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Chapters
(Chap. 1)
Music and Politics
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(Chap. 2)
Out of the Bowels of Calypso
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(Chap. 3)
The Spectrum of Dynamisn
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(Chap. 4)
The Competition
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(Chap. 5)
Gospelypso as Culture
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(Chap. 6)
Uses and Functions &
Summary of Conclusions
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continued from Chapter 4
Many definitions of Culture have been offered throughout the years, ranging
from the conservative to the all-embracing . For the purposes of this
dissertation however, it is necessary to establish one, for it is by this
definition that we can then examine what is the "culture" of the island and
to what extent Gospelypso can be considered as part of the cultural milieu
of the island. In light of this also, we can examine the reasons why it has
taken so long for this artform to gain even minimal acceptance into the
religious mainstream of the region. Christopher Dawson in his book “Religion
and Culture”, describes culture as, "an organized way of life, based on a
common tradition and conditioned by a common environment." (Dawson; 1958.)
Sir. Edward Tylor proposed in 1871 that, "Culture is that complex whole
which includes knowledge, belief, art, laws, morals, custom, and any other
capabilities, and habits acquired by man as a member of society," Spradley
suggests that, the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret
experience and to generate social behaviour."
(Primitive Culture 1871, rpt,1958). One
main idea can be found in all these definitions of culture. that is
Culture is a product of the social processes which include
transmission, retention and innovation as much as it is a part of
these very processes. Thus, Culture is a reflection of the society.
One theorist has referred to music as "sound behaviour". We can
trace the origins of Gospelypso back through the history of the
island.
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As Calypso embraces the dreams of the slaves, their hopes for
freedom from "massa" so does Gospelypso embrace the dream of the
Christian who once was in a state of spiritual slavery. As the
natural slave beat the drums and the rhythms of Africa pierced
through the spirit of bondage, similarly we are reminded of the
spiritual slavery to which the Christian refers. The rhythms and the
melodies symbolize his dream for complete salvation, which can only
be achieved when he is removed from this earth-system. Gospelypso is
the Trinidadian's cultural expression of his "Christian selfhood".
Gospelypso is a result of the waves of
immigration and the processes of transmission and retention which
took place in the island of Trinidad. At this time, it is mostly a
syncretism of the African/European/Afro-American aesthetics merging
with the Trinidadian aesthetic to create an artform which is at the
same time old and new.
Elements of this blending is evident from the African rhythms, the
European-based lyrics, the melodic and harmonic melody lies and the
body movements which are reminiscent of the dance and drama of the
Afro-American.
šTHE NON-ACCEPTANCE OF GOSPELYPSO
The question can be asked, "If Gospelypso is enshrined in the
cultural heritage of the island, why is there a reluctance for the
artform to be accepted by the religious majority as an inherent part
of our religious heritage?
Firstly, by what meter do we measure the degree to which Gospelypso
has been accepted in the society? If we use the local media as an
indication of the success of the music in the industry, it is easy
to recognize that there are no programmes which play Gospelypso
alone. There is one programme which airs on Radio 105 FM, the name
of the programme is "Caribbean Light" and is hosted by
Jamie Thomas
and Fern Chase. However, this programme has had to include all types
of Caribbean music and stress has not been placed on Gospelypso. At
the present time, the artform has therefore not been very successful
in gaining wide-scale acceptance in the society.
One informant" Noel Richards was one of the hosts of one such programme (the other was
Nicole Balloosingh) which had to be
canceled because of a lack of sponsorship. Mr. Richards also
admitted that in the production of the cassette "We Ting" (a
 cassette
featuring Noel Richards and Maralyn Joseph) There was great
difficulty to get businesses to invest in the project. This he
attributes to the "newness" of the artform. (Personal Interview with
Noel Richards 22nd February 1995) This question of "newness brings
us face to face with one major paradox of Culture.
Kenneth Bilby has described the culture of the Caribbean as
possessing a "simultaneous newness and oldness" (Bilby 1985.) In his
terms "creolization" is the process by which two or more older
traditions blend on new soil. This "Creolization" process is what
has taken place as regards the music of this thesis: Gospelypso.
There are many paradoxes which face us concerning culture. Many
advocates for Gospelypso claim that change is a necessary part of
growth and development. Many dissenters, however, agree that culture
is about stability. They maintain that conservation of the
established norms is the only guarantee against infiltration of
outside elements which would serve to pollute to pollute the
"pureness" of the established value system.
