Pan, powder & Sparrow’s lizard

By Matthew Woolford

One of the benefits of being born in the month of February is that oftentimes you get to celebrate your actual birth alongside the spiritual rejuvenation that I consider to be Carnival.

This year, these two occasions coincided on February 17. ‘My’ season began, in earnest, with a decision to visit the Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra’s (TASSO) Pan Yard to gain greater insight into preparation for the annual Panorama competition. I would describe the process as alchemic, with a band taking a tune of choice, in this band’s case, ‘The Will’ by calypsonian Scrunter, reimagining, reinterpreting and then performing it without compromising its integrity.

One thing led to another, and by Panorama night I was ‘pushing pan’ onto the Savannah Stage before the performance and ‘pushing pan’ back to the yard on Duke Street, Port of Spain after it.

It was a great and touching experience to have made a small yet tangible contribution to an invention which, though still somewhat underappreciated and underutilised, has given so much to so many.

As the momentum continued, I found myself playing Sailor Mas with TASSO on Carnival Tuesday. And talk about powder! After crossing the Downtown Stage at South Quay, Port of Spain, I was so motivated that I bought a bottle at the Corner of Charlotte Street and Independence Square North and just couldn’t control myself!

By the time we hit Piccadilly Street, I began to let loose. One woman told me, jokingly, that she would punch me in the arm if I got powder on her, but she was the exception.

By the time we crossed the Savannah Stage, everyone, including politicians, was covered in powder. I was throwing powder right, left, and over myself. A former schoolmate and I began to jump up in the powder as I continued to make it rain. Another friend took a picture of us as we reclaimed our ‘boy days’ on the ‘World’s Greatest Stage’.

According to calypsonian Lord Kitchener, the road was made to walk on Carnival Day, and we chipped up Tragarete Road and down Ariapita Avenue. During this stretch, and beyond the popcorn and playfulness, I was able to reflect on the struggle that previous generations endured for us to have the privilege that is Carnival.

Steelband clashes, stick fights and Calypso music were all part of a tradition of protest action by people blessed with self-determination. This may be why God allowed the Rev Jesse Jackson to be taken away on a Carnival Tuesday, as a reminder that our revelry is not just for us, but for causes that are greater than ourselves, for those who cannot fight for themselves and ultimately a gift from God.

The importance of Sparrow’s lizard

In preparation for Panorama Finals night, I listened to all the tunes of choice. While I supported TASSO all the way, Renegades Steel Orchestra’s selection of ‘The Lizard’, sung by The Mighty Sparrow, did stand out to me.

This was a Calypso that, in my opinion, has often been publicly portrayed as a mischievous, double entendre with innuendo. However, according to 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.”

At 40 years old, I am no longer a child, and I now see this Calypso as capturing a power struggle between the underprepared and the disenfranchised filled with metaphor and onomatopoeia for clarity:

• ‘Teacher Mildred’ is supposedly dread. She is feared by her students for ‘being bad’ and for the beatings she gives, but this does not always translate to genuine respect. She may counter that corporal punishment and intimidation are the only implements given to her to work with, and that she did the best she could. Unfortunately, this may still be our current reality.
• ‘Ruth’ is supposedly rude. She may be seen by ‘Teacher Mildred’ as distracting: “playing with a lizard in a glass” during class and undermining her authority. To her classmates, Ruth may be seen as a leader, voicing what many may have the courage to think but lack the resilience to say.
• ‘The Lizard’ is supposedly, and this is just my interpretation, a metaphor for the enjoyment of life we need to survive. Finding wonder in all God’s creation helps to fight worry, preserve mental health and restore calmness to situations and environments compromised by volatility and violence.

To the best of my research this Calypso was released around 1969, but I find its lessons to be timeless, especially as it relates to staying young at heart, alleviating pettiness and infighting, and the need for clear and shared goals that build inclusiveness into the pursuit of happiness.