@shaun_rambaran

Article written for Nikon Rumors, published on 3rd November, 2019. Read it there to see the full photo galleries and image captions.

Our History

Welcome to Trinbago (officially, Trinidad and Tobago), the twin-island nation found at the southernmost end of the Caribbean. We are a colourful callaloo of communities and cultures, proud of our heritage and always loving a good time. Our yearly Carnival is arguably one of the most diverse and photogenic street festivals of the World and it’s a great place to bring along your Nikon kit. Pretty people in feathers and beads, fire-breathing devils, steelbands, and cracking whips all glitter the landscape. And there—towering, commanding respect among the cacophony—are the moko jumbies. To give some context, please allow me a quick, condensed history:

As with the rest of the West Indies, our dense past saw us grind through the dim chapters of the Atlantic Slave Trade, changing hands as a colonial state multiple times. On Trinidad, the Taíno and other first peoples [1] eventually fell to the Spanish (1510-1595) who would later bring French plantation owners onto the island from 1783. Tobago, meanwhile, underwent colonisation attempts by the Dutch, British, French, and Courlanders. Between 1793 to 1797, the British came to control both islands and installed enslaved persons purchased from a few West African countries, including such ethnic groups as the Akan, Igbo, Kongo, Makua, Yoruba, and various Gbe-speaking peoples [2]. August 1834 saw the end of slavery in the Caribbean as market forces triggered by the industrial revolution, combined with social pressures by abolitionist movements in Britain, made slavery no longer financially profitable nor politically desirable [3]. To fill the labour shortfall, an attempt to indenture ex-slaves was tried and failed. Between 1845 to 1917, Indian indentures were seduced to Trinidad. So too, Chinese indentures were coaxed between 1848 to 1852 [4]. A half-century later, the religious persecution of Arab Catholics from the region once known as Greater Syria lead to some of those groups escaping into Trinbago [5]. 1937 noted the beginnings of Trinbagonian nationalism, and decades of demonstrations and riots would eventually, after a series of steps, see Trinbago finally become independent in 1963.

“Many rivers flowed into this sacred isle,” as poetically summarised by Trinbagonian Calypsonian, David Rudder [6]. While much of the world today seems to argue over what it means to be ‘multi-cultural’, Trinbago’s unique blend of diverse heritages thrown together by history—generations who have jointly grown and overcome challenges on this land—has seen us long surpass that mark, becoming instead ‘inter-cultural’. We are a remarkable place where average people from every ethnic background can be seen actively partaking in the expressions of the others. The emblems of each of those cultures remain; Worn on the varied faces and beautiful skin colours of our people; they are felt in our eclectic ranges of rhythms and music; beheld in our dances; tasted in our foods; seen in our traditions. Among these traditions stands tall the ‘moko jumbie’.

‘Jumbie’ (or ‘zombie’ in Haiti) is a Caribbean word meaning ‘spirit’ [8]. ‘Moko’, a West African guardian deity, uses his great height to spy danger at a distance and to protect his village. Enslaved persons enduring the Middle Passage thought of Moko using his height to walk along the seabed [7] following the slaver ships, so to protect his people during their suffering and into their unknown, new lands. The tradition of walking on stilts (sticks), which exists in a handful of islands across the Caribbean, serves as a reminder of that guardian spirit. Those stick-walkers who—via their great height, great skill, and awe-inspiring portrayals—most “embody the spirit of the stick” [9] are fit to be called ‘moko jumbies’. In Trinbago, moko jumbies are associated with Carnival.

Photographing de Yard

It was a chance encounter, a few Carnivals ago, with these moko jumbies which so fascinated my friend, Artist, Joshua Lue Chee Kong that he began a collaboration with Designer, Kriston Chen, to seek to learn. A challenging year ensued. The kind help and input of folks like Debbie Estwick, Michael Lee Poy, Sean Leonard, and Bruce Cayonne, eventually allowed the first ever stick-walking session at a collective art space called ‘Alice Yard’ to take place on 29th January, 2017. Josh extended the invitation to his friends to come give walking a try and I readily joined, my Nikon in hand. From that day to now, as at the time of writing, I’ve been a member of ‘Sticks in de Yard’ (as the group came to be known) [10], walking a couple times (although I’m not very good), helping new-comers to feel less terrified, and making lots of photographs along the way. The group, being located in the capitol of Trinidad and having a light, leisurely vibe [11], became very inviting to all mixes of colours, genders, and ages. This aspect of Sticks in de Yard I hope most to show with my coverage.

