Basil Ebenezer Henderson, 1924-2003, grew up in the Catholic Church in St. Kitts to
which he remained devoted all his life.
He was an outstanding footballer (soccer player) locally and regionally and an organizer
of several sporting activities including netball, cricket and table tennis. As a civil servant,
he worked in various departments and became chief messenger and a welfare officer
serving the rural areas.
A true community activist, with a special interest in the development of young people,
he introduced the 4H Movement and initiated the annual Aquatic Sports Meet at the
Basseterre Bay Front and organized a Steal Band Association.
In 1957 Basil Henderson assembled a committee which launched carnival in St.
Kitts with the aims of reviving the traditional Christmas Sports and also to attract
visitors to the island. He also organized the Christmas Tree Lighting event at the
Square.
[Sources: the National Archives and Winston ‘Zach’ Nisbet]
CREDITS
Composed and recorded by Larry Armony, 2021
ABO’s Digital Factory; Recording engineer, Antonio Liburd
Antonio Liburd (Abonaty), keyboard, rhythm programming,
assisted with the arrangement.
Deslyn Williams-Johnson, support vocalist
LYRICS
Bachanal, Bachanal
St. Kitts ha two carnaval
Bachanal, bachanal
St. Kitts ha two Carnaval
Christmas festival, soulful carousal
PAM carnival, Labour carnival
party political, petty and comical
Oh what bachanal
Trouble in de carnival
Bachanal, bachanal
Wid dis double carnival
As we celebrate this golden anniversary
And salute our National Carnival
Let’s contemplate its role and legacy
And the roots of this annual festival
Now there was vile repression under slavery
Meetings of Africans were prohibited
But through guile, motivation and ingenuity
Our people pressed on and planned how to get ahead
So when slave-masters marked the birthdate of Christ their king
By giving praise, partying and having fun
The enslaved smartly partake in celebrating
Incorporating African and Native tradition
So in slavery times and long after Emancipation
On estates and wherever hard labour was applied
Workers organized street-theatre presentations
To demonstrate our vibrant culture and the people’s pride.
So people were happy
In the Christmas season
Everybody friendly
In this joyous season
Carols in the air
Big drum everywhere
Villages come to town
Relatives come back home
Repression and misery
Locked down in a corner
This Christmas festivity
Unblock de people’s power
Social mobility with better education
Bled the street performances into decline
Political crudity — and workers emigration
Led to disappearances at Christmastime
Then a progressive activist, in 1957
Sought to graft a different template on de festival
The committee of the dynamic Basil Henderson
Brought a brilliant concept with their carnival
After a three-year run of glowing success
The carnival slipped slowly into stagnation
Beset by church-led objection and growing staleness
And disconnect with the majority population
So the stage became empty of real direction
To head the people’s Christmas celebration
But animosity and political polarization
Led to two competing mas in 1970–71
Steel bands in de street
Jammin slow and sweet
De music musical
Acoustic and cultural
Carnival was nationalized by legislation
To evade the dread drama of the year before
But now one committee solely authorized all public action
So Nevis created Cultural in August 1974
Following the national edict there were highs and lows
The old Christmas traditions still getting blows
The heavy hand of politics dealing tricks at calypso shows
And the scantiness of mas band sessions becoming more exposed
So to support our native cultural expression
And maintain the Christmas groove in its natural place
And promote more inclusive carnival participation
This pre-lenten mas must move to a more rational space
How to sell and recreate National Carnival
In a template that has become more universal
We may do well to emulate Music Festival
And set a date to one that’s more practical
So people are happy
In the Christmas season
And everyone can party
In de Carnival season
Music in the ear
Both times of the year
Relatives reappear
Visitors everywhere
Conflicts and miseries
Pressed back in a corner
For these two festivities
Each express we culture
Larry Armony
August, 2021