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I attended secondary school in the late 1980’s and studied ordinary level history from form one to form three.  During these years I was taught that Christopher Columbus “re-discovered” the Caribbean.  I have since learned that Columbus did not discover the Caribbean as the region already had tribes of people called Caribs and Arawaks living on the various islands he encountered.

Indeed, Christopher Columbus did not discover the Caribbean.  The traditionalist notion was designed by historians and story tellers in power to propagate European supremacy (Ted-Ed).  However, the Caribbean region was already home to ancient civilisations of people such as the Caribs and Arawaks – our indigenous people who I have now learned should be referred to by their proper names of Kalinas or Kalinagos (Watson 3).  In addition, there have been credible theories presented by revisionist historians such as Ivan Van Sertima, which postulate that African explorers visited the Caribbean region before Columbus did (Degsydan).

Simply stated, it is impossible to discover a location that has already been populated.

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Traditional historians taught us that the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and the Americas were primitive and uncivilised.  This was done to achieve the domination of Eurocentric and androcentric doctrine (UWI Carib. Civ.).  However, revisionist arguments have served to counter traditionalist thought by confronting outdated biases.

On the surface, it may appear that our indigenous ancestors were indeed primitive.  For example, in 2013 a “lost” tribe of indigenous people were found in the Amazon region of Peru (Telegraph).  The men and women of the indigenous tribe wore thatched clothing which only covered their genitalia.  Some of the men were even armed with bows and arrows.  These people appear to be primitive as they lack our so called “stylish” European clothing and advanced military weapons if viewed through the eyes of an observer wearing modernised rose-coloured glasses.  However, on further analysis of the culture and lifestyle of indigenous people, we can see they were indeed civilised.

Archaeologists have been able to analyse sites such as the one found in Banwari trace in Trinidad (UWI).  Eating utensils and food remains found in middens were used to negate the myth that the indigenous people were cannibalistic as no such evidence were ever found (Reid 5).  In addition, it was shown that indigenous people had a social hierarchy with a “Cacique” as the leader and subordinates arranged by their function within the village (Watson 3).

This course has encouraged me to think differently and positively about our indigenous people.  I view this as very important as we continue to develop our post-colonial regional identity and culture.

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Iberian colonisers entered the region in search of precious metals to finance their sovereign colonisation strategy and the accumulation of wealth by the elites.  However, when it was recognised that the region was not as rich in these minerals, the colonisers sought alternative means to build wealth (Williams 30-33).

By the seventeenth century, non-sugar crops were very important in the early economic development of the Caribbean.  These crops which included cocoa, cotton, tobacco, ginger and indigo were key drivers in the early propagation of new industries and the enslavement of indigenous population and West African people (UWI Carib. Civ.).

While it may be said that the non-sugar crops were important to the early development of the Caribbean economy, this development allowed for the genocide of the indigenous people and the enslavement of West Africans.  These groups were solely utilised as an imperative factor of production and provided a competitive advantage to the colonial powers in their quest for global economic dominance.  As such, we cannot divest the dichotomy of the region’s history to which our growth and development was undeniably bound to pain and strife.

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By the mid-seventeenth century, the region’s initial diverse agricultural output began to diminish as various factors began to affect the agricultural output.  The total output of crops such as cotton were not of sufficient economies of scale to viably compete with exports coming out of the North America (UWI Carib. Civ.).  A new cash crop became imperative to fuel European global economic and political power.

The development of sugar cane aided and accelerated economic development of the European colonies of the Caribbean.  Sugar cane created new upstream and downstream industries.  It also led to the racial and ethnic diversification of the population due to the massive importation of enslaved and indentured labour from Africa, Europe, India, China, Syria and Lebanon.

However, these developments fail to overshadow the genocide of the region’s indigenous population by the European colonisers (Fanon 168-170).  It is therefore difficult to espouse that the Caribbean has benefited from the introduction of the sugar industry.

In addition, the sugar industry also facilitated the restrictive one-crop economic model as defined by Frazier and Williams (23).  This legacy has been infused into the post-colonial economic strategy of countries such as Trinidad and Tobago.  Consequently, successive governments continually struggle to diversify the country’s gross domestic output in the face of declining macro-economic indicators.

Indeed, it is recognised that the resultant economic development of these crops in the colonial Caribbean only served to enrich Europeans and give them pleasure in the most mundane of ways – by providing tobacco for smoking and sugar to sweeten their tea.  However, the provision of these seemingly basic products led to the subjugation and suffering of the Caribbean indigenous population.

