Traditional Mas makes a comeback

Carnival aficionados observed a welcomed wind of change this year as a number of bandleaders seemed to move away from bikinis and beads in favour of costuming in the traditional sense. Bands including Brian McFarlane’s “Threads of Joy” were on the road in what some described as exquisitely designed costumes. Trini Revellers’ presentation of  “Rome — the Empire” saw masqueraders as Roman generals with breastplates, fur and feathered helmets and scribes dressed in long white and gold robes. The band used velvet for those sections of the band portraying high- ranking military officials.

There was also a float called “The Arena” which was designed by Yoko Fung. Peter Minshall, who has been away from Carnival since 2003 when he presented “Ship of Fools,” presented the “Sacred Heart.” The band came on stage with the “decaying body politic” and a phallus on which a condom was placed by masqueraders in Minshall’s dramatic presentation of the fight against the AIDS crisis. Trevor Wallace and Associates was another band whose costumes captured the  portrayal “The Joker is Wild.” Donald Little, chairman of the National Carnival Development Foundation (NCDF), said there was generally more cloth. He said the trend started last year. Little said it has been an “evolution” and change will come about as the younger masqueraders turn back to wearing more clothes.

Little said he also noticed more individual portrayals. “It is an appreciable swing to portrayals and cloth. We will see next year.” Little said he was happy because “our Carnival used to be that.” He agreed that some masqueraders were proud of their costumes and were holding on to them. The NCDF head  said he had always hoped for more bands to return to historical themes which offer an opportunity to produce “beautiful things.” Trevor Wallace and his wife Michelle said they wanted to put back the spectacle in mas. This was the reason they chose veteran designer Wayne Berkeley to design for their band “The Joker is Wild,” which was a tribute to jokers from different eras. It was the third year they collaborated. Michelle said producing costumes for the band instead of purchasing the imported beaded items also provided employment for about 15 locals. Although there were sections with bikinis, she said they were not “big sellers” as the younger players were also going for the covered but sexy costumes.

Among the sections in the band were Harlequin, Pantomime, and Court Jester. Another noticeable development this year was what appeared to be the return of male masqueraders in the bands. During the last decade, the bands have been dominated by young women whose preference for bikini and beads led bandleaders to forget the element of design but rake in the dollars as working women were prepared to pay thousands of dollars to have total freedom of movement. Now the men, big muscled bodybuilders, mature, even middle-aged, were in costume in many bands, making a comeback. This year also saw more traditional, fancy sailor bands accompanied by steelbands.

The extent to which traditional mas has almost been lost was seen in the inability of any sailor to do the authentic fireman dance which, in former years, used to be a choreographed art in itself. How much of this change is due to the Ministry of Culture’s campaign to turn the festival back to its roots, and see a return of real costuming, remains to be seen. There is also the  rising cost to young people of playing mas. The popularity of traditional mas was evident in the mini bands category. Of the 26 bands registered, there were eight indian bands — six fancy indians, one black indian and one fancy indian band. There was one group of robbers led by Anthony Collymore. They paid tribute to the late Brian Honore. Also registered were two bands of jab malassie, and Jab Jab and two fancy sailor bands.