Is there a greatest person described in the published
history books of pan?
In my reading of various published history books both in
hard cover and electronic print, I haven’t come across a writer who describes
either himself or herself or another person as the greatest person in the
history of pan.
In the history of pan from its inception, it has been stated
in many places and voiced by many pan stalwarts who existed from the earliest
periods of the invention of the pan, that there were many human inputs into the
invention of the instrument, the establishment of pan bands, the establishment
of pan associations, the interactions of various classes of the T&T
society, the influences of political forces as well as business forces, but
never have I read or seen any writer announce any one in particular or
themselves as being the greatest contributor, leader, follower, influencer,
tuner, arranger, soloist player, or pan band.
In my humble opinion I view the work of the prominent
inventors, tuners, arrangers, association managers, band managers as equal to
and not greater than their hidden counterparts. Because the pan was so wide
spread and grew almost across the country at the same time, that it was
virtually impossible to view the tremendous work done by everyone at the time.
Some prominence was given to a few inventors because of their specific inputs.
But as one goes through the history books, one sees that some how there were
many inventions being done similar and in some cases almost identical with the
prominently name inventors. This also extends to other areas of the history of
pan. That the prominent personalities received the accolades and the other
unseen personalities, even though doing the same work and in many cases better
work than the prominent ones, were left unrecognized.
In order to help bring about equality and justice between
the prominent and unseen contributors to pan, from the day it became widely
known to the present time, I have devised a system of appreciation to apply
when reading the history books of pan.
In my view the pan is a natural human equalizer in terms of race, color,
class background, and the instrument does not show up anyone who may be more
qualified musically or any other professional background for that matter. In my
experience and realization of the pan instrument, it attracts almost all
persons as to its sound and its inventiveness. Also, it is mysterious how the
pan came out of rebellion, is able to stop rebellious attitude in persons
involved in it. Therefore I see it as a spiritual gift to man, teaching man
something can come out of nothing. That nothingness is also wealth of the
universe. That something unseen can also
have great value and equal value with what can be seen. This is my definition
of the pan instrument of T&T.
The frame of mind of readers when reading the history books
of pan, should begin by knowing not all the names of those who actually
invented the pan are mentioned in the history books. That these missing names
were not necessarily left out of the books on purpose, and that if anyone knows
that important names were left out, that those names and their specific
contributions can then be posted on the net with various corroborating evidence of those
missing persons contributions.
A specific method of fairness in thinking that I have
formulated are as follows.
In reading a pan history book, almost immediately know
that pan was created simultaneously by young poor boys of Trinidad and Tobago born of African descent
mostly and with a great lesser amount by mixed descent.
There were many creators who tried many experiments. Some
succeeded and others failed in their attempts.
After the pan was developed sufficiently and accepted
as a musical instrument, many persons either known or unknown in the history
books continued experimenting on the invention by making various types of pans.
Some failed and others succeeded.
That there were many helpers from the upper classes of
society that helped the pan to succeed to what it is today.
That those who wrote the history books would not have
known everything and everyone of the unseen and unsung heroes of pan. There is no fault of theirs for not knowing
the unsung heroes.
That not everyone was meant to become prominent in any
field of endeavor.
That prominence does not mean that one is the greatest
or best in a particular field of endeavor.
That all Trinidadians and Tobagonians can give a little
history of their own about the pan instrument.
Is there a greatest person described in the published
history books of pan? My personal answer
to this is, I have not seen this view in any of the historical books on pan.
Therefore it is my view, that the present crop of the
history books are documented according to the information which became
available to them and as such all can be accepted as having a great level of
truth and therefore beneficial to anyone interested in the history of the Trinidad and Tobago pan musical
instrument.
Replies
In Pan, in Carnival, as in our Song, Music, Dance and all the other expressions of ourselves we search and hopefully will continue to search for ourselves constantly asking, who we are. What we find will constitute ‘our’ history. The search, however, in my opinion as an artist, is the important thing.
We should try to avoid superlatives like ’greatest”, best, etc., as these are mere comparative concepts; they may be truthful but only for a mere moment of time.
The ceaselessly never ending quest for who we are? Where did we come from? Will enrich us as a people and guide us along the path of where we are going. The journey continues...
Audley Sue Wing – Caribbean person from Trinidad & Tobago.
Perhaps there's still time for writers and would be writers to do the necessary (indepth) research, before any kind of "definitive" history could be written. It would be nice to see a collective effort going forward, with the expressed purpose of gathering info for the national archives. Granted, no one has a monopoly on all the facts, therefore some kind of open forum where people could submit info, then after a period of "verification", from diverse sources, consider putting the stuff down as "history".
That's my humble opinion.
However, there are some "special mentions", and I believe I've listed some of them.