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After the abolition of slavery, there was a need for the colonial power structure to develop mechanisms to control the newly freed African people.  One such mechanism, was an education system that was set up under the guise of promoting upward social mobility in the colonies (UWI Carib. Civ).  However, there were limited opportunities for such upward mobility in the post-emancipation colonial society.  In Trinidad and Tobago, for example, this rudimentary system did not extend beyond reading, writing and arithmetic, commonly called the “three Rs” (Williams 209).  According to Campbell, girls were only allowed access to a primary school education and boys were also given primary school education with some boys, and those with social connections, given scholarships to attend secondary schools (3-5).  The system was ideally designed to train and equip the population with the minimalist of the educational tools required to be productive and subservient.

I reflect on an experience I had growing with a beloved family member.  My great-uncle Cecil was born in 1918 and lived to the age of eighty-four.  He was employed as an underwater welder on the US military base in Chaguaramas, Trinidad during World War II (CDA).  Uncle Cecil was a simple man who received the “three R” education as described above.  According to family lore, uncle Cecil was taken out of primary school after standard three and placed in an apprentice system where he was then taught metal work, carpentry and masonry.  Apparently, he was known to be a skilled welder.

When I was about seven years old, uncle Cecil told me a story of an experience he had on the base.  The white American soldiers told him that the Jeeps they drove (or as he referred to them, “Jitneys”) had a special gear that when engaged, enabled the vehicle to “jump over a big canal.”  I vividly remember not believing the story and telling him that what the Americans told him was nonsense!  My prepubescent mind understood then that what I was being told was an engineering impossibility.  However, uncle Cecil vehemently believed the American soldiers because in his mind, they knew better.  This to me is a clear example of what the colonial social and educational system sort to achieve – a productive and malleable population.

My experience and study of the Caribbean history has enlightened me to the experience of all people of our region.  Most importantly, I am now better equipped to learn from the lessons of the past and chart a better way forward.

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Traditional Kaiso music is known for its risqué double entendre lyrics.  Soca, which evolved from Kaiso, is no exception as sexual innuendo appear to be built into the DNA of Caribbean music.  However, modern Soca has discarded the double entendre and now unapologetically displays sexual imagery in music videos and song lyrics.  Sexual innuendo in our music primarily has osmosed from the objectification of women in our societies (Szymanski 16-17).  Mr. Killa’s music video, Rolly Polly, is no exception for it insults and objectifies full-figured women.

According to Webster’s dictionary, a “roly poly” is a person who is short and plump (556).  However, in the context of everyday life in Trinidad and Tobago the term has two meanings: first, it is local vernacular for a football dribbling technique called a “pirouette” which was popularized on the world stage by the French footballer Zinedine Zidane; and second, it is an insult.

A “Rolly Polly” is a common slur that primary school children say to their more rotund colleagues in the classrooms and on the playfields across the country.  The subtext of which is not dissimilar to what is being expressed by Mr. Killa.  As such, given the colloquial context of the term, its use in the music video is clearly disparaging towards the women being portrayed in the song.

The Rolly Polly music video objectifies women and strips them of their humanity.  The song’s lyrics indicate that Mr. Killa only wants to use full-figured women for sex.  As he says here (00:01:25 - 00:01:35):
“I love dem fat gyal cause
Yuh thick and warm Woi
Ah fat gyal shelter mi from de storm Woi
Ah want ah wine to mek de bed bruk down
Ah want ah fat gyal to mash up the town”
It is “normal” for a heterosexual male to see a woman as a sexual object.  However, respect for the woman’s mind, character, and every other non-sexual characteristic is not mutually exclusive to desire.

Interestingly, there are instances where the lyrics in Rolly Polly are out of sync with the visual representation of the song.  Whilst the lyrics are indeed insulting and misogynistic, the women are visually portrayed as being sexually confident and this attempts to communicate to the viewer that full-figured women are just as attractive as their svelte competitors (00:02:33 - 00:02:36).  There is also a woman in the video who wears the uniform of a dominatrix, who in the BDSM[1] subculture signifies dominance and control (Fenn).  These factors may appear to be empowering the women in the video.  However, such imagery is negated by vignettes of the women bent over in sexually submissive positions serving only to nullify any sense of empowerment which may be found in the music video, as these only oblige the fantasies of heterosexual men (00:02:55 - 00:03:01).

