Caribbean Quarterly
A Journal of Caribbean Culture
ISSN: 0008-6495 (Print) 2470-6302 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcbq20
Understanding Calypso Content: A Critique and an
Alternative Explanation
Roy L. Austin
To cite this article: Roy L. Austin (1976) Understanding Calypso Content: A
Critique and an Alternative Explanation, Caribbean Quarterly, 22:2-3, 74-83, DOI:
10.1080/00086495.1976.11671904
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74
UNDERSTANDING CALYPSO CONTENT: A CRITIQUE
AND AN ALTERNATNE EXPLANATION
Introduction
Calypsos are songs with a distinctive rhythm whose music and lyrics originate in the
English-speaking Caribbean. The songs are identified in particular with Trinidad where
most are composed. In a study of the content of 107 of these songs by Trinidadian males
Elder {1968) reports the following findings: {I) Aggressive songs occur more frequently
than non-aggressive, older "non-calypsos" having a higher proportion of aggressive songs
than the more recent calypsos. (2) For songs with a clear reference to male or female,
the female theme is predominant. Elder also reports a reduction in the frequency of the
female theme in the more recent songs, but his Table Ill shows the opposite. (3) Ag-
gressiveness towards males has consistently decreased over the years. But while the
number of aggressive remarks towards the female supposedly increased over the years,
the increase in the more recent songs took place at a lower rate than in the earlier songs.
If this claim is supported by any table presented, it is not readily discernible.
The Problem
The high incidence of anti-feminine remarks in the songs were seen by Elder as a pro-
jection of an underlying male/female conflict over desirable social roles in the society.
This paper will examine the adequacy of El deL's attempt to account for {I) the conflict
and its expression in calypsos; and (2) the decrease in the rate of aggressive reaction to
the female over time.
Reconstruction of Elder's Explanatory Schema
A. The Basis of Male/Female Conflict. Two analytically distinct threads run through
Elder's explanation but he does not differentiate between them. One explanation
depends on the acceptance of the psychoanalytic claim of a cross-sex parental preference
leading to the development of an Oedipus complex. The other is independent of this
claim and takes the following form:
I. The matrifocal family is the predominant type in Trinidad. In such families the
male child experiences maternal repression rather than paternal repression and
therefore regards the female as occupying the dominant role in society.
2. If a society has male initiatory rites the male can escape the threat of female dom-
inance. These rites do not occur in Trinidad so the male remains dependent on his
mother and experiences doubt over his sex role.
3. The male becomes hostile to his mother for usurping the dominant role in the
society but represses the hostility. The repression of hostility may be due to fear
of the dominant mother, but Elder is not clear on this. Alternatively, it may be
75
due to the love of the mother, regarded as an element in the development of the
Oedipus complex. This leads us then to the second explanation which may be
summarized as follows:
i. With no father present, the male child's love for his mother is frustrated by the
mother.
ii. The male child develops an ambivalent love/hate relationship with his mother.
Moreover, the absence of male initiatory rites in the society leaves him perpetually
fixed at this early stage of psychosexual development.
B. The Expression of Aggression in Song. Elder seems to see this as serving two pur-
poses. On the one hand, he regards aggression directed toward the love object (the
mother) as a manifestation of the psychological mechanism called reaction formation.
That is, if the love object is not available one must behave in a manner that denies his
love for that object. Only over-reaction brings a measure of relief from stress because
"the original opposite attitudes still exist in the unconscious" (Kitsuse and Dietrick,
1959). As Elder indicates, "male preoccupation with the love object" continues (p. 36).
Thus, the calypsonian must continue his aggressive songs. This purpose of calypso ag-
gression is a continuation of the Oedipus complex argument.
The second purpose is not as fully develqped by Elder as the first. In this case the
calypsonian takes on the creative role of the mother when he composes a song
(Elder: 37). The implication apparently is that he becomes, temporarily, the dominant
figure in the society-the mother. Neither reaction formation nor a theory of psychosex-
ual development is necessary here. But, also, since aggression is not a necessary element
in creativity, this purpose will not account for the aggressive content of the songs. For
this reason, and because Elder gives it peripheral treatment only, it will not be considered
further.
