The Parang paradox

Christmas 2003 is upon the nation and all the normal yuletide trappings have enveloped the nation. In addition to the normal Christmas sales, decorations, and other symbols of Christmas there is also the music of the season. To the imported snow and sled driven music there is the local Parang to the milieu of music.

Ethnomusicology is looking at music as a part of a culture and social life and looking at the music system itself. Once these basic parameters are made then music can be compared and studied across cultures and across time and in other ways, such as, how music affects cultures and the people involved and how culture affects music. Parang should be examined in the ethnic context of Trinidad and Tobago in light of this. The British ethnomusicologist John Blacking has written of “humanly organised sound” and “soundly organised humanity.” The first emphasis is studying how and why people make musical choices within their cultural system. The study of musical organisation and related topics is what we call “studying music from the inside out.” It is also possible to study “soundly organised humanity,” that is, how music and music-making opportunities shape and impact and guide peoples’ behaviour and attitudes. A study or Parang vis a vis Indian music will show latent hypocrisy in Trinidad against Indian music and indeed that of Indian culture.

Parang as a word is an interpretation of the word “Parranda” — this means basically “the action of merry-making, group of serenaders.” Originally the “Paranderos” — as the singers and players of instruments are called — went carol singing and playing from house to house in the neighbourhood, serenading family and friends spontaneously. These would in return often serve some food and refreshments such as pastelles or other snacks and ponche-a-creme to the merrymakers, and the resulting atmosphere would be that of happy togetherness and the joy of a good Christmas lime that could continue to early hours of the morning. There are a few theories about how Parang music came to be in Trinidad. One is that it all started during the Spanish rule (from 1498 to 1797) and the Spanish and French Creoles kept the music alive after the British took over. Another commonly supported view states that Parang came to be in Trinidad from Spain but via Venezuela. Without a doubt, interactions with the people of Venezuela (where Parang music is also played) have helped to keep the tradition alive throughout the years.

Traditionally the lyrics of Parang were mainly religious and Christian. The language was Spanish, and not just any kind of Creole or local Spanish, but “Castellano” — old and original Spanish dialect. This differs somewhat from the more “modern” dialects spoken in Venezuela and the Caribbean in its pronunciations and the particular vocabulary used. Though nowadays most listeners cannot tell the differences, Parang songs come in many different styles and categories, classifiable by their lyrical contents and the musical measurements. Parang music is now the music played on most radio stations and at Christmas parties. Even Indian formatted radio stations play Parang in keeping with the season. Sung in Spanish Parang is ironically understood by very few citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. A significant number of even the members of the Parang groups themselves do not understand fully the Spanish songs they sing with great gusto of the season. Yet despite not being understood by the majority of the population is considered an integral part of the nation’s culture. This has to be contrasted to the manner in which Indian music is treated by the national population. Many Indian taxi drivers can relate being told to turn off the radio while they are playing Indian music, or Indo-Trinidadians being told by their ‘friends’ to change the music. This despite the fact that Indian music is understood by perhaps more persons who understand Parang. Yet Indian music, perhaps save Chutney, is considered foreign and a sub-culture at best.

Given the popularity of Parang at Christmas one wonder if a Spanish/Parang radio station can survive in Trinidad similar to the five Indian radio station? Lord Superior with Superior Radio proved that Calypso couldn’t support economically a radio station. Yet Indian culture without State support and essentially corporate funding have survived and spawned five radio stations. Indian films continue to draw massive crowds, and Indian music continue to sell across the country. Ironically Spanish the ‘lingua franca’ of Parang is taught as a compulsory subject in some secondary schools for a few years and other secondary schools offer the language as an elective subject. Hindi on the other hand is not offered by the school system. This irony is the Parang Paradox.

President, Association of Caribbean Anthropologists Dr Kumar Mahabir notes “In 1996, it was reported that in Trinidad about 60,000 to 80,000 Trinidadians speak Hindi in their daily routine; 12,500 were learning Hindi in a semi-formal and less structured manner; and 3,500 were proactively involved in learning the language.” Hindi is heard daily on five radio stations and is used in advertisements in the mass media. Hindi lexical terms are used by non-Indian singers in the calypso tents especially in reference to the sensual pleasure of food (eg bara, channa, massala) and kinship terms (eg nani, dulaha, marajhin). Hindi songs are blasted on microphones during Indian weddings, bazaars, parties, yagnas (public sermons) and at election campaigns. There are local publications in Hindi in which articles, essays, stories and poems are written in Devanagri script.”

Despite the everyday widespread use of Hindi a move by the Minister of Education to have Hindi introduced into the secondary school system was met with hostility from some quarters non-Indian Trinidad. Education Minister Hazel Manning invited the Hindi Nidhi Foundation and the Bharatiya Vidya Sansthaan (BVS) to meet ministry officials to discuss the importance of Hindi. (December 8, 2003) Manning said the move follows the admittance of Spanish as one of the eight compulsory subjects in secondary schools from September 2004. With this introduction Hindi and indeed Indian culture promises to continue to be part of Trinidad’s culture despite what many Trinidadians may feel.