Crop Over is a cultural and historical event, celebrating the end of the sugar cane harvest season. Barbados.org describes Crop Over as;“The Crop Over summer festival is Barbados' most popular and colourful festival. Its origins can be traced back to the 1780's, a time when Barbados was the world's largest producer of sugar. At the end of the sugar season, there was always a huge celebration to mark the culmination of another successful sugar cane harvest – the Crop Over celebration.
However, ask most [young] people today and they are most likely to say something akin to “Toga!Toga! Toga!” - a chant made famous by every college party film from the 80's. In other words, to most people, Crop Over is simply one big two-month party and the historical and cultural aspects of the festival are completely forgotten. Even Wikipedia agrees; “For the entire two months life for many islanders is one big party...”
No one, including those in charge of the festival seem to care about the history of the festival or its cultural significance. Barbadians have a very vague idea of when and why the festival started and not a very accurate or detailed knowledge about what the festival was like more than twenty to thirty years ago.
The focus and the message of the festival now seems to be more about partying and all that comes with it, rather than taking the opportunity to educate Barbadians about their history and culture and the origins of the festival and some of its biggest events such as Bridgetown Market, Pic-O-De-Crop, Cohobblopot and Grand Kadooment. Most Barbadians do not even know anything about the music of the festival – calypso and soca – other than they originated in Trinidad. One may go as far to say that some Barbadians do not even know that much.
For a festival that is so important to a nation, why is it that those who are so eager to take part in it know next to nothing about it? It is shameful that Barbadians in general know practically nothing about what is supposed to be the most culturally significant event of the year and that the event itself showcases very little history and culture – one can only understand their culture if they know their history.
For years, decades even, the older generation has voiced its concern about the decline and deterioration of the festival. And more and more Barbadians of all ages are beginning to echo this sentiment. Many have said that the history and the culture of the festival need to be emphasised and explored. These two aspects have been almost completely eclipsed by the “Party! Party! Party!” atmosphere and message of the festival.
Some may even go as far to say that Crop Over is a party filled with “sin” and “debauchery”. Why else would condom advertisements and “Drink Responsibly” campaigns be broadcasted more frequently during this period? By injecting history and culture back into the festival, this perception can be negated and not only the image of the festival, but Barbadians' image of themselves and their country can be changed.
History is unimaginably powerful and by learning and understanding where they have come from, Barbadians will be able to appreciate and be proud of Crop Over, Barbados and themselves even more.
There is nothing wrong with having fun and celebrating or with Crop Over reflecting that; the whole point of the festival is to celebrate. That being said, as the festival grows older and memories of its history start to fade (and one can argue that for the most part those memories are completely gone), it is necessary to hold on to and preserve these memories and use them to educate the younger generation about the history and cultural relevance of the festival.
The festival should be less about parties and partying and more about history and culture. There should be a balance.
Even though the festival was initially just a simple celebration, it has evolved and matured into what can be considered the pinnacle of Barbadian culture; a shining example if you will, of what Barbados and Barbadians are all about. Barbadians themselves, should know what they are about.
Unfortunately, many Barbadians seem not to care to learn about their own history and culture. During Crop Over, all that matters is partying. This may be the very reason that those in charge of Crop Over have not, or do not want to, emphasise the cultural and historical aspect of Crop Over. If no one is interested, then why waste funds on it?
Such a nonchalant attitude could lead to Crop Over becoming (if it hasn't already – and it most likely surely has) just another festival or carnival and thus losing its identity and uniqueness in a region which has so many and any advantage it may have had over them.
So what is Crop Over? At present it is more of a party than a cultural celebration. In the future it may well evolve into more than just a celebration of the end of the sugar cane harvest season and become celebration of the history and culture of a people. That is, at least, the future we can hope for.
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