For myself and my growth as a photographer, 2017 saw me pondering the notion of ‘the long project’. While great, individual photographs can become iconic, there’s a power that only surfaces through a slow, patient body of work. And so my fortweekly coverage of Sticks in de Yard has been done, making use of my Nikon gear which, depending on the day, can be any combination of:

• Nikon D750 camera body;
• Nikon D7500 camera body;
• Nikkor 28mm f1.8 prime;
• Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 zoom;
• Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 zoom;
• Nikon SB700 speedlight.

I photograph raw, using an amazing piece of gratis, open-source software called ‘RawTherapee’ to do my conversion.

As a photographer, I see my role primarily as storytelling (or rather, storyshowing). My goal is to offer viewers enough information in each individual frame (and then all of the frames together) so that they can, for themselves, get a rough sense of what the moment was like and what was taking place. A caption can fill in the details (the date, location, names of people, etc), however I aim for the single photograph itself to speak most of its own words. As said by Photojournalist, Dan Winters, “A photograph does not require any information beyond the confines of the frame.”

Every artistic, technical, and journalistic tool comes into play:

To begin with, I try to not disturb the scene. Most times, I find there’s more storytelling value in candid, genuine moments, than those images which are posed. Details in the scene, say the random beer bottles or the old lady leaning out her window to spy, are all parts of the story. Nothing is ‘photoshopped’ out nor in. No ‘fake news’!

Expressions and body-language are telling. Is the first-time walker feeling fearful? Maybe proud? Comfortable? Maybe slightly embarrassed? Is the walker dancing and having fun? This crucial information adds layers of complexity and interest into a photograph when it can be caught. The work of Paul Ekman and others in the many fields of non-verbal communication continues to aid and inform my photography today. I earnestly suggest any photographer reading this to go out and learn how to accurately read facial expressions and body language. It may be an irreplaceable ‘soft skill’ for a tog!

Line direction carries meaning; This was one of the first lessons of Desmond ‘Sir’ Clarke, one of my first photography mentors [12]. Horizontals tend to suggest calmness and stability; Verticals suggest height and pride; Diagonals suggest movement and dynamism. Diagonal lines tend also to attract viewers’ attention more than the others. Therefore I work to keep my backgrounds as serene as possible by using horizontals and verticals there as much as the situation permits. This allows the dynamic, irregular shapes of human bodies—the walkers—to play against that calmness, and so stand out from it. The exception comes in those rare situations of a walker falling, when there’s an accident, or someone feeling ill; I’ve found that diagonals in those situations help to communicate the subjects’ feelings of panic or unease. You’ll find this technique used in the work of old thriller / suspense movie directors; the likes of Hitchcock et al.

The walkers are tall. Staying close on a wide angle, especially with the D750’s FX, tends to keep them looking as tall and impressive as they are. With stick-walkers, so high in the sky they are, that heroic angles occur naturally. That said, on wide, one challenge I’ve continued to face and haven’t yet solved is how to deal with the bright sky creeping into the photograph. It’s less of an issue on a bright, sunny day—ironically enough—because I found moving myself into a front- or sidelit position allows the bright sunlight striking the subjects to match the brightness of the sky, roughly equalising their exposures. On Nikon’s wide dynamic range, the sky retains its beautiful blue colour in these sorts of scenarios. What I’ve not yet been able to adequately figure is how to handle an overcast day. With the Light not bright enough to match the ground’s exposure to the sky, there seems to be no recourse but letting the sky blowout to white (or else keep the sky out of frame entirely by switching to tele’). Flash is definitely an option and I need to practice using my SB700 more often in the future!

Have you ever tried your camera’s ‘Store Focal Point by Orientation’ feature? It allows the user to quickly change format (between portrait and landscape orientations) without having to scramble the d-pad, moving focal points. When working candidly on massive, fast-moving subjects such as stickwalkers, I’ve found there’s no replacing this feature for quickening one’s response time. Combined with AF-C set to back-button autofocus, I’m able to react quickly to a photogenic change in situation, getting my pictures off before anyone knows what’s happened.

Lastly, perhaps the most important tool: “It’s always worth it to keep pushing until you’re happy,” as said by Alex Smailes, former Photojournalist, and another person I was so lucky to meet. It’s only rarely that the immediate scene which presents itself before me will be ideal. Most times, I find I must keep circling around, spiralling closer, seeing the Light from different angles, ‘working’ the scene until I gradually begin to make better and better images of the day. Nothing replaces determination and persistence.