C. Change in the Rate of Aggressive Reaction. According to Elder, the Trinidadian
male is now discovering "areas of endeavor in which he can be a male in identity with-
out effective competition from the powerful female figure" (p. 38). His status, prestige
and authority are increasing and so getting closer to the female. He also thinks that Suttie
may be correct in his belief that males have surpassed females in the political and
economic spheres.
Operational Adequacy
Male hostility to the mother is an important element in Elder's·explanations. This
hostility is inferred from the affective orientation in the songs toward women in general.
But Elder's calypso collection should have allowed him to determine the affective orient-
ation toward the mother whenever she represented the focus in a song. That is, he
neglected the opportunity to utilize an adequate indicator of a key variable and so
provide greater confidence in his explanation.
The inadequacy of the indicator of aggressiveness toward the mother also brings
Elder's use of reaction formation into question. There is no reaction formation if the
emotional content of the songs is not the opposite of what is really felt fur the mother.
Another kind of operational problem is provided by his use of the term rel>re~~cd
hostility. Spiro (197:2: 18~) provides --belief in evil supernaturals .. and ··persistent criti.
cism of others" as two indicators of hostility (as a .. motivation! disposition .. 1 in the
76
Burmese. Belief in evil supernaturals is prevalent in the Caribbean, including Trinidad;
but it is unlikely that much agreement could be obtained that this is an indicator of hos-
tility. The other indicator may obtain greater inter-subjective agreement but would be
tautological in the present instance. Besides, whenever hostility may be clearly inferred
from criticism of others it is because accompanying elements of the criticism make it
overt aggression rather than the underlying characteristic that Spiro and Elder need to
measure. In general, claims of repressed hostility should be supported by evidence other
than overt aggression which may occur years after the repression supposedly began.
Elder provides no such evidence.
Empirical Adequacy
A. The Matrifocal Family As The Basis Of Male/Female Conflict. There is much evid-
ence that lower-class males in the Caribbean have a deep love for their mother. Elder,
for instance, quotes Beaubrun to the effect that "the preponderance of the matrifocal
family has produced a tendency for the Caribbean male to put mother on a pedestal and
to hold all other women in low esteem" (p. 36). This quotation supports our claim that
aggression in calypsos toward the mother cannot be inferred from aggressive remarks
about other women. One may also point to a number of calypsos indicating love for
mothers. For example, one song proclaims that "a mother's love you can never forget,"
while in another the calypsonian declares that if he had to choose between saving his
mother and his wife from drowning he would save his mother. Rodman (1972: 222, 224)
provides examples of calypsos recognizing the love that most people hold for their
mother. The following is an extract from one of these:
Last Mother's day they happy all about
Poor me a had to hush up me mouth
Little Children from East to West
Said how dey mother she try she best
Nice treatment for so, everybody say
And they start out singin on Mother's Day
M is for the million things she gave me
0 means that she is only getting old
But all my mother used to give me heaven knows
Is to kneel down on a grater with plenty blows.
Elsewhere in his book Rodman supports the claim that Trinidadian males feel much
affection for their mother. Similar claims are made for Jamaica by Clarke (1957: 156)
and Kerr (I 963: 70).
What then of hostility towards the mother? This occurs too, as is suggested in the last
two lines of the song above. Kerr (1963: 168) also provides evidence of this for Jamaica
by quoting the boy who referred to his mother as "that black bitch." I assume that this
was not disgust expressed in a moment of anger which hid a deeper emotion of an op-
posite nature. In addition, Rodman (1971: 89) discusses the case of the drunken man
who was cursing his mother without reservation.
Whereas Kerr and Rodman present direct evidence of hostility, Elder's evidence is
inferential. The mother is seen as the main source of punishment in the matrifocal family
77
and this is said to be favourable to the development of hostile feelings in the son. More-
over, Elder speaks of "repression" instead of punishment. This term is appropriate for
his explanation but may present a distorted picture of the true situation.
