Alexis Prodz / Voudu L'Artibonite Haitian Music, Apr 5, 2021
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This is the third post in an ongoing pancocojams series about the cultural meanings of and uses for blowing whistles (instruments) in various Black cultures throughout the world.*
This pancocojams post showcases two videos and online article excerpts about the use of whistles in Haitian Ra Ra. The information in this article may also pertain to Dominican Republic Ga Ga and Cuban Ga Ga.
The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos online.
-snip-
*Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/02/some-traditional-meanings-contemporary.html "Some Traditional Meanings & Contemporary Uses For Whistles" for the first post in this pancocojams series.
Except for that first post, all posts in this pancocojams series are published in no particular order.
Subsequent posts can be found under various tags that include the words "blowing whistles" (such as "blowing whistles history", "blowing whistles during social dancing", and "blowing whistles drum majors").
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DISCLAIMER
I am African American and have no Haitian ancestry that I'm aware of. In addition, I don't know anyone who is Haitian and don't understand Haitian Creole. The only information that I have about Haitian history and culture is what I've read online and offline. Consequently, the ways that I approach and interpret Haitian Ra Ra are probably colored by my cultural heritage and my lack of experience with Haitian culture. For instance, I interpret the sounds of whistles in these Ra Ra videos as both 1. crowd control with the whistle bursts being signals and commands for people to move out of the way of the Ra Ra procession and 2. (perhaps unintentional) part of the music that the band is playing. However, both of these or the second point may not be the way/s that Haitians interpret those Ra Ra whistle sounds. Also, I have read that there were/are Spiritual reasons for many of the elements of Ra Ra, including the reason why a whip is flicked on the ground by a man who blows the whistle while leading a Ra Ra procession. (Read Article Excerpt #3 below).
I'm interested in knowing what Haitians and/or people who are familiar with Haitian Ra Ra (and/or are familiar with Dominican Republic/ Cuban Ga Ga culture) believe is/are the reason/s for whistle blowing during Ra Ra (and Ga Ga) processions. Please share your comments in the section below this post. Thanks!
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Rara 2021 Bann LaJenes #1 , Gaga Haití L'artibonit.
Alexis Prodz / Voudu L'Artibonite Haitian Music, Apr 3, 2021
Bann LaJenes Gran Saline
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THREE ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT HAITIAN RARA
These articles are given in no particular order. Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.
ARTICLE EXCERPT #1
From https://music.si.edu/story/rara-vodou-power-and-performance "Rara: Vodou, Power, and Performance" by Elizabeth McAlister, March 2016
"The phenomenon of Rara is both fun and profound. It is at once a season, a festival, a genre of music, a religious ritual, a form of dance, and sometimes a technique of political protest.
Rara season starts along with Carnival, and keeps going through Lent, culminating on Easter Week. It is a paradoxical mix of both carnival and religion. Rara societies form musical parading bands that walk for miles through local territory, attracting fans with old and new songs. Bands stop at solemn spots—cemeteries, for example, where they salute the ancestors. Musicians play drums, sing, and sound bamboo horns and tin trumpets. These horns—vaksin—create the distinctive sound of the Rara. Each player plays one note, in a technique called hocketing, and together the band comes up with a melody. Then, a chorus of queens and fans sing and dance along to the music. The sound carries for miles around letting fans know that the Rara parade is coming.
This is an old festival, harkening back to slavery times in Haiti and, before that, in Western and Central Africa. Its songs and melodies have been passed down for generations, so they are all popular “hit” songs. The town of Leogane is best known for its Rara, but the festival is practiced all over Haiti and is different from region to region. Moreover, Rara is played enthusiastically in the summertime in cities in North America: Miami, New York, Boston, Montreal. “Rara makes me feel I am in my real skin,” said one Haitian in New York. For Haitians in the diaspora, playing or dancing in a Rara delivers the special ambiance of Haiti. It is a taste of home.
