Chapter 8. Picong and puns, boasting and complaining
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Susanne Mühleisen
Abstract
Calypso (or ‘Kaiso’) as a form of artful oral performance has a long history in Trinidad and has been explored from the perspectives of its historical development (Rohlehr 1990), its importance as a political and social commentary (Regis 1999), as well as its significance as a form of oral literature (Warner 1985). Rooted in West African tradition of praise and complaint songs, the format developed in the 19th-century post-emancipation Carnival context. While the genre has undergone many transformations in musical form (from litany to strophic singing), language (from French Creole to English/Creole) and topics (from highly localized issues to more global themes), it is still recognizable and alive.
This chapter looks at Trinidad calypso as a performance genre deeply rooted in the psychodynamics of orality (Abrahams 1983, Ong 2002). Particular emphasis will be placed both on the participatory and the agonistic nature of the genre with an analysis of the speech acts of complaints and boasting in calypsos as well as an investigation of call and response patterns, calypso war rituals and the role of the audience. The performance of gender and masculinity will be in focus in a comparison of the classic calypso in the post-war period with the transformed genre it has been associated with since the 1970s.
Abstract
Calypso (or ‘Kaiso’) as a form of artful oral performance has a long history in Trinidad and has been explored from the perspectives of its historical development (Rohlehr 1990), its importance as a political and social commentary (Regis 1999), as well as its significance as a form of oral literature (Warner 1985). Rooted in West African tradition of praise and complaint songs, the format developed in the 19th-century post-emancipation Carnival context. While the genre has undergone many transformations in musical form (from litany to strophic singing), language (from French Creole to English/Creole) and topics (from highly localized issues to more global themes), it is still recognizable and alive.
This chapter looks at Trinidad calypso as a performance genre deeply rooted in the psychodynamics of orality (Abrahams 1983, Ong 2002). Particular emphasis will be placed both on the participatory and the agonistic nature of the genre with an analysis of the speech acts of complaints and boasting in calypsos as well as an investigation of call and response patterns, calypso war rituals and the role of the audience. The performance of gender and masculinity will be in focus in a comparison of the classic calypso in the post-war period with the transformed genre it has been associated with since the 1970s.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Genre in World Englishes 1
- Chapter 2. Callaloo, stewed manicou and doubles 17
- Chapter 3. Personhood, genealogy and remembrance in death notices and obituaries 43
- Chapter 4. Metathesiophobia, nutty professors and Patois 77
- Chapter 5. Tell me Pastor 105
- Chapter 6. Mornin Caller 133
- Chapter 7. “… allyuh know how to parteeeeeeeeeeee. lawd!” 159
- Chapter 8. Picong and puns, boasting and complaining 183
- References 211
- Index 227
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Genre in World Englishes 1
- Chapter 2. Callaloo, stewed manicou and doubles 17
- Chapter 3. Personhood, genealogy and remembrance in death notices and obituaries 43
- Chapter 4. Metathesiophobia, nutty professors and Patois 77
- Chapter 5. Tell me Pastor 105
- Chapter 6. Mornin Caller 133
- Chapter 7. “… allyuh know how to parteeeeeeeeeeee. lawd!” 159
- Chapter 8. Picong and puns, boasting and complaining 183
- References 211
- Index 227