Evolution

In the enduring words of Calypsonian, Christopher ‘Tambu’ Herbert, “A nation without a culture is a people without a soul.” [13]

We’re so lucky as photographers that we often get called to witness and document culture and history as they manifest. One day future historians might well be picking over the work which we’ve been blessed to make today, piecing together what was the story of our time. This isn’t a responsibility to ignore. Our work is more than social media content.

And what will be the future story of stick-walking? Will the tradition carry on? In Trinbago, Sticks in de Yard is only one of a handful of stick-walking groups. The ongoing efforts of Glenn ‘Dragon’ DeSouza and his Keylemanjahro group from 1985 onward; Junior Bisnath’s Kaisokah from the mid-90s; Adrian Young’s Tarodale Jumbies and Future Jumbies (2018) among others are sources of encouragement. Every child taught in the tradition is a possibility for the future.

Trinbago Carnival is the week before Ash Wednesday every year. If you get here early enough, seek us out at Sticks in de Yard and we’ll be more than happy to put you up!

Be sure to walk with your camera.

Citations

[1] https://method.moda/gazette/kairi
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade
[3] ‘Capitalism and Slavery’, Eric Williams (1941)
[4] ‘Trinidad and Tobago, Terrific and Tranquil’ by Hansib Publications Limited (1994)
[5] https://www.nalis.gov.tt/Resources/Subject-Guide/Syrian-Lebanese
[6] ‘The Ganges and the Nile’ by David Rudder (1999) (http://www.islandlyrics.com/lyrics-david_rudder-the_ganges_and_the_nile_1999.htm)
[7] http://www.traditionalmas.com/project/moko-jumbie/
[8] https://exemplore.com/paranormal/Jumbies-of-Guyana
[9] Direct quote of Moko Somõkõw Designer, Alan Vaughan (2018)
[10] https://www.facebook.com/SticksInDeYard/
[11] ‘Deconstructing 1000mokos’ by Akilah Edwards-Rose
[12] Another of Mr. Clarke’s lessons was, “Only the lead mule sees a change of scenery. All the rest see ass.”
[13] ‘Culture’ by Christopher ‘Tambu’ Herbert (1988) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGRP0n0TjX4)

The chain-lands born upon the middle of the All Mother, so close are they to Her, they themselves nurture: The peoples birthed from them; the peoples suffered + slain on them; the long-legged guardians who walked onto them, frightful and benevolent.

Those who fell had risen again, restored by their guardians in the time of the dog and of the pig. Queen Mother of the guardians, lifted her Prince to her bosom, a signature for the world of men (lest they lose themselves from the All Mother).

And now, the Traveller arrives! With his vision comes a rebirth, so as his vision restores Life to a fallen poet of Sorrow Hill. All eyes stare, lingering, hoping, fearing. In the water-moon (soon!) shall all be seen, shall all be known.

With child, the Queen Mother sits on her throne; Waiting, thinking, eager to return to her legs… Biding her time, while her champions embrace both Hope and D’eath.

A more accepting society—accepting both difference and damage [1]—with more diverse opportunity for all [2], and more productive risk-taking [3], in which we each are more personally responsible [4], more efficient, and less wasteful [5].