Rara bands can be simple or complex. On one hand you have a cappella charyio-pye, or “foot bands.” These bands stomp the feet in a marching rhythm that creates the tempo of the song. At the other end of the spectrum are the Rara bands in the town of Leogane, which has established a national reputation with its use of brass musicians from konpa (popular dance) bands. These bands produce catchy melodies at a high volume that can be heard far away.
The typical Rara orchestra consists of three drums followed by three or more bamboo instruments called banbou or vaksin, metal horns called konet, several waves of percussion players with small, hand-held instruments, and finally a chorus of singers. There is also usually a core group of performers—either majò jon (baton majors) or wa and renn (kings and queens)—who dance for contributions.
[...]
Rara as a Form of Carnival
Rara season overlaps with Carnival season, and so Rara activity begins on January 6, known in the Christian calendar as the Epiphany. Rara bands usually parade as small carnival bands, and then continue to parade after Carnival, during Lent, until Easter. The “tone,” or “ambiance,” of Rara parading is loud and carnivalesque. If you don’t know about the hidden, religious core of Rara, you’ll think that Rara is simply a matter of young people exhibiting their talent at singing and dancing in a boisterous, rebellious atmosphere. As in Carnival, Rara is about moving through the streets, and about men establishing (masculine) reputation through public performance. Rara bands stop to perform for noteworthy people and to collect money. In return, the kings and queens dance and sing, and the baton majors juggle batons, and even machetes! Rara costumes are known for their delicate sequin work, which flash and sparkle as the batons twirl. There is a lesser-known costume, too, of colorful streaming cloth hung over knickers and hanging from hats. The competitive music and dancing, the sequins, and the cloth strips are all echoes of festival arts in other parts of the Caribbean. In its orality, performative competition, and masculinity, Rara shares similar characteristics with other Black Atlantic performance traditions like carnival, Junkanoo, capoeira, calypso, blues, jazz, New Orleans’ second line and Mardi Gras Indian parades, reggae, dance hall, hip hop and numerous other forms. Unlike many Afro-Creole masculinist forms, however, Rara is explicitly religious."...
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ARTICLE EXCERPT #2
https://woymagazine.com/2016/03/24/rara-rites-rhythm/
Rara: Rites and Rhythm
March 24, 2016 by Woy Contributor
This post is also available in: Kreyol
An in depth look at the structure, history and rituals of
Rara in Haiti by Taino L & Ayiti Bèl.
"There is much confusion when it comes to retracing the
history of Rara. According to some, such as Harold Courlander, Moreau de St.
Rémy and Jean-Baptiste Roumain, Rara traces back to Africa and was adopted in
Haiti through slavery. However, according to others, Rara is a colonial
heritage, given to the colonies as a recreational day. Jean Coulanges says Rara
“comes from the times of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, where the
Mayans had a day of pleasure dedicated to nature.”
The word “Rara” comes from the Yoruba language (meaning, “loud” or “a lot of noise”). We have known rara from the beginning of colonial times. It calls upon the principles of the religious African kingdom of Congo which prospered during the 14th and 15th centuries. It wields specifically the spiritual power of “Petwo” (the aggressive side of Vodou) and “Bizango” (the secret societies). However, well before Christopher Columbus arrived and killed 250,000 Tainos that were living on the island, the indigenous people of the island held festivals that strongly resemble what we celebrate as rara today.
In its early days, Rara bands did not use instruments, the members sang a capella. They used their hands and stones to create sounds. This is where Rara bands got the name “Chay O Pye”
Instruments were slowly added to the tradition as follows
Local traditional instruments including:
banbou and vaksen of various sizes which were traditionally made out of bamboo, but can be found today in copper, zinc and metal.
Percussion: tanbou (haitian drum), bongos, graj (like a
grater) and kwachi.
