our events at Mas Camp and figures for the road march was like 1300 persons, that's the biggest road march ever in Jamaica," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
As a result, the group will this year stage 30 events, exactly double the number they had last year. Their carnival kicks off next Friday with 'Carnival New Year' at the Mas Camp and they will be putting on a full schedule of events until May 3.
However, while Bacchanal Jamaica is looking forward to 'big things' there are still a few hindrances to carnival activities in general. Probably one of the biggest hindrances is the perception that it is 'un-Jamaican'. A full 14 years after carnival was exposed to the wider Jamaican public it still also faces opposition from certain quarters who still refer to it as 'a pagan celebration.' Then it is also accused of being a strictly 'up-town' affair.
Ammar Jr. responds to his critics by saying: "Why then do we have a downtown carnival? I mean every year we get more spectators and the persons who come to 'Mas Camp' on a Friday night are mainly from the working class who want to come out to have fun."
However, he does concede that the one thing that is preventing those persons from becoming a part of the costumed bands who play 'mas' is the price of the costumes. "We have tried to keep costume prices at about US$100 (approximately J$5,100) and that is primarily because sponsors subsidize about 30 per cent of the cost. But our prices are still good if you compare them to Trinidad where I just paid US$220 for my costume and that is just the bare costume price. Here, you get at least three meals, along with drinks and the cost to come into the venue for the final show, all of that is a US$300 value."
For those who doubt carnival's appeal to the average Jamaican man, all they have to do is see 'Downtown Carnival'. Now in its fourth year, the event has been growing larger each year. For the past three years, it has been aligned to Bacchanal Jamaica and this year is expected to be even bigger.
Lennox Aldred, an ardent carnival fan who descibes himself as a convert to the revellery, believes the event has been more favourably greeted due its attractiveness. "More and more people are catching on to it. It's more attractive to go to because its not very expensive and everybody just goes to have fun," he said.
Aldred is not alone in his belief. Corey Edwards, a UWI student, thinks carnival still has a following.
"It's popular especially here on campus where the link with Jamaican carnival will mean more promotion for UWI carnival. It also means that more persons will become involved in Carnival for this year."
Still another hurdle carnival in Jamaica has had to overcome is that of religion. Unfortunately, Jamaica's carnival season falls right in the middle of the holiest period on the Christian calendar, Easter.
The increase in popularity seen by the revellers has not come without much opposition from the church. Despite not being as vocal as in former years, one pastor says that the church is still against the festivity.
"I don't think the church has stopped protesting. Not that I know of. I know the church is strongly opposed to carnival especially when it is held on a Sunday. The position hasn't changed over the years. It has remained the same," explained Reverend Clinton Smith of the Kingsgate United Church.
However, Ammar Jr. has said that Bacchanal Jamaica has sought to be sensitive to those of their revellers who are Christians and to the church. "We have nothing on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday or Easter Sunday. And we plan to finish the J'ouvert Beach party in Oracabessa at 10:00 p.m. so that those who want to observe Easter Sunday can."
The concept of carnival in Jamaica, although imported from Trinidad and Tobago, is not held in high esteem by at least one Trinidadian living here.
"Trinidad's carnival is based on something. It's coming from historical foundation. In Trinidad everyone comes together during carnival. It's like culture on-stage. Here, it's like Jamaican carnival is a money making venture. It's like pulling pieces of Trinidad with no method. In Trinidad there is no carnival after Ash Wednesday while here there are events during the season of lent."