There is much agreement that the punishment of children by lower-class Caribbean
parents is often severe by Anglo-American standards. However, Kerr (1963: 156), while
admitting that this was the case in Jamaica, maintained that "no evidence of widespread
cruelty" came to her attention. Cruelty would be consistent with the idea of repression.
Also she claims that "the same men and women who regaled us with stories of their
mother's floggings would, in the same breath, enlarge upon her devotion to them and
theirs to her" (p. 159). This observation is of tremendous importance because of the
readiness with which hostile feelings towards the mother are deduced from the fact that
she punishes with some severity.
There is no hostility, repressed or otherwise, towards the mother for the majority of
children raised in the matrifocal family in the Caribbean. In these territories severe
physical punishment, at least in the lower class, is the norm and children are not as like-
ly to consider their treatment repressive as where psychological punishment, for exam-
ple, is the norm. Besides, the punishment that the mother administers is tempered by
the love she betrays on other occasions, and by the knowledge that "she works her
fingers to the bone" (a Vincentian expression) to feed and clothe her son. This partially
explains why children contribute to their mother's upkeep when they are grown and can
afford to (Greenfield, 1961: 80; R. T. Smith, 1960: 71 ). In addition love for one's
mother and providing her with financial support are strongly supported by Caribbean
lower class mores. Only an "ungrateful" child does not comfort his mother's old age.
The child who disrespects his mother is not expected to prosper because he is cursed.
These cultural supports for maternal devotion make the following story from Jamaica
understandable:
She had her first child at 15. "Me mother nearly kill me, she licked me down with
big stick and stone. I remember one time after me have the baby, me mother send
me to spring to get water. When me come back she ask me why me stay so long.
Me say why. Miss B. story so, eh? She licked me down and beat me." Asked if she
still loved her mother she said 'Me love her still after is me mother a'ready'
(Kerr, 1963: 62).
Such stories are often heard in the Caribbean; and those concerning boys differ only
in minor details. It is possible that Elder, like Kerr, sees some children as "reacting to a
cruelty pattern that does not exist" because of the frequency of "blood-curdling threats"
{1963: 45). But Kerr also allows for the retention of love for the mother under these
conditions.
The investigations of matrifocality in the Caribbean offer little evidence that this
family form is the breeding ground of extensive male hostility toward mothers. Neither
does it appear that an examination of the calypso will yield direct evidence supporting
such a hypothesis. It must be repeated that evidence of hostility toward females is not
evidence of hostility toward the mother. But Elder's explanation needs the latter for
support.
78
B. Change In Male/Female Conflict Over Time. According to Elder, the male in Trini-
dad has only recently approached the status, prestige and authority of the female. This
became possible with the extension of political rights and an increase in economic oppor-
tunities. He believes that the improvement is the status of males accounts for the de-
crease in the rate of aggressive affect directed at females in the modern calypso.
The claim about low male status finds some support in Smith's (1960: 68, 71, 73)
contention that lower-class males in Guyana have authority as "husband-father" only
where they provide economic support for a household. This is because of the relative ab-
sence in this group of status-conferring occupations and opportunities to coordinate
household and economic activities, and the presence of an ascriptive system operating to
the disadvantage of Blacks. Unstable economic conditions further undermine the status
of the lower-class male. And Smith suggests that other lower-class Caribbean males ex-
perience a similar emasculation. The relative status of males and females will, however,
be examined further.
Assuming that the later years of the "non-calypso" showed no decrease in the rate of
male/female conflict then the male movement toward equality with women started after
1940, Elder's starting point of the "modern calypso." Further, the opportunity to de-
monstrate masculinity (Elder, 1968: 38) in politics could scarcely have occurred before
1946, the year that universal adult suffrage was granted to Trinidadians. Information
collected in 1939-39 may therefore provide an adequate test of the hypothesis of low
male status vis-a-vis females. If Elder is right, females at that time should occupy a high-
er status than males. Or, Elder may intend only, although this is not clear, that lower-
class females held a higher status than lower-class males. Neither proposition is support-
ed by the evidence outlined below.