Modern instruments:
Wind : bass, baritone, helicons , trombones, trumpets
Percussion : Snare, bells, cymbals
A typical Rara band consists of three drummers, followed by
banbou or vaksin. They are followed by other horn and percussion players,
various hand instruments, and the chorus singers of the band. There is usually
a group led by the Major Jon on the side, where the king and queen of the band
are dancing and passing around a hat….
he banbou and vaksin are the instruments most associated
with Rara. They are hollow tubes played as horn instruments. Each banbou has a
different diameter to give a range of high and low sounds. Through the words
sung, Rara bands create songs with messages that are usually sexual, political,
or that speak of the situation of the country in general.
The founder of the band is the owner, and ensures the continuity of the band year after year by choosing a qualified member of the family to replace him/her once their reign has ended. A Rara band is modeled after a government: president, minister, mayor, colonel who walks around with a whip in hand etc. There is a hierarchy of authority that assures that there is proper distribution of power and division of labor. There are people there for all sorts of tasks: people there to make sure everything is in order, the band members, flag bearers, banner carriers, lamp carriers etc.
[...]
Rara celebrations are held during the Lenten season, starting right after the national Carnival every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday all the way up to the Monday after Easter. Rara processions are best during holy week, while Catholics are silently meditating on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is said that in The Black Code of 1685, Easter weekend was given to the African slaves as a time of rest. During this time, they donned the brightest colors, and celebrated with dance and drums.
During holy week, the groups perform some spiritual rituals which became necessary when the angels and saints disappeared into the underworld on Good Friday. The groups hit the trail for three days straight. At the end of the third day, which is either Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday, they burn a stuffed doll which symbolizes Jesus being crucified
Every rara group has a lakou, the stronghold of Vodou, for
the lwa, protectors, that they serve in a small ceremony before the group heads
out. These lakou are overseen by a patriarch, ougan (Vodou priest) or Papa lwa.
It is rare for the lakou to be headed by a manbo (Vodou priestess). Hounsi, the
newly initiated and faithful members, and the Ougan or mambo, together form the
group of chantrel (folklore musicians), samba (composers), and simido
(singers).
The ceremonies, popular religious music, “pran lwa” (entering a trance), and sermons at the crossroads prove that the usage of wine and other symbolic elements are essential feature of Rara. All these details in the processions are very important: the artistic, cultural, historical, religious and social aspects..
The periods of high activity in Rara are important moments
for the initiation, moments of magic exhibitions and ceremonies for Vodou
practitioners. The main ceremonies are Kouche Jon, Flanbe, and Kase Fey.
[...]
Kase Fey: This is a holy bath prepared with leaves,
organized for the boys and girl of the lakou and other participants to protect
them against any evil spells that may be used against them during the course,
and give them luck during the rest of the year.
Any object used, such as whistles, whips, staves, musical
instruments, etc, must undergo a special ceremony before they are used. During
the course, the groups perform rituals and incantations, pran lwa (or people in
the area or members of the lakou), and these happen at specific places along
the route that are considered special, such as crossroads, big trees, water
fountains etc"...
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ARTICLE EXCERPT #3
From https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/rara.htm by Howard
Culbertson, ..., Oklahoma City, OK [no publishing date given]
I was watching a rara band, an all-night dancing parade
which slowly move through villages and towns in southern and central Haiti from
Mardi Gras to Easter (that is, the entire Lenten season). Some elements of
these parades resemble the giant Mardi Gras celebrations of New Orleans, Rio de
Janeiro and Haiti's capital city of Port-au-Prince. It is, in fact, referred to
as the Carnival (or the French phrase Mardi Gras which we use in English)
parade of the rural Haitian peasant.
This particular rara which I was observing closeup had
stopped to circle repeatedly in front of a cluster of houses in the Trou Sable
suburb of Gonaives. Although participants in these parades will put on
elaborate costumes (elaborate at least for a rural peasant living on a
subsistence income), most of the 50-plus participants in this particular rara
were dressed in normal clothing. The leader of the group appeared to be a man
with a long whip. He also had a whistle of the type used by traffic policemen
and sports referees. He occasionally tried to crack the whip (with limited
success) and blew the whistle in short blasts in time with a rhythmic beat
coming from the small "orchestra." I was later told that the whip was
used to disperse unfriendly spirits, including those who might have been
purposely left by other, rival rara groups."...
