One such institution was the Shouter Baptist community, whose saga today is remembered, whose triumph over long suffering is joyously celebrated.
It is fitting then to undertake a brief review of the role the Shouter Baptist played in shaping the Trinbago political landscape...and of how, in return, the politics has recognized the significance of that contribution.
The seed of the Spiritual Baptist faith came to Trinbago courtesy the Afro-American refugees of the American war of independence who were themselves members of the earliest Black Baptist Congregations in the Southern United States of America.
The seed of the Spiritual Baptist faith came to Trinbago courtesy the Afro-American refugees of the American war of independence who were themselves members of the earliest Black Baptist Congregations in the Southern United States of America.
They were ex-soldiers of the "Corps of Colonial Marines" who had fought on the side of the British during the conflict Britain lost, so it was thought they wouldn't be safe in America. That brought to Trinidad & Tobago its only indigenous religious tradition.
It was rooted deep within the 19th century struggle of the Afro-American adherents of the Baptist Faith who yearned to be free also to worship and practice their Christianity with a blend of Africanism.
In short, it represented a brand of African survival - reflecting the joys, trials, tribulations and frustrations of a people whose ancestors were utterly dehumanized by being forcibly uprooted from their Motherland and her rich traditions and who could only express their yearning for home through religious or artistic expressions.
Hence, in their rituals, Spiritual Baptists place great emphasis on clapping, groaning, singing, shouting and rejoicing.
The Spiritual Shouter Baptists believe that their religion derives from the biblical John the Baptist and their name comes from the practice of immersing believers in water as a means of baptising of initiating them into their faith.
Mourning, bell ringing, visits from the Holy Spirit and a distinctive form of shouting as a means of expression, baptism, proving and mourning, the phenomenon of the possession by the Holy Spirit, the physical manifestation of possession in the shaking, dancing, speaking in tongues, and bringing back of spiritual gifts are also practices of the religion.
The religion has a complex series of ranked positions. These can be as many as 22 named ranks, although the smaller churches recognise fewer of these.
The commonly found ranks are those of Leaders, Mother, Shepherd, Pointer, Nurse, Prover, Captain and Teacher. The duties that are privileges of these positions vary somewhat, but the first two indicate the highest-ranking male and female members.
It was rooted deep within the 19th century struggle of the Afro-American adherents of the Baptist Faith who yearned to be free also to worship and practice their Christianity with a blend of Africanism.
In short, it represented a brand of African survival - reflecting the joys, trials, tribulations and frustrations of a people whose ancestors were utterly dehumanized by being forcibly uprooted from their Motherland and her rich traditions and who could only express their yearning for home through religious or artistic expressions.
Hence, in their rituals, Spiritual Baptists place great emphasis on clapping, groaning, singing, shouting and rejoicing.
The Spiritual Shouter Baptists believe that their religion derives from the biblical John the Baptist and their name comes from the practice of immersing believers in water as a means of baptising of initiating them into their faith.
Mourning, bell ringing, visits from the Holy Spirit and a distinctive form of shouting as a means of expression, baptism, proving and mourning, the phenomenon of the possession by the Holy Spirit, the physical manifestation of possession in the shaking, dancing, speaking in tongues, and bringing back of spiritual gifts are also practices of the religion.
The religion has a complex series of ranked positions. These can be as many as 22 named ranks, although the smaller churches recognise fewer of these.
The commonly found ranks are those of Leaders, Mother, Shepherd, Pointer, Nurse, Prover, Captain and Teacher. The duties that are privileges of these positions vary somewhat, but the first two indicate the highest-ranking male and female members.
These positions of the faith are made known to an individual during the process of 'mourning', the most important of the Spiritual Shouter Baptist rituals.
During the mourning, the initiate's spirit disembodies and travels to different places, receives spiritual instruction through visions and dreams and is told what position in the hierarchy he or she is to occupy. When the Leader decides that the time is up, usually during a Sunday service, the persons are brought back into the church building to share their experiences with the congregation.
