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Where are the true Masquerade bands?
Illustrator and graphic artist, Barrington Braithwaite
Their bright colours, improvised musical theatrics and mesmeric characters ushered in the Christmas season. There was a time when masquerade bands would practice for weeks before taking to the streets.
The bands poured onto city streets from many communities across Guyana dressed as ‘Mother Sally’, ‘Mad Bull’, ‘Long Lady’, who were essentially men skillfully balancing on stilts, dressed as women flouncing in masks and wigs.
Performers were backed by musicians who substituted their own lyrics in some of the popular Christmas songs. Drums, flutes and other instruments provided much rhythm.
It was a sight to behold for many. The dancers performed for money which was placed on the ground by spectators. Witnessing how smoothly the dancers gyrated to uplift the money was a spectacle in itself.
Illustrator and graphic artist, Barrington Braithwaite has chronicled some of these bands. Some of his fond recollections and more serious insights into the masquerade came while living with his godparents at Mahaica.
He recalls legends such as Goblet Joe, Freddie Bandula, Putagee Tonus of the Centipede [Santapee] Band. George Street, he said, was actually dubbed ‘Centipede Street’.
The Centipede band was very dominant in then old Charles Town area. He shared that as far back as the 20s and 30s the bands were territorial. Any masquerade outfit that dared to venture in their area was met with physical blows and weapons like barber razors and fish hooks tied on staves.
“Basically, it was just poor people who under the circumstances could not acquire employment because contrary to what people say, Guyana was never a country of great wealth,” Braithwaite stated.
Bands were very popular in Berbice as well. In Kitty, there was an entire family who kept the tradition alive for years.
The cultural enthusiast pointed out that while the bands traditionally started as an African tradition post-slavery; it quickly grew to include other races.
Braithwaite said the bands could be traced back to the African harvest festival. For instance, he noted that, many believe that the tall lady represented ‘a white woman’, but in fact is a depiction of the ‘Wata Mamma’
However, he noted that the masquerade band of 2018 lacks the orientation of what it used to be, whether those yesteryear folk did not have the full complement of the costumes or not, they captured a rhythmic expression that was exclusive to their cultural domain.
The bands today don’t have singers, flutists and many of the colourful characters have disappeared.
Braithwaite said one of the popular songs from the band included a line, “Christmas time is here again and every man must have his share, but poor brother Willy in de jail will drink only sour ginger beer, music!”
According to Braithwaite, the decline started around 1991-1992. Over the years, because no attention was paid to the art form, it continued to deteriorate. He explained that back in the day, the Department of Culture had directors who were thrown aside in the new political dispensation.
A modern day group of young masqueraders in Georgetown.
“These bands were left on their own. The assistance given and the dialogue went away. It was abandoned. There was no buy in within the Department of culture who understood what needed to be done. What we are left with today is a vague memory of the masquerade culture with bands now driven by economics,” Braithwaite stated.
There are no real dancers, but boys dressed in elf-like clothing hardly willing to dance. The musicians no longer incorporate poetry into the songs which was a big deal in those days.
“We have got to go back to cultural beginnings. We still have a few masquerade performers still alive today. It can be salvaged,” Braithwaite stated.
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