1. We, as Trinbagonians, do a fantastic job of being an ‘inter-cultural’ society—long since surpassing notions of mere ‘multi-culture’, which the rest of the world today has been taking timid steps toward. That said, we sometimes are overly disdainful of the differences between us (as individuals). These aren’t simply the superficial ethnic differences, but rather we can at times be antagonists of the habits of others, their styles, their Life choices, and their preferences. Truthfully, it’s not necessary to like them. It’s not possible, in fact, to ‘like’ every action, habit, and choice of every single person. We are within our rights to even personally judge their activities as foolish or disgusting and express as much. We can discuss, contemplate, debate, and persuade. We cannot, however, resort to force. It is immoral to initiate force, as described by Ayn Rand. (Attempting to make the Life choices of others illegal is equal to a use of force.) It’s not our place to forcefully prevent other persons from seeking out their own means of happiness so long as the persons aren’t causing harm to others by so doing (or else they would themselves be ‘initiating force’). All of that said, preferrably we still make attempts to understand their points of view. Why? We may find our own shadows reside there, in the things we at first found ‘disgusting’. We may come to realise they aren’t so ‘foolish’ afterall, if we take the time to understand their full contexts. Their experiences and perspectives aren’t our own and we rob ourselves of new points of view by shutting their concerns out.
2. Further to the above, it might be the case that a society more accepting of the choices and strategies of others, necessarily opens itself up to many more avenues for overall prosperity and wealth. ‘Diversification’ (of the economy) isn’t a magical concept we need to rely on the gover’ment to grant to us, but instead comes from a diverse collection of minds, free to think their diverse thoughts and plans. (Sex and ethnicity are irrelevant. Real ‘diversity’ is the diversity of our minds. We must be free to think, and—assuming we want to thrive—we must allow others to be free to think.)
3. Perhaps a legacy effect of being a sugar colony, today Trinbagonians are generally risk-averse. (According to Terrence Farrell and other Caribbean economists, we tend to share this collective attitude with Bajans, however Jamaicans seem to be the opposite.) As individuals, we must allow ourselves the freedom to dream more, and then take the steps toward planning and executing those dreams. That is the attitude of innovation. Further to that point, if we see our peers try hard and fail, we must not belittle them for failing—Others must be free to think!
4. Every freedom necessarily includes its corresponding obligation; Every ‘right’ consists the responsibility of using that right properly. The only way to negate one’s responsibility is to negate one’s freedom to act. The parent of a young child may take away some of that child’s freedom of movement, for example, until the child has proven responsible enough to move safely and to not cause trouble. We need to accept that if we wish to be ‘big people’—free individuals, free to seek big rewards—that we can fail. Accepting the risks of our failures means we are prepared to deal with any consequences ourselves, and therefore not allow our failures to become the burdens of others. We are personally responsible for our decisions.
5. We live on small islands on a finite planet. We have limited resources at our disposal, from which every other plant and animal also hopes to live. Being efficient is but one more aspect of personal responsibility. We take steps to minimise our harm to others (our pollution) and minimise our waste. We therefore save our own resources (including time and money), as well as allow more resources to be available for the use of others, ourselves in the future, and our children. As paraphrased from Wendell Berry, “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; We borrow it from our children.”

It was 8th January 2016 and the energy of Carnival already hung in the air. Artist, Joshua Lue Chee Kong, while walking past the Queen’s Park Savannah, unexpectedly stumbled upon a mysterious, towering group of colourful figures which left him captivated. Struck by their scale, the colour, and the movements, he excitedly made photographs and the feeling hung in his memory.

Carnival 2016 came and went, that year featuring Jha-whan Thomas’ performance of Peter Minshall’s ‘Dying Swan’ at Dimanche Gras.

By the July-August vacation, when word of an artist residency in Vermot came through, a conversation with his good friend, Kriston Chen, took place. As it turned out, Kriston, a skilled designer with a strong connection to Granderson Lab and fan of compelling imagery, had himself already been pouring over the traditional mas photographs—including pictures of giant moko jumbies—Maria Nunes had made that year. Nonchalantly Josh expressed a curiousity to his friend, “How cool would it be to have moko jumbies in the form of a residency? [I wonder] if I could walk on stilts myself…” thinking the idea would have been a passing cloud. Kriston however, being a bit of a taskmaster, began exploring his connections.

“It was too good to be true,” Kriston would reminisce in January 2019, because in a side-conversation with his friend, Debbie Estwick, mention so happened to have been made of an architect named Michael Lee Poy who had been making sticks for a number of years, and teaching stilt-walking workshops at Holistic Primary School. After a mini-Odyssey throughout 2016 which saw them: meeting Jha-whan Thomas in person via Granderson Lab; an overzealous and failed attempt at walking six-foot sticks supplied by Michael; and fête-sign painter, Bruce Cayonne, cutting the sticks down to four-feet; finally on 11th January 2017 Josh, Kriston, and Debbie all finally walked for the first time at Michael Lee Poy’s lab.

The spirit of sharing runs deeply through both Josh and Kriston. For fun, they thought it might be interesting to open an invitation to each of their friends to try walking too. Sean Leonard of Granderson Lab allowed them the space at the affiliated Alice Yard in Woodbrook to host their session. On 29th January 2017, the first ever stick-walking session at Alice Yard took place with designer, Richard Rawlins, eagerly being the first person to try.

The friends who came on that day told their friends, those friends told others and, as of the date of this writing, the interest hasn’t waned. The Alice Yard sessions became regular, fortnightly fixtures.