Such a view may be predominantly taken especially in religious
settings, where the emphasis is on discipline and decorum, which in
the minds of some equals preservation "to the letter" of the value
system and even of the original musical forms. We must attempt to
resolve, or at least treat this dichotomy of views. How is this
dualism handled by the experts in the fields of Anthropology and
Ethnomusicology? Alan Merriam says, “The statement that culture is
dynamic is as commonplace in Anthropology.. [and it is] equally
applicable in Ethnomusicology. No matter where we look, change is a
constant in human experience although rates of change are
differential from one culture to another and from one aspect to
another, no culture is also stable, that is no cultures change
wholesale and overnight, the threads of continuity run through every
culture, and thus change must always be considered against a
background of stability.” (Merriam: 1964.62)
Melville Herskovits asserts that:
1."We cannot too often emphasize the fact that no living culture is
static.”
2 “Change, then is a universal cultural phenomenon and the process
of change over a period of time constitutes the process of
change.”3.“Conservatism and Change in a culture are the result of
the interplay of environmental, historical and psychological
factors.”
What has therefore taken place in the local church in terms of
musical change and the reaction of people is not an especially
unusual phenomenon in terms of Cultural Dynamics. What theorists
suggest is that change is an inherent part of constancy and culture.
We have found that we cannot resolve this paradox, but rather we can
use theories to confirm that the case of Gospelypso is not unique
and does not necessarily have anything to do with a moving away from
“spiritual concepts”. because the music is becoming absorbed into
the musical system of the geographic location. It is still gospel,
but now it is gospel within the perimeters of our local culture.
Enculturation is described by Herskovits as “the aspects of the
learning experience that mark off man from the other creatures, and
by means of which he achieves competence in his culture”. (Herskovits:
1966.24) Enculturation, is therefore, as it should be, a natural part
of the socialization process. In light of these functional
definitions, we can say that many traditional Christians, upon
hearing Gospelypso suffer from a mild “culture shock”, even though
the rhythms are not unfamiliar to them.
“Culture shock is a form of anxiety which occurs when one is
required to interact with others in a cross-cultural
situation.” (Spradley: 1975.62) The context may appear the same,
seeing that the listener is not hearing the music of another
National Culture for the first time but they do however have
problems of adjustment occasionally because the music is not from
the assumed culture of the Christian.
There is a trend in theology of recent times which has come to be
known as “Local Theology”. In his book “Constructing Local
Theologies”, Robert J. Schreiter comments: “There has been an
important shift in perspective in theology in recent years. While
the basic purpose of theological reflection has remained the same-
namely the reflection of Christians upon the Gospel in light of
their own circumstances- much more attention is being paid to how
these circumstances shape the response to the Gospel. Despite
slightly different nuances in meaning, all these terms (
localisation, contextualisation, indigenisation, inculturation)
point to the need for and responsibility of Christians to make their
own response.” (Schreiter 1985.1)
 One
Gospelypsonian: Earl Phillips, in
speaking on the validity of the artform quotes from The Holy
Scriptures. The passage which he quotes is John 4:4, which reads
like this: “They that worship the Father must worship Him in spirit
and in truth.” (King James Version). He maintains that cultural
context is important. The Trinbagonian must worship in the ways of
the culture to which he belongs, if he is to be truthful firstly to
himself and secondarily to God. He states that the best medium for
the salvation of souls is within that cultural context. He continues
by saying that Jesus himself was a Calypsonian. This he justifies by
saying that a Calypsonian sings about his surroundings. The Calypso
is a topical song. He creates His commentaries out of His immediate
context. His calypsoes are therefore shaped from the community.
Jesus also, drew object lessons from His surroundings. He related to
people on their level. To the fishermen, He spoke of being fishers
of men, to the gardener, He spoke of wheat and tares. Likewise with
Him as our example, the gospelypsonians speaks to the Trinidadian in
his language and that language is Calypso. (Personal Interview with
Earl Phillips, 16th March 1995).
The theory of Local Theology can and must therefore be applied to
the musical context. The Trinbagonian has allowed the culture of the
missionaries to become his own culture. He has accepted not only the
Gospel according to Jesus Christ, but also the Gospel according to
the Americans and the British. The author of this thesis found it
curious that two of the informants without prompting spoke of this
idea of stripping of culture which occurs when a person becomes a
member of a Christian assembly.
Rev. Lealand Henry suggests that:
“...until the Church understands that God is not an American and God
is not English, but God is Trinidadian as He is Vincentian and
Guyanese...then we will be able to enjoy what we can do as a people
in terms of our expression of the gospel.” (Personal Interview with
Lealand Henry, 21st February 1995)
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