The Sounds of Dominica

I’m back from an island that captivates, so green and mountainous, it truly evokes the idea of paradise. Volcanoes seethe underground, sending boiling water and steam into the tropical air. Bubbles escape into the turquoise waters around impossibly colorful fish. Dozens of birds talk in the canopy of the forest. It’s par for the course on Dominica, and the locals have found ways of living that fits with the natural idea of the island and it’s bounties. For the most part agriculturally self-sustainable, growing everything imaginable under the sun, farming plots cascade down the hills- the pineapple, banana, noni, grapefruit, nutmeg and cinnamon plants hardly noticeable to an outsider compared to the gigantic green ferns and palms growing alongside.

My sister and her husband decided to have their wedding in this setting, lucky for the families. We hiked through the volcanic remains and lush rain forest, snorkeled through reefs and ate the best locally grown food. The ceremony was on the beach and the reception on a cabana overlooking the ocean. That night, we listened and danced to great local music. The jing ping and bele concert, with the French derived accordion melodic influence mixed with African and Caribbean drumming and harmonies, was fascinating and reminded me a little of cajun and zydeco music from the southern U.S..

After talking to one of the musicians, I learned there was a man in the band that played the banjo. This was extraordinary, since the banjo would have appeared here at about the same time it did in the states. I was introduced to Hans, and he said he learned to play the banjo from his father, who was gone now. As far as he knew, he was one of the last players on the island, he hadn’t seen another. He couldn’t even find banjo strings and used mandolin strings instead.

As it was, he was a policeman, and could hardly find time to play shows at night, but he still played the banjo by himself once in a while. I promised to send him some strings and peppered him with questions. It turns out he plays a modern style instrument with 4 strings, but that his father played a handmade instrument. It sounded as if he used a stroking style, like the clawhammer style in the states, but I can’t be sure- I only got to talk to him for a few minutes, his kids were calling for him and he had to leave.

The link between the evolution of the banjo and the way it was played in Dominica and in the states was evident to me as I talked to him, but it wasn’t until later that I grasped the amazing relevance of that link. In the states, the banjo was often synonymous with the best and worst historical developments. It transcended mere musical influence and came to represent different ethnic groups at different times for wildly different reasons. Of all American instruments, it is the one most weighed down by history, and at the same time, made more rich by it. For some of the story, check this out:
http://nativestring.blogspot.com/2009/03/banjo-american-instrument-part-1.html

To get the chance to see how it progressed in Dominica and the surrounding islands would be amazing… maybe one day. In the meantime, I found a picture of another man still playing banjo on the island as well. A Mr. Pascal in Grand Fond.