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ARTICLE EXCERPT #3
From https://music.si.edu/story/rara-vodou-power-and-performance "Rara: Vodou, Power, and Performance" by Elizabeth McAlister, March 2016
"The phenomenon of Rara is both fun and profound. It is at
once a season, a festival, a genre of music, a religious ritual, a form of
dance, and sometimes a technique of political protest.
Rara season starts along with Carnival, and keeps going through Lent, culminating on Easter Week. It is a paradoxical mix of both carnival and religion. Rara societies form musical parading bands that walk for miles through local territory, attracting fans with old and new songs. Bands stop at solemn spots—cemeteries, for example, where they salute the ancestors. Musicians play drums, sing, and sound bamboo horns and tin trumpets. These horns—vaksin—create the distinctive sound of the Rara. Each player plays one note, in a technique called hocketing, and together the band comes up with a melody. Then, a chorus of queens and fans sing and dance along to the music. The sound carries for miles around letting fans know that the Rara parade is coming.
This is an old festival, harkening back to slavery times in Haiti and, before that, in Western and Central Africa. Its songs and melodies have been passed down for generations, so they are all popular “hit” songs. The town of Leogane is best known for its Rara, but the festival is practiced all over Haiti and is different from region to region. Moreover, Rara is played enthusiastically in the summertime in cities in North America: Miami, New York, Boston, Montreal. “Rara makes me feel I am in my real skin,” said one Haitian in New York. For Haitians in the diaspora, playing or dancing in a Rara delivers the special ambiance of Haiti. It is a taste of home.
Rara bands can be simple or complex. On one hand you have a
cappella charyio-pye, or “foot bands.” These bands stomp the feet in a marching
rhythm that creates the tempo of the song. At the other end of the spectrum are
the Rara bands in the town of Leogane, which has established a national
reputation with its use of brass musicians from konpa (popular dance) bands.
These bands produce catchy melodies at a high volume that can be heard far
away.
The typical Rara orchestra consists of three drums followed by three or more bamboo instruments called banbou or vaksin, metal horns called konet, several waves of percussion players with small, hand-held instruments, and finally a chorus of singers. There is also usually a core group of performers—either majò jon (baton majors) or wa and renn (kings and queens)—who dance for contributions.
[...]
Rara as a Form of Carnival
Rara season overlaps with Carnival season, and so Rara activity begins on January 6, known in the Christian calendar as the Epiphany. Rara bands usually parade as small carnival bands, and then continue to parade after Carnival, during Lent, until Easter. The “tone,” or “ambiance,” of Rara parading is loud and carnivalesque. If you don’t know about the hidden, religious core of Rara, you’ll think that Rara is simply a matter of young people exhibiting their talent at singing and dancing in a boisterous, rebellious atmosphere. As in Carnival, Rara is about moving through the streets, and about men establishing (masculine) reputation through public performance. Rara bands stop to perform for noteworthy people and to collect money. In return, the kings and queens dance and sing, and the baton majors juggle batons, and even machetes! Rara costumes are known for their delicate sequin work, which flash and sparkle as the batons twirl. There is a lesser-known costume, too, of colorful streaming cloth hung over knickers and hanging from hats. The competitive music and dancing, the sequins, and the cloth strips are all echoes of festival arts in other parts of the Caribbean. In its orality, performative competition, and masculinity, Rara shares similar characteristics with other Black Atlantic performance traditions like carnival, Junkanoo, capoeira, calypso, blues, jazz, New Orleans’ second line and Mardi Gras Indian parades, reggae, dance hall, hip hop and numerous other forms. Unlike many Afro-Creole masculinist forms, however, Rara is explicitly religious."...
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