During passing conversation with Michael, Kriston learnt about Junior Bisnath and the Kaisokah group of San Fernando. The colourful mokos of Kaisokah turned out to be the ones which Josh had initially seen. For some time, Junior had been attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously walking on stilts, which was achieved by Spijkenisse, The Netherlands on 16th September 2011 with 959 walkers. The notion of surpassing this record in Trinbago with ‘one thousand moko jumbies’ was attempted by Junior in September 2017 and voiced by Glenn ‘Dragon’ de Souza in March 2012. The #1000mokos hashtag was inspired by this, and for a short time the group called itself ‘1000mokos’ as well. Today, the group is known as ‘Sticks in de Yard’, named after its fortnightly sessions.

A collection of core team members gradually gathered throughout 2017 and 2018, including (in alphabetical order): Jendayi Akanke; Damir Ali; Yejide Cordner; Akilah E-R; Windsor Frederick; Mike Huggins; Xevran Ivarra; Simone Jacelon; Jo Ming Hon; Shaun Rambaran; Arvinda Rampersad; Richard Rawlins; and Mekhai Weekes.

The years also saw a collection of notable events and achievements for Sticks in de Yard, including:

• Celebration of International Women’s Day at Audrey Jeffers House (March 2017);
• The first ‘Touch D Sky’ Sunday session (April 2017);
• A Vermont art / moko residency (April 2017);
• Participation at New Fire Festival 2017 (April 2017);
• Participation in the Bocas Ol’ Mas Competition (April 2017);
• ‘#1000mokos on the Mount’ (trip to Mount Saint Benedict) (June 2017);
• Collaboration with ‘Moko Jumbie Mas Camp’ and their ‘Do Not Eat ah Food’ band (July 2017);
• A world-record attempt with Junior Bisnath held at Skinner Park, San Fernando (August 2017);
• Participation in ‘One Island, The Concert’ (a Hurricane Maria fundraiser) (September 2017);
• Participation in the TogetherWI ‘No Greater Time’ music video (featuring David Rudder, Ella Andall, 3canal, and several other Trinbagonian artistes) (September 2017);
• The first master class with Daddy Jumbie at Big Black Box (October 2017);
• ‘Sticks in de Schoolyard’ at Diego Martin Central Secondary School, initiated by Damir Ali (October 2017);
• Visit to the legendary ‘Dragon’s Den’ (Keylemanjahro’s yard) (November 2017);
• A feature in Caribbean Beat magazine (January-February 2018);
• Participation and collaboration with Moko Somõkõw for Carnival 2018 (February 2018);
• Playing in the ‘Friends for the Road’ J’ouvert band (February 2018);
• Hosting the Carolina Friends School at Alice Yard (May 2018);
• Attending, by invitation, the Americas Cultural Summit in Ontario, Canada (May 2018);
• Initiation of ‘Stick Ting in d Alley’ in Aruba, through collaboration with Rancho Foundation (July 2018);
• Participation in the booklaunch of Dr. Kevin Browne’s ‘High Mas’ (November 2018);
• Collaboration with United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in production of a social awareness film (January 2019);
• Participation in Juby’s ‘Look She Dey’ music video (January 2019);
• Participation in XOriginals’ ‘Way Up’ music video (January 2019).

To quote the ‘Sticks in de Yard’ social media caption: “What began as friends getting together in the yard to teach and learn how to walk on stilts has blossomed into a vibrant and unexpected stilt-walking and moko jumbie community.”

Just as it is important to keep moving when walking sticks, so too will the group continue to move: Step by step, onward to new heights, and always with the spirit of openness and acceptance which has allowed room for growth, support, and collaboration to-date. The future will see Sticks in de Yard continuing to share its time and acquired knowledge, putting up new walkers, and seeking to become officialised. And perhaps one day, a few more steps down the road, the group may well roll into a ‘yard’ near you!

I solemnly pledge to dedicate my Life
To the service of truth,
And to my country, and to Earth overall.

I will honour those who are worthy of honour,
And question my teachers, my leaders, and my elders,
And those in authority
To verify the validity of their claims
And to keep them accountable and transparent.

I will be honest in all my thoughts,
My words, and my deeds,
Acknowledging that honest thoughts, words, and deeds
Might not always be ‘clean’.

I will strive in every sphere possible, but without surrender,
To work together with my fellow men and women
Of every creed and race
For the greater growth of all,
Even at the expense of short-term happiness,
And the honour, glory, and stability
Of my country and my planet.