The Man-of-Words in the West Indies: Performance and the Emergence of Creole Culture.

Abstract

This is significant volume of essays-significant because they show one man's development and refinement of folkloristic theory, significant because theory is representative of performance-centered school of folkloristics, and significant because through his analysis, Abrahams touches very core of British West Indian cultural and places West Indian creativity within cultural and historical framework. Abrahams brings not only field of folkloristic theory to bear on his fieldwork, but those of sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, symbolic interactionism, and symbolic anthropology as well. The author's major focus is man-of-words and his role of verbal performer in English-speaking Caribbean. As Abrahams tells us in his introduction, through these essays he attempts to establish presence and importance of complex, set of traits that articulate expressive relationships (p. xv). His fieldwork was conducted in 1960s and early 1970s on islands of Nevis, St. Kitts, Tobago, and St. Vincent. Abrahams is careful to establish West Indian speech traditions as adaptations of African style to New World language. He points to the continuity of African attitudes toward eloquence and adaptation of selected European forms into this value and system (p. 33). Abrahams also takes pains to develop Afro-American term as opposed to work. While work is defined as cooperative activity, play is referred to as or means of publicly asserting one's individuality. Play is given negative connotation as being means of acting out behaviors regarded as bad, but also provides a means of channeling energies of all those in environment (p. 53). Abrahams distinguishes two different men-of-words: talkers and arguers. This distinction lies at heart of book, for men-of-words function at different kinds of traditional performances. These different kinds of performances represent basic point of conflict within West Indian social structure: differences that are spatial, temporal and social, and that operate in virtually every facet of village life-and perhaps elsewhere in Afro-America (p. xvii). On one hand, there is family and yard where people are supposed to live nice together. This is realm of order, decorum, and respectability. The second is world of rum shop, crossroads, and town: realm of license and gregarious camaraderie. It is world that takes men out of home and yard. Here man makes his reputation, established by dramatic performance (p. 146) by exhibiting his male prowess and masculinity. Here friendship network rather than family ties hold sway; playing rather than working cooperatively is major focus. The good talker or sweet talker is representative of world of order, of family, yard, decorum, and respectability. He speaks eloquently, employing elevated diction, elaborate stylistic features, and an approximation of standard English speech patterns. This is speech of community celebration. On other hand, good arguer employs invective, creole that emphasizes dialogue and punning, and generally wit through wordplay leading to talking nonsense and language of license (p. 39). This is primary means of both entertainment and communication in world of town and crossroads. Even festival performances underscore this dichotomy between respectability of family, continuity, home, order, and tradition, and reputation values of friendships, male meeting 472