DENNIS JOSEPH WEEKLY: My problem with Carnival

Dennis Joseph

If Jesus the Christ would have walked into this church he would have been greeted with a yelling voice commanding him and everyone of the faithful attendees to “Make some noise, everybody scream.” This would slam into his ear with a vengeance and would he have screamed? The effect of it was sending the church into wild hysterics.  Church faithful were punching the air with loud exclamations of ‘amen’ and other words of praise and at least one person I heard babbling and seemed to be speaking in tongues or something.

Jesus would have thought he had walked into a carnival concert and would expect to hear Jammer B, and Shadowflow. On the floor some Christian sisters were shaking ample body assets in Jesus name all overseen by the pastor on a platform and   well, “who vex loss.”  Now and then I just caught the name Jesus in the church band’s noisy presentation.   It would be interesting to know what Jesus would have done.  Would he accept the explanation given to me by a church member afterwards that there were many ways to praise Jesus  and the youth will not like the old holy ways of more serene singing to the accompaniment of an organ? Youth wanted action and if the church did not give it to them they would not come to Jesus and so if carnival style music had to be used to bring them in why not?

In other words the worldly ways condemned by the Christian church were the very ways used to attract young people to Him.  This is not a riddle, it is a fact. Rock, Hip Hop, and other “worldly” beats once were scorned by churches claiming that they were the product of Satan.

In Waitikubuli and indeed other places, the largest church has tied itself to a worldly event –carnival.   The interest and influence of the Catholic Church is being held out as a good reason for not shifting the carnival season to a more comfortable time of year.  This year as with other similar years when the Lenten season, the holiest season of the Catholic Church, comes up early the carnival season is cramped into an impossibly short four weeks run to end almost as soon as it begins.  What the church is tied to is bachannal and revelry and sometimes raucous calypso music, yet some church members will insist that no way should that kind of action be divorced from the church’s after carnival Ash Wednesday blessing

I love all music but to me the World Creole Music Festival in October and the calypso competition a few days before Ash Wednesday are Waitikubuli’s signature musical events.  There are such competitions elsewhere but what distinguishes us is the calypso theatre on the night of the finals.  The choreographers present masterpiece theatrical productions to support the lyrics of the songs and I do believe a special award should be given on that night to the best such production regardless of the results of the competition.  My problem is that because the carnival and calypso season is stifled by church tradition the considerable talent of our mainly young people is short-circuited under the weight of the dictates of the Catholic Church’s calendar.

I also have another problem.   After decades of carnival what we end up with is a carnival city with tarpaulin walls, ticket booths jammed  into  a  long steel container originally designed to hold sea transported cargo, makeshift bars and stalls, a sprinkling  of tents planted with a hope and prayer that we do not have a very windy night, faded advertising  flags,  a hurriedly erected stage, a main gate entrance that could easily become waterlogged in the event of rain together with grounds that could become  muddy and was set up for sports and not trampling crowds of thousands night after night on carnival week.

Is this how we treat the patrons that also come from overseas just for the festivities?  After all these years can we not find some money to build a special place to hold our two main festivals which are our foremost tourism events?  Carnival is a money making event for the national treasury just counting the exit tax at the ports and VAT with the potential to make much more if proper attention is paid to this resource.

The time has come to ask hard questions about our festivals and in particular carnival which shuts down the business community for two straight days.  Can we make investments in it and make it pay?  Carnivals have come and gone but the old problems remain.  The management of our festivals is the big overpowering question.

Can our Festivals Committee take on the challenge and the painful difficulties of making change happen?  Or is this a boring subject because criticisms and complaints have been voiced and written year after year and yet after all these years carnival is still not a product of anything  with its only goal being a self indulgent road song “We only come for de rum and de party”

Which would steer it away from of the church embraced and promoted celebration of the Christmas season.

Listen to column below.

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25 Comments

  1. Luclu
    January 27, 2013

    What ever happened to the netball stadium at Stockfarm? Can it be redesigned as a permanent place for carnival? The ever elusive Carnival City? I also believe there is ample land there to construct proper parking, vendor booths both of which can generate income for the upkeep of the facilities. Also bathrooms should be constructed.

