Steel Pan's Musical Ancestor

The steel pan, or steel drum, emerged in the 1930s in Trinidad and Tobago, but its history can be traced back to the enslaved Africans brought to Trinidad in the 1700s. They carried with them the tradition of playing hand drums, which became central to the annual Trinidadian carnival festivities. After emancipation in 1834, the celebrations became louder and more colourful, but the British government attempted to ban the use of drums and sticks. This led to the adoption of bamboo sticks, known as tamboo bamboo, which were played in ensembles and produced a sound similar to hand drums when struck on the ground.

Drumming as a form of communication among enslaved Africans

Drumming was a vital form of communication among enslaved Africans, allowing them to convey messages and coordinate actions over long distances. Drums played a significant role in various West African ethnic groups, including the Wolof of Senegal, the Yoruba of Nigeria and eastern Benin, the Akan of central Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, and the Hausa of northern Nigeria and Niger.

In West Africa, drums were used for ceremonial and religious functions, as well as a means of communication. The "talking drum" of the Akan people, for example, allowed skilled drummers to replicate the tones, punctuation, and accents of the Akan language, enabling them to send complex messages from village to village. Drums could announce declarations of war or celebrations, and they played a crucial role in the cultural and social life of many African societies.

During the slave trade, drums were banned in the Americas and the Caribbean because they were being used by enslaved Africans to communicate secretly over long distances, using codes unknown to their enslavers. The Stono Rebellion of 1739 in South Carolina further fuelled fears among plantation owners and colonial authorities, who believed that drums could be used to incite revolt and coordinate uprisings. As a result, colonies implemented laws restricting the use of drums and other loud instruments, such as horns.

Despite the prohibitions, enslaved Africans found alternative ways to express themselves musically and maintain their cultural heritage. They turned to body percussion, such as hand clapping, stomping, and patting, as well as vocal techniques like call-and-response. These adaptations laid the foundation for new musical genres, including jazz, blues, and gospel, which became forms of resistance, communication, and cultural preservation for Black Americans.

The arrival of French colonists in the 1780s

The arrival of French colonists in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1780s brought with it street festival traditions. In 1785, the French planters held the first Carnival in Trinidad. This event was marked by white plantation owners masquerading as slaves, mocking African dress, song, and dance customs. Enslaved Africans were not allowed to join the festivities and so organised underground carnivals of their own, incorporating masks, feathers, beads, and drumming.

In 1789, the Spanish governor of Trinidad, José María Chacón, issued a directive that all Africans—who made up the majority of the population—would observe the Roman Catholic religion and all Christian holy days. This was an attempt to further erase West African culture and religious beliefs. However, enslaved Africans were able to preserve their traditions by camouflaging them within Christian holidays. For example, on Sundays, they would "wear their best clothes and go to drum dances held in different yards or on the land away from the plantation where they were allowed to grow their own crops... [and] dance to the music and rhythms of the skin drums and gourd rattles".

The French colonists' arrival in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1780s also marked the introduction of the Carnival tradition to the islands. This tradition was embraced and adapted by the enslaved Africans, who formed their own underground festivals, celebrating their culture and heritage. The Africans' Carnivals were fuelled by drum music, which had been a part of their cultural traditions for centuries.

The history of the steel pan is deeply rooted in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, with the arrival of French colonists in the 1780s playing a significant role in shaping the cultural landscape that gave birth to this unique instrument.

The emancipation of slaves in 1834

The history of the steel pan is deeply rooted in the emancipation of slaves in Trinidad and Tobago in 1834. The celebration of freedom from slavery and the expression of culture and identity were integral to the development of the steel pan as a musical instrument.

The road to emancipation was long and arduous. Enslaved people in the Caribbean had been resisting slavery since its inception, through various forms of opposition, including armed rebellions, work stoppages, and subtle acts of defiance. Their relentless fight for freedom played a significant role in pushing the British Parliament towards granting emancipation. However, it is important to note that this emancipation did not bring about true freedom and equality.

Following emancipation, the celebrations and cultural expressions of the formerly enslaved people became even more vibrant and joyous. In Trinidad and Tobago, the annual Canboulay harvest festival, involving calypso drumming and stick-fighting, became a significant tradition. However, in 1881, the Canboulay riots occurred, leading to a series of disturbances and resulting in a ban on stick-fighting and African percussion music during the 1880s.

