Originally posted by VINCYPOWA
"Calypso rhythms can be traced back to the arrival of the first African slaves brought to work in the sugar plantations of Trinidad. Forbidden to talk to each other, and robbed of all links to family and home, the African slaves began to sing songs. They used calypso, which can be traced back to West African kaiso, as a means of communication and to mock the slave masters."
I read the above opening paragraph about 5 times, so I can digest it clearly. Once that was accomplished, I asked myself, is the writer saying that the only place that Calypso rhythms can be traced is from the slaves that landed in Trinidad or is the writer writing this article from a Trinidadian perspective?
I find it hard to believe that while the slaves in Trinidad, who were robbed of all links to their family and home in the Motherland, just like all the slaves that came to the Caribbean, and began to sing songs, that they were the only slaves in the region that were engaged in that practice.
What do you guys think?
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I read a couple different sources over the years on this topic..And all the info is in cohersion with anything else that I read...And I don't think it is written necessarily from a Trinidadians point of view.. I think it remains very objective.
But to question this is necessary. We know history is written by the scholars of war, and it is well documented that Calypso started in Trinidad. Maybe there were slaves in other regions of the Caribbean who followed similar practice, but the genre of music did become most popular in Trinidad. Thus, they are the victors of the War..Thus, they write the history. |