‘Play mas’: carnival in the archives and the archives in carnival: records and community identity in the US Virgin Islands

Abstract

Over the past several decades, scholars concerned with post-colonial and indigenous populations have focused on archives as one method of excavating the cultures and lives of marginalized peoples. The limitations of textual and bureaucratic records, combined with the recognition that an archive can consist of interrelated knowledge constructs composed of many different kinds of documentation, have led these scholars to seek 'archives' beyond the walls of official buildings. For archivists likewise engaged in documenting post-colonial and other communities, expanding the definitions of what an archive could be, and suggesting new ways of seeing 'records', offers the potential of creatively representing and preserving the cultural expressions of these communities. This paper examines carnival as a cultural archive. Carnival, an annual tradition in many Caribbean islands was initially created by both enslaved and freed Africans as a counternarrative to the festivals of the colonizers. In the US Virgin Islands, carnival began in the eighteenth century when the islands were Danish colonies. It was briefly revived at the beginning of the twentieth century and again in 1952 as an annual public celebration, which it remains today. While carnival produces traditional records, the week-long event also embodies the continuum of a local culture through a variety of non-traditional records that transmit genealogies, folkways, food customs, and history.

Archivists as Peers in Digital Public History

“…In fact, one of the key insights of the growing body of work in "community archives" is the validation and empowerment of communities to be the appropriate arbiters and stewards of their own records, rather than external organizations. 17 Some of the most exciting opportunities in these areas have been occurring at the intersection of local community based archiving efforts and digital tools. In founding the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), Samip Mallick and Michelle Caswell were motivated by their finding that "only a few museums ever had organized exhibitions on South Asian Americans and no archival repository was systematically collecting materials related to South Asian American history."…”

Where Popular Culture IS the Archives: The Archival Significance of Antigua’s Calypso

“…The island's popular culture, with its costumes, foods, calypso songs and performances, and even dance movements, captures, stores, preserves, and re/tells the various stories, beliefs, and experiences of the island society. Calypsos, in particular, provide access to the “minor narratives, untold stories, the traces, the whispers, and the expressions of marginalized identities,” perspectives that are uncommon in traditional archival repositories (Bastian, “Play Mas” 504). Thus, keen researchers are able to understand former times and feelings by interpreting the lyrics and rhythms of the popular culture.…”