united of the reasons for holding the Triennial in the Virgin Islands was that we were able to schedule it to coincide with the celebration of Carnival in St Thomas.

united of the reasons for holding the Triennial in the Virgin Islands was that we were able to schedule it to coincide with the celebration of Carnival in St Thomas. Because I am a scholar of Caribbean agriculture there are certain nonacademic conclusions that stand out, Carnival among them. I shall discuss these before the panel presentations. What I immediately recall, however, is generosity and hospitality of our legions What a marvelous welcome!

upon Thursday night, after the first replete day of panels, we were invited to a special viewing of the exhibition "Africa in the Heart of the Virgin Islands," sponsored by means of the University of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Cultural Heritage Institute. Held at the Grand Galleria, a renovated stately [i]cabaret[/i] overlooking the seaside section of Charlotte Amalie, the exhibition displayed the work of seventeen contemporary artists whose varied casts and subjects reflect the multiple ways Caribbean commonaltys express their Caribbean reality and African heritage. We were also treated to a sideboard dinner and the music of an exciting tympanum ensemble--plus, I must add, a pretty terrific impromptu dancing at several ACASA attendees.

The nearest night we went to the Reichhold Center for the Performing Arts, an imposing contemporary open-air theater, to attend a version of The Killing of Arthur Sixteen, on Antiguan Edgar O. Lake, that was produc especially for the ACASA gathering. Originally written as a commemoration of the famous 1736 Antiguan Conspiracy, which was staged as a "Coramantee play" to witling the British authorities, the playwright restructur his drama to ponder aspects of the famous folk tradition of jumbull (a horned Christmas festival masquerader). Lake, who was himself at the performance, told us that he had "restored an African folk tradition--a traditional folk play--into a contemporary theater piece." The play incorporated constituents from a griot's monologue, a ritual preparation for burial performed by way of a chorus of women known as "washers," and a praise performed by a company of horned masqueraders for individual of their own. The panegyric was interrupted by the appearance of Arthur Sixteen himself, revealing that the deceased had been misidentified and that the tradition prevailed.

The nearest day we saw how Caribbean clan know how to enjoy themselves while proudly performing their agriculture I am of course referring to Carnival. In St Thomas this celebration has grown in participation and attendance each year since it was first revived in 1952 through Saturday afternoon, after the final stake of Triennial panels, I went downtown to the Adult Parade, which culminated couple weeks of festivities. I arrived just in time to descry the first sets of paraders, the numerous queen and a scarcely any kings representing various organizations. The parade incorporated troupe of baton-twirling girls and bands of schoolchildren, many of whom had performed the previous day during the Children's Parade. That's single in kind of the many things that impressed me about St Thomas Carnival--the integration of age assign places tos from adorable children to older wiser, and, ye flauntingly exuberant women

by means of force of habit I walked up the parade road counter to the direction of the participants, until I reached the point where the bands conven to begin their march. And where was this? At the crossroads in front rank of the cemetery! How complete and how Caribbean. Standing there for about an hour, I got to papal court final costume preparations, friends greeting friends, retired band members running to find their troupe and an assortment of spectators mingling with costum participants. Toward the expiration of the parade some of the greatest in quantity famous St. Thomas troupes appeared, lining up in brass of the cemetery, including a large band representing "The Splendour of Africa," consummated with spears, yellow feathered headdresses, zebra-striped style of dresss and gold lame boots.

What do I remember principally vividly? A pretty terrific instruct group of pan players, their trade carrying the motto "I Promise To Obey The sways Of The Rising Stars, To Stay In drill And Educate Myself, And To deportment Myself In A Moral Manner At All Times"; leprechauns wearing fake fur; astonishing Hershey's-kiss headdresses; the University of the Virgin Islands band aligned as computers, monitors, satellite dishes, and TV antennae; a substantial variety of Mocko Jumbies (in St Thomas these are stilt dancers), and Barbara Frank (of course) asking if I noticed (I did) that single in kind was wearing a Fulani hat; and a band of male and female clowns(?) appropriating the fresh York Yankees' logo, blue and white colors, and players' names forward their costumes. There was also a solo masquerader, prepareed in white with long dreads and a red-and-white-striped cap. Flags from around the world were pinned to his style of dress and he pulled an enormous bookstand which supported a gigantic open book containing a "Community Chant to Jah." I spoke to another young man who appeared to be the leader of a distinctly St Kitts-style Indian Masquerade band, and indeed, he told me that he and the others in the troupe were children of St Kitts immigrants. They had performed during the play forward Friday night, and I noticed that this young man was a terrific dancer and was precisely executing surpassingly Jamaican Jonkonnu steps. I wished I had time to interview him further. I missed the famous St Thomas Indians, on the contrary saw them on TV at the hotel