A Royal Commission investigating social and economic conditions in the West lndies
in 1938-39 included among the ' undesirable features of West Indian social conditions ...
the low status accorded to women" (Moyne et al., 1945: 230). There were territories
that did not allow women to sit in the Legislative Council, or to vote for elected repre-
sentatives on an equal footing with men. The higher civil service positions were held al-
most exclusively by men. Women were not appointed to Boards overlooking such areas
as education, housing or social welfare.
The status of women in the labour market is indicated in another Colonial Office re-
port. In a section dealing with Trinidad, Orde Browne (1939: 115-30) claims that male
shop clerks averaged 29 dollars monthly in wages while females averaged 18 to 19 dollars.
In the sugar industry, males obtained 45 to 80 cents per day while females obtained 25
to 45 cents. The Public Works Department paid unskilled male labourers 80 cents per
day, but paid females only 41 cents.
Many lower-class women were employed as domestic servants. The Moyne Commission
reports that their "normal working day ... is from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m." (1945: 218). Their
salary was between six shillings ($1·44) and twelve shillings ($2·88) a week; and this did
not allow them food and lodging which was sometimes supplied. Domestic servants
worked long hours, suffered the insults of arrogant employers and their uppish children,
obtained meagre wages and had little status in the community.
79
Even more recent reports reject the proposition of higher feminine status at an earlier
stage. For example, Rubin and Zavalloni (1969) report the findings in a survey in Trini-
ded in 1957 on the attitude of fifth and sixth form secondary school children toward
the authority of the husband and wife in marriage. One item asked: Who will have more
influence in family affairs, wife or husband? While equality was the overwhelming
choice of all ethnic-racial categories, 19 percent of black (predominantly lower-class)
boys felt the husband would have more influence while 6 percent believed that the wife
would be dominant; of the black girls, 13 percent chose the husband and 4 percent the
wife; of the white (predominantly middle and upper-class) boys, 29 percent chose the
husband and 7 percent chose the wife; of the white girls, 20 percent chose the husband
and none chose the wife. Thus the middle and upper-class youths were more likely than
lower-class youths of the same sex to see the husband as the dominant partner. But the
lower-class youths also believed that the husband would be dominant. If it is assumed
that the youths' beliefs reflect the influence of males and females in Trinidadian families,
the fmdings show males as dominating family life in 1957. Although Elder wrote a
decade later, he portrays the male as "evening up with his female competitor" (1968: 38).
It seems more likely that any evening up in 1957 was due to an improvement in the
status of women.
The time at which the female-headed household comes into being in the Caribbean
also casts doubt on Elder's claims. Smith (1956) and Green field (1961) suggest that for
Guyana and Barbados, respectively, the unmarried mother becomes independent of the
male only after her children are sufficiently grown to allow her to enter the labour
force. The psychoanalytic theory that forms the basis of Elder's explanation expects
pe~onality formation to occur in the earliest years of childhood. Therefore, the mother's
independence and the possible decrease of the father's status apparently occur after the
oral itage of dependency at which the calypsonian is supposedly fixed.
The proportion offemale-headedhouseholds provides further evidence against Elder's
arg\iments. Cumper (1961: 391) reported that in Barbados a majority (58 percent) of
the unions involving a domestic servant showed households headed by women. But 25
perC'ent was the largest proportion of female-headed households for other unions. These
included such lower-class occupations as non-farm labourer, peasant, renter of small
plots of land and landless labourer. The 1946 Trinidad census for the Eastern Counties
shows that for those five-year age groups between ages 20 and 50 there are more black
women occupying a common-law st.atus than a single status (Rodman, 1971: 46). For
the whole island, 45 percent of the black women between the ages of 15 and 44 are
single while 54 percent are either married or living common-law. Rodman observes that
many categorized as single really are in a common-law status (1971: 45). In addition,
the single category is swollen by the 15 to 20 year age group which is less likely than
other age groups to have children. Further, those who are single are less likely to have
children than those married or living common-law. Thus a male may be present in the
majority of the households with children, even lower-class households. And Kerr
(1963. 67) claims that where there is a male in the household he is the dominant figure.