  2. on the run
    January 25, 2013

    Hypocrites what is wrong with you all?I would like to no if you all never take part in the carnival.some of us go and praise god every day of our life but yet still we have the same bad habit.i would like to no which is wrong sleeping with the married man or having sex with the young lady’s and the next go to church and praise your god,the way i look at it right now we just have to talk to our young girls and boy with the way they do thing this day. the person who wrote about the carnival he once use to take part in it right now it is a problem for them.

  3. mango temptation
    January 25, 2013

    all i have to say is time to put a ban to carnival. i am 100% catholic and i just dont like the that festivity. i dont care how many thumb. down i get. just know God is watching you put the thumbs down
    Cant worship two masters at a time.

    • Channel 1
      January 25, 2013

      @mango temptation – You would be in a much, much better position if you were a 100% believer in Jesus Christ.

      As you said, you can’t serve two masters at the same time – You can’t serve the Pope and Jesus Christ at the same time.

      PS: What does it mean to be 100% Catholic? Are you saying that you are a 100% believer in doctrines & a belief system which directly contradicts God’s word?

    • Malgraysa
      January 26, 2013

      Carcon, cheer up! That is why confession was invented. We all are sinners but that should not make us miserable.

  4. Rameses007
    January 25, 2013

    The questions asked here are not new. The islands of Antigua and St Lucia have moved their carnival celebrations to accommodate patrons both local and foreign and to increase private sector participation.It is not in the best interest of a Dominican company to sponsor both the Creole Music Festival and Carnival when these months are the months they may make the most profits after having meager months. Also,there is no progressive income tax incentives in place to assist these businesses if they do plan to sponsor. Further,a forward planning strategy which should encompass all stakeholders, which should include the Ministries of Finance, Trade,Tourism,Culture the Festivals Commission,Tour Operators, Business people, Taxi drivers,Hoteliers,reps of the churches,music band reps and the members of the general public. All these stakeholders are relevant and their input is necessary in the formulation of a strategy.For example, lets take the making/building of a “Carnival City” as suggest above in an effort to move away from as the makeshift cities we have hard over the years. This as said before is not a new idea but we must consider as we formulate a strategy, (1)is creating a city feasible…location,land acquisition etc, (2)is it viable…how many events will it accommodate yearly, how profitable will it be, how does it affect the Arawak House of Culture,(3)Yearly upkeep…just as the Windsor Park/National Stadium..will it on the backs of taxpayers? These are some of the questions that can be asked on this segment alone. Thus if we needed to consider the revamping of carnival it would be an arduous task, because there is first the overarching umbrella under which most Dominicans walk which is called “it ah right man, it good so”.

    • Malgraysa
      January 26, 2013

      Ramses, on the one hand you are chastising the catholic church for adopting a pagan practice but on the other you want to promote that same practice as a bussiness opportunity to make money. How christian is that? Boy,you are not easy.

  5. Rameses007
    January 25, 2013

    Dennis, the Catholic Churche’s doctrine and its theater of Mass has some of its origins in pagan worship. In the 1300’s to the 1400’S when the Church had two “Popes” and before Constantine organized what we know as the bible, catholic worship was distinct from pagan worship. The popes were forced to mingle pagan festivities at particular times of the year(example..Easter)and catholic doctrine to convert pagans.This transformation of the Catholic Church came about just before the Renaissance and the separation of Martin Luther. Hence, you are asking that we move away from that structure. y

  6. .
    January 25, 2013

    my problem with carnival, two days are just not enough. hypocrite’s!

  7. Observer
    January 25, 2013

    Interestingly, Mr.Joseph’s installment this week has gone by without much of a notice by the vast majority, including me. He did not discuss raw politics nor did his contribution include any straight talk or his many not so subtle innuendos lambasting PM Skerrit. So neither Mr. Skerrit’s supporters nor his opponents saw much value in Mr. Joseph’s piece this week.

    I say this to direct our attention as to what our people see as important to them. That is raw politics. Nothing else seeminlg is important. Check the other stories bearing a political conotation.

    Denis has once again opened the discussion on the timing for the holding carnival. Given the proximity of carnival to Christmas and the literal rush to get the ‘original mas” going, the debate will of necessity surface. My vote is to keep the mas where it is. I am only disagreeing with Denis’s date for the holding of carnival, but I like the idea of opening the debate.

  8. Channel 1
    January 24, 2013

    Behave like the devil foot soldiers for 2 days then go and pretend to be angels for 40 days…….then repeat the cycle again the following year.