The issues highlighted in Rolly Polly are indicative of the confusing duality of the representation of women in Caribbean society.  Our culture both glorifies and empowers the feminine form but also denigrates and disrespects our women.  Both men and women have been socialised to condone misogyny in our art without recourse.  As a result, blatantly disrespectful media pervades our airwaves and negatively influences our society, especially during the Carnival season.  However, we must now challenge ourselves to produce higher quality art for local and international consumption that serves to empower and uplift all the people of our society.

[1] BDSM is a variety of erotic practices or role-playing involving bondage, dominance, submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics.

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“Banwari Trace in Trinidad – The Oldest Site in the West Indies!” University of the West Indies   Department of History Archaeology Centre, 2012, sta.uwi.edu/fhe/archaeology/. Accessed 1 Jul.  2018.

Campbell, C. C. Endless Education. The Press University of the West Indies, 1997.

Fanon, Frantz.  The Wretched of the Earth. Penguin Books, 1971.

Fenn, Violet. “Why do people visit a dominatrix? These men explain the appeal.” Metro, 26 April 2017, metro.co.uk/2017/04/26/why-do-people-visit-a-dominatrix-these-men-explain-the-appeal-6413648/.

Frazier, E. Franklin and Eric Williams, editors. Economic Future of the Caribbean.  The Majority Press, 2004, books.google.tt/books?id=NafMr53X7ncC&lpg=PA23&ots=wj-PMyS0Mp&dq=one%20crop%20economy&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false.

"History v Christopher Columbus – Alex Gendler” YouTube, uploaded by TED-Ed, 13 Oct. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD3dgiDreGc.

“Jeep History: ‘Autobiography of a Jeep’ 1943 United Films; World War II” Youtube, uploaded by Jeff Quitney, 29 Jul. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTKe2uyWjI4.

"Mr Killa – Rolly Polly (Official Music Video) [Soca 2014]” YouTube, uploaded by RiddimcrackerTM Chunes, 2 Nov. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSI23f--Uvs.

“Rare video of long isolated Peru tribe of Mascho-Piro Indians released.” The Telegraph, 2013, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/peru/10255412/Rare-video-of-long-isolated-Peru-tribe-of-Mashco-Piro-Indians-released.html.

Reid, Basil A. Caribbean Space/Physical Environment/Amerindian Peoples and Cultures: Their Legacy.  University of the West Indies FOUN1101- Caribbean Civilisation course page, shared.tle.courses.open.uwi.edu/course/view.php?id=23&section=5.

“Roly Poly.” Webster’s New World TM Dictionary, 2nd ed., Hungry Minds Inc, 2002, p. 556.

Szymanski, Dawn M. et al. “Sexual Objectification of Women: Advances to Theory and Research.” The Counseling Psychologist, vol. 39 no.6, 2011, pp. 6-38. American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/education/ce/sexual-objectification.pdf.

“The American Base in Chaguaramas.” Chaguaramas Development Authority, www.chaguaramas.com/discovery-zone/chaguaramas-history/the-american-base-in-chaguramas.

“They came before Columbus – Dr Ivan Van Sertima” Youtube, uploaded by degsydan, 17 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1ZeK4ecHKU.

“UNIT 3: The Diversified Caribbean in 16 th and 17 th Centuries. University of the West Indies FOUN1101- Caribbean Civilisation course page, shared.tle.courses.open.uwi.edu/course/view.php?id=23&section=6.

“UNIT 7: Religion, Education, and Caribbean Family Life: the Foundation of ‘Respectable’ Caribbean Society. University of the West Indies FOUN1101- Caribbean Civilisation course page, shared.tle.courses.open.uwi.edu/course/view.php?id=23&section=10.

Watson, Karl. Demographic Patterns. University of the West Indies FOUN1101- Caribbean Civilisation course page, shared.tle.courses.open.uwi.edu/course/view.php?id=23&section=4.

Williams, Eric. History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago. PNM Publishing Co. Ltd., 1962.

“Zidane Pirouette | The Telegraph Football Skills School” Youtube, uploaded by The Telegraph, 27 Feb. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfV87sQ0ZyU.

“Zinedine Zidane Top 10 Best Ever Moves” Youtube, uploaded by Zainal Arifuddin, 23 Mar. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiRv8vnt0eY.