This is true of Trinidad as of Jamaica, the island of which Kerr speaks.
It thus appears that in Trinidad most males were reared in a household where males
are dominant; males dominated the importaRt 40cial functions in institutions outside
80
the family; and the cultural ideal was that males should be dominant. Elder's arguments
are therefore based on the erroneous assumption that Trinidad was a female-dominated
society prior to the emergence of the modem calypso; that is, prior to 1940.
The basic contention of a relationship between female dominance and calypso -
tent may fmd support at the individual level. That is, the society may not be females
dominated but individual males reared in female-headed households may show aggression
toward females. A convincing test of this hypothesis with respect to calypso content
requires data on the family environment of individua.i singers and the content of their
songs. However, Kerr (1963: 167) provides an argument favourable to the hypothesis·
She claims that in Jamaica, where males are wandering about the island seekin!l work,
many children grow up fmancially and emotionally dependent on the mother. There is
thus a discrepancy between the cultural ideal of the authoritative male and the reality of
the non-providing male. The dominant male is only a fantasy and the child resents and
fears female dominance. Our earlier observation on the frequency with which calypsoni-
ans and other males praise their mother raises questions about this hypothesis too.
An Alternative Explanation
We do not agree with Elder's claim that an utterance may serve a tension-releasing
function. However, the calypsonian may be intersted in more than getting things off hi&
mind. An audience accords prestige and more tangible rewards, and the calypsooim
must attend to the topics which at any time please the audience. Thus the taste of th~
audience must be one factor determining the content of calypsos.
The largest part of the early calypsonian's audience was lower-class, as is the oripn of
most calypsonians. Lower-class conversation is filled with earthy matters b~ause limit-
ed education restricts exposure and interest to only the most obvious elements in om's
surroundings. Sexual matters, as one of these elements, are discussed openly and with
sufficient frequency in Caribbean lower-class circles to seem like an obsession. Clarke's
(1957: 90-91) comparison of the open sexual talk in Sugartown with the taboo on sex·
ual discussion in Orange Grove is very clear on this point. In addition, for the Caribbean
male, proof of masculinity is not only in the siring of a child, as Clarke observed, bat
also in the ability to boast of sexual conquest.
It is only the male, however, who is expected to engage in sexual exploits. Women
who deviate from the mores of the society by being promiscuous are held in low regard.
Parents are more concerned about the sexual morality of their daughters than their son~
(Rodmail, 1971: 130; Rubin and Zavalloni, 1969: 126). Indeed, one of the more obviOUi
contradictions of Caribbean society is the willingness of men to seduce every available
woman and their simultaneous preoccupation with the faithfulness and morality of
women. But this must not be seen as a peculiarly Trinidadian or Caribbean phenomenon.
The chaste woman and virile man ideal leads to a double standard in m~~ny areas of the
world. It encourages the condemnation and punishment of the female who engages in
prostitution or any semblance of sexual impropriety while the male accomplice is for-
gotten or gains status.
The calypsonian uses the artist's licence to remark publicly on his virility or the im-
morality of women. He does so in language often considered too ftlthy for other oc-
casions. He receives approval for his manly exploits or his support of the ideal of female
81
chastity. He appeals to the prurient interests of his audience and legally provides a kind
of entertainment that is otherwise frowned upon.
Ambivalence marked the earlier middle and upper-class attitude toward calypso.
Overtly, they tolerated this lower-class entertainment but banned from the airwaves
songs considered too risque. Those songs which were not too offensive they sometimes
sang publicly converting the lyrics to standard English and thereby distorting the song.
Sometimes they patronized and even helped to organize calypso competitions, mostly
under circumstances where they exercised at least indirect control over the lyrics. And
some are said to have ventured into the tents under cover of darkness.
The modern calypso is created in an atmosphere of political emancipation, greater
official recognition and a decreasing rate of illiteracy. The lower-class audience votes for
legislators and has, generally, wider interests than before. The audience has a greater
proportion of middle-class people more openly appreciative of "dirty" songs and suf-
ficiently nationalistic t~ support local talent expressed in a local medium. The new
audience, whether lower or middle-class, is more accepting of more varied lyrics while
retaining an appetite for earthy songs.