    All you think is God Almighty all you fooling? A pity all you have allowed one of the biggest hoaxes in history ie Roman Catholicism to deceive all you and lead all you astray from the true teachings of God’s word.

    • Observer
      January 25, 2013

      At least Catholics who out number others in the carenioval are open to such criticism. What we do not know is bigger than us. Within the rank and file of the prestestants, evangelicals, sabbathicals, muslims etc. the elder/pastor/ or whever is leading is adminsitering the “wine” sometimes for years before any revelation. A sin committed in secret is beter than a sin committed in public? A sin is a sin. Human beings are prone to sinning.

      Again we Catholics bring a lot of unnecessary criticisms on ourselves by the way we comport ourselves not only at carnival but indeed outside of the carnival season.

  9. jahson
    January 24, 2013

    think if Jah come on canival day what u think will happen

  10. jahson
    January 24, 2013

    think if jah ome on canival day? wat u think will happen?

  11. Marigotian
    January 24, 2013

    Mm joseph i agree with you 100 percent. Society of hypocrites. Designed to oppress the young nevetherless we have one of the youngest leaders.)

  12. Mweh mem
    January 24, 2013

    Why the big deal about Carnival..leave it as it was meant to be, the cleansing before the Lenten season. Party, sewo, have a bachannal and then get ready forty days… We have become more money conscious, commercialised etc, left to me, I wish Carnival was back to thirty years ago, a good lavway, two days of free up no matter what you wore and sewo for so…..I respect the evolution, but there are more things we can focus on…plays, poetry, sports etc means more to me than today’s carnival.

  13. Dominican in Toronto
    January 24, 2013

    Mr. Joseph, before we spend that money to erect that facility, do we have hard figures that reveal the real impact of carnival on the economy?

    A 2010 study found that Caribana injects $434 million dollars into the Toronto economy. What is the impact of carnival on Dominica’s economy. Perhaps the authorities need to look at that and then decide how much they need to invest in the festivals to reap even more benefit. From where I stand, it appears all we are going on are anecdotal evidence.

  14. Malatete
    January 24, 2013

    The idea that somehow carnival is part of lithurgical calendar of the catholic church is a myth. Its origins go back to pre-history, before the establshment of the church. At best it is tolerated as various attempts to ban it both by the church and civil authorities were unsuccessful. The last time this happened was in 1930’s Spain when Ge. Franco outlawed it at the behest of the catholic church – people simply ignored the ruling. I recommend the excellent article “Mas Dominique” by our own historian Dr. Lennox Honeychurch, in this regard. I do regret the commercialisation of this event but if that is the “product” we want to promote we could do far better than staging it at the Pottersville Savanah, as we do currently. It looks make- shift, unprofessional and certainly is not designed to attract tourists. Why not use the facilities at the stadium, which at most times stand unused, eating money.

  15. Marcus Hill
    January 24, 2013

    Great!!

    The Trinidad Government pumps billions of dollars into Carnival each year because they know the multiplier effect that Cranival has on their economy.

    When Winston “Mighty Gypsy” Peters of “Captain the Ship is Sinking” fame was the T & T Minister of Culture he even suggested publicly that Carnival should be held once every quarter (So four Carnivals a year!!). Trinidians took him very seriously and many agreed. Such is the power of Carnival in T & T.

    Dennis, in Dominica, we have a very short-sighted, narrow-minded, low standards Government. So my friend, I am afraid to disappoint you, but none of your excellent suggestions will be taken on board. Coming from a critique of the Government makes it even worse.

    This is how our Government think and act. I know.

  16. Dominiquen
    January 24, 2013

    Adultery!?!?!?

  17. Anonymous
    January 24, 2013

    Carnival comes once a year and no matter when it is there will always be a year after it end until it rears it’s head again. So I say to those invested in carnival start preparing on time. No they did not have 4 weeks to prepare they had a year.

  18. Anonymous
    January 24, 2013

    Like the voice supplement to the article. Well-written. keep them coming

    • YAP
      January 24, 2013

      Great Touch witht he voice recording. Excellent for the hearing impaired. Very controversial topic.. 1. Are we following the right religion? The various ethnicities worshipped some sort of God prior to being forced to worship using christian methods.. Eventually, man will recognize the power within them and know what or whom God is or the best method. Are we doing this correctly?

  19. PUSSINA
    January 24, 2013

    WELL THESE hypocrite

  20. james
    January 24, 2013

    south stars

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