This suppression of traditional percussion instruments gave rise to creativity and innovation. The people of Trinidad and Tobago turned to bamboo sticks, beating them together and against the ground to create rhythmic sounds. These bamboo sticks, known as "tamboo bamboo," became a popular form of musical expression and were played in ensembles called "tamboo bamboo bands." Despite the restrictions, the people found a way to continue their musical traditions and celebrate their culture.

The banning of drums and bamboo sticks

The history of the steel pan is rooted in the music of enslaved Africans brought to Trinidad and Tobago in the 1700s. Among them were the talking drums of West Africa, used to communicate messages over long distances. When French colonists arrived in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1780s, they brought with them the Carnival tradition. In response, enslaved Africans organised underground carnivals, incorporating ancient traditions like masks, feathers, beads, and drumming.

After emancipation in 1834, Africans in Trinidad and Tobago celebrated Canboulay, a harvest festival involving calypso drumming. However, the colonial government, nervous about the potential for drumming to be used to pass secret messages and spark a revolution, moved to suppress it. In 1877, the British colonial government banned the playing of drums during Carnival. This led to the adoption of bamboo stamping tubes, known as tamboo bamboo, which produced a similar sound to hand drums when pounded on the ground.

In the 1880s, following the Canboulay riots, the British colonial government took further action, banning not only stick-fighting but also African percussion music. This forced performers to replace their drums with bamboo sticks, which were beaten together to create a sound similar to drumming. These bamboo sticks, known as tamboo bamboo, were cut into different sizes: larger sticks were stomped on the ground, while smaller ones were struck together.

The tamboo bamboo ensembles, also known as tamboo bamboo bands, included other non-traditional instruments like scrap metal, metal containers, graters, biscuit tins, oil drums, and spoons. Over time, these metal instruments came to dominate the bands, and the bamboo tubes were eventually abandoned and replaced by metal ones.

By the 1930s, the occasional all-steel band could be seen at Carnival, and by 1940, steel bands had become the preferred Carnival accompaniment of young underprivileged men. This marked the beginning of the transition from tamboo bamboo to steel pan, as performers began to craft more detailed instruments from metal objects, improving their sound through skinning, grooving, tempering, and tuning.

In 1934, the use of tamboo bamboo was banned, and it was at this point that the steel pan truly came into its own. Performers began to experiment with metal objects such as car parts, paint pots, dustbins, oil drums, and biscuit tins, eventually tuning them to create musical instruments. The steel pan, a chromatically pitched percussion instrument made from 55-gallon industrial drums, had arrived.

The creation of Tamboo-Bamboo bands

Tamboo-Bamboo bands emerged in the late 19th century as a response to the British colonial government's ban on the playing of drums. The ban was enacted in an attempt to suppress aspects of Carnival that were considered offensive, particularly the use of drums by formerly enslaved Africans, which the colonialists feared could be used to pass secret messages and incite rebellion.

To circumvent this ban, the people of Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean island where Carnival was introduced by French colonists in the 1780s, replaced their drums with tuned bamboo sticks called Tamboo-Bamboo. The name is derived from the French word for drums, "tambour". The larger sticks were stomped on the ground, while the smaller ones were struck together, producing a sound similar to that of hand drums.

In addition to the bamboo sticks, Tamboo-Bamboo bands incorporated various non-traditional instruments such as scrap metal, metal containers, graters, biscuit tins, oil drums, and even household items like buckets and dustbins. These bands became a creative outlet for the people, allowing them to express themselves and celebrate their culture despite the restrictions imposed on them.

Over time, the metal instruments became more prominent in the Tamboo-Bamboo bands, eventually replacing the bamboo sticks altogether. This evolution laid the foundation for the development of steel pan music, which emerged in the 1930s. By the mid-1930s, metal percussion instruments, such as automobile brake hubs and biscuit drums, were being used in the Tamboo-Bamboo bands, marking the transition towards the creation of steel pan instruments.

The Tamboo-Bamboo bands played a significant role in the musical history of Trinidad and Tobago, bridging the gap between the traditional hand drums and the innovative steel pans that would become a symbol of Trinidadian culture and resilience.

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