Calypsonians have always commented on local incidents and people's character and
have always dealt in satire (Pearse, 1969). If there is less negative comment on the female
it is partly because the audience as well as the calypsonian has developed broader inter-
est~. It is also possible that the economic fortunes of women and their overall behaviour
ha1e changed sufficiently to help account for the decrease in condemnation. Moreover,
some of the more recent songs have come from middle-class composers who may be ex-
pocted to refine the art (Pearse, 1955: 34).
The relationship of men to their mothers remains an attractive complement to the al-
ternative explanation provided. However, it is the close attachment of men to their
nothers rather than any feelings of hate or of being dominated by them that finds a
?lace in our explanation; for such a relationship may encourage men to hold of all wo-
men the same high expectations they hold of their mothers. At the same time, lower-
class women may often be forced by circumstances to defy the mores of the society;
and similar circumstances make public exposure of their deeds more likely than the
same behaviour of other women.
The scarcity of songs against the father has so far been ignored. Elder claims that the
ron cannot hate the father because he is not present to frustrate the son. To us it seems
that a boy who loves his mother may hate the man who deserted her. Besides, if the
absent father does not contribute money for the son's care he limits the son's ability to
obtain important goods and may be hated for this. And if a father is present and is strict
he is more likely to be hated than the strict mother because he is less likely to cater to
the child's emotional needs.
Elder's first table (1968: 26) provides a clue to the reason for the scarcity of male
songs. The table showed that there was no significant relationship between endorse-
ment/non-endorsement of sex and referent. That is, songs about males are as likely to
be non-endorsing songs as songs about females. But the calypso deals primarily in non-
endorsement (85 percent of Elder's sample fell in this category). Part of this effect also
depends on the inclusion of explicit sexual material. In Trinidad it is the sexual behav-
82
iour of the female that is condemned and therefore becomes a topic for the calypso.
The scarcity of male songs is due to the scarcity of condemnation of male sexual behav-
iour in the society. Thus the calypso accurately reflects the community attitude in this
sphere. The following lyrics from a 1961 calypso do the same for the attitude toward
parents:
So it grieves me day and night to see
Children honouring their Mother so gratefully
And their Father they always neglect
Not even a teaspoon full of respect.
(Mighty Viper; in Rodman 1971: 222)
Concluding Remarks
Elder's explanation of the frequency of condemnation of women in calypsos rests
heavily on two assumptions: (I) that calypsonians repress hostility toward their mothers
and (2) that females are the dominant sex in Trinidad; or, at least, in lower-class 1rini-
dad. The first assumption has been questioned partly on the ground that Elder prov.ded
no solution to the difficulty of operationalizing the idea of repressed hostility. In aidi-
tion, it appears that an examination of calypsos will show many of the singers exp~ss
ing love for their mother and recognizing the same emotion in most Trinidadians. Cemus
information and the observations of other authors suggest that the second assumptior. is
also erroneous.
There still remains the probability that calypsonians dominated by their mothers a:e
more likely to condemn women than those with a different relationship to their mother:.
We do not have the data to test this hypothesis and neither, apparently, did Elder.
An alternative to Elder's explanation is that success and status for the calypsonian is
most likely if he pleases his audience. Therefore, it is the nature of the audience that
largely accounts for the content of the songs. And the interest of the audience is shaped
by events in the society and the capacity of individuals to find meaning in these events.
ROY L. AUSTIN
FOOTNOTES
1. There is some difficulty in determining whether Elder's explanation is based on females dominat-
ing the society, or females dominating lower-class society, or females seen as dominant by certain
males who react with aggression toward women. In reconstructing the explanation, we try to use
the most logical alternative. However, our later comments deal with the three possibilities.
2. Sometimes we shall draw on research conducted in Caribb~an territories other than Trinidad to
support our arguments. There is an assumption of similarity with Trinidad when this is done.
83
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