Is Ole Mas A Dying Artform?

During the just-ended Saint Lucia Carnival season, the debate as to whether the event described as the island’s main cultural showpiece was losing its cultural flavour was high on the agenda. The issue was discussed in public spaces, on Social media, and on radio talk shows. Over eighteen thousand visitors attended the annual summer festival, and several events boasted greater participation by visitors and Saint Lucians from the diaspora than locals. However, some have argued that the event does not highlight enough of Saint Lucia’s culture, while others contend that Saint Lucia’s carnival still features activities such as panorama, J’ouvert, calypso, and Ole Mas, aspects that form the roots of the event.   Saint Lucia’s carnival is said to be steeped in African culture and born out of slavery and later the emancipation of the enslaved people. Originally held as a pre-Lenten event culminating on Shrove Tuesday or the day before Ash Wednesday, our carnival became an organized event in 1947. The cultural showpiece moved to July 1999 to attract more visitors during the summer. Later, this resulted in greater commercialization and a heavier emphasis on big concert-type events or fetes. Some cultural aspects, though not as prominent, still remain, and...