The jab jab, or rope jab, is one of the most fearsome of TTs traditional Carnival characters. Although portrayed as ruthless fighters with cackling whips and intimidating masks, the practice is far more spiritual than most people realise.
King Jab Jab and manager of the First Citizens Original Jab Jab band Ronald Alfred, a third-generation player, has said he has watched helplessly over the years as entire bands from villages across the country have died out with no one to pass the tradition on to.
The Couva resident has been working to keep the tradition alive, teaching the techniques of the artform to a new generation.
“When I was young, we used to go all over the island and meet other jab jab bands,” said Alfred. “But as I continued over the years, I have been seeing less and less of them, until one day I went back to (one of) the villages and ain’t see nobody.”
Alfred said he was told by villagers that everyone in the band in that area had died out. Now, Alfred is more determined than ever to keep the tradition alive. “I broke the rules,” he said, about teaching others about jab jab.
“I was taught not to teach this to anybody (but) if I die without sharing this knowledge, it will be a waste.”
[caption id="attachment_941934" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Ronald Alfred, leader of the First Citizens Original Jab Jab band, shows the many trophies the band has one in Carnival over the years. - File photo/Lincoln Holder[/caption]
Certain moves were kept a secret in the past to give bands the upper hand when facing off with opposing bands.
Jab Jab, said Alfred, is an indigenous form of martial arts that combines the traditions brought to the island by the East Indians during indentureship and the Africans before them during slavery.
Alfred said in the early years, the police would not allow jab jab fighting and those who practised it were feared and labelled dangerous.
“Carnival was an outlet for us to do our thing without being criticised and judged.” He said the preparation for Carnival begins long before Monday and Tuesday. Fighters would fast for 40 days from meat and alcohol and would perform Hindu Kali worship in a forested area where they have access to plants which help prepare their bodies for battle.”
He said people were especially prejudiced against the spiritual aspect of the practice and those who did it were called demonic. Jab is the French patois of “diable,” meaning devil.
“We use the bush to strengthen the body to take lash. On the Carnival Sunday night, we do a spiritual bush bath and invite our ancestors who used to play. We invite them to be around us and play too. We bring them in for Carnival and then after Carnival, send them back.”
He said the rope jab, as he calls it, has many different styles reflective of the country’s East Indian and African heritage.
Alfred said traditionally, for Carnival, bands would meet each other in the street and kings would go head-to-head, battling each other with their whips and chants, known as lavway.
“We have different chants