From the perspective of the belief system, mourning involves symbolic death and resurrection in that those mourners shed their impure beings. In psycho-biological terms, the rite of mourning actually involves a period of intense physical sensory deprivation as the initiate is deprived of light and movement and receives minimal sustenance.
Partly because of their unique style of worship and dress, Spiritual Baptists reaped the derision of the upper elite and mainstream population. Still they held religious meetings, often at the side of the road, or they preached by the wayside, in tents by candlelight with the ringing of bell and blowing of conch shells. Most were simply called "Shouter Baptists" or "Shouters" who would regularly shout while worshipping.
Despite the contrived scorn, they persisted in congregating and practising their faith as their conscience dictated, unobtrusively attracting more and more followers till, driven by fear of losing their grip on the proletariat, the mainstream Christian denominations were driven to prevail upon friendly authorities to ban all Spiritual Baptist activities.
Thus was proclaimed a sordid chapter in Trinidad and Tobago's legislative history - the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance of 1917 [SPO 1917].
Ironically, the SPO 1917 introduced an era of religious oppression and persecution just at the time another oppressive saga ended, the end of East Indian Indentureship.
As with the classical act of aggressive intent, SPO 1917 was blunt, brief, bitter.
The British declaration of war against Nazi Germany came during the midst of weekly congregational worship for Shouters - at 11.15 a.m., on Sunday September 3rd 1939. British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, spoke to the nation via radio. He spoke of how Britain had given Hitler an ultimatum to withdraw from Poland after the Germans invaded Poland on September 1st.
Chamberlain's words would not have been lost upon a famous Shouter Baptist by the name of Tubal Uriah "Buzz" Butler, who, via shortwave radio, was listening attentively in his humble abode at Fyzabad, Trinidad.
Butler was detained under the WWII Defence Regulations and kept at Caledonia Island till all hostilities ended. Upon his release, Butler at once refitted his British Empire Citizens' and Workers' Home Rule Party for general elections, which were due in 1946, the first election to be held under the universal adult suffrage rule.
With the overwhelming support of the Shouter Baptists, the Butler Party won three of the nine seats in the 1946 elections. No party won more, though the United Party also won three seats.
During the mourning, the initiate's spirit disembodies and travels to different places, receives spiritual instruction through visions and dreams and is told what position in the hierarchy he or she is to occupy. When the Leader decides that the time is up, usually during a Sunday service, the persons are brought back into the church building to share their experiences with the congregation.
From the perspective of the belief system, mourning involves symbolic death and resurrection in that those mourners shed their impure beings. In psycho-biological terms, the rite of mourning actually involves a period of intense physical sensory deprivation as the initiate is deprived of light and movement and receives minimal sustenance.
Partly because of their unique style of worship and dress, Spiritual Baptists reaped the derision of the upper elite and mainstream population. Still they held religious meetings, often at the side of the road, or they preached by the wayside, in tents by candlelight with the ringing of bell and blowing of conch shells. Most were simply called "Shouter Baptists" or "Shouters" who would regularly shout while worshipping.
Despite the contrived scorn, they persisted in congregating and practising their faith as their conscience dictated, unobtrusively attracting more and more followers till, driven by fear of losing their grip on the proletariat, the mainstream Christian denominations were driven to prevail upon friendly authorities to ban all Spiritual Baptist activities.
Thus was proclaimed a sordid chapter in Trinidad and Tobago's legislative history - the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance of 1917 [SPO 1917].
Ironically, the SPO 1917 introduced an era of religious oppression and persecution just at the time another oppressive saga ended, the end of East Indian Indentureship.
As with the classical act of aggressive intent, SPO 1917 was blunt, brief, bitter.
- It unfettered the police from the niceties of a search warrant and denied those apprehended the right to trial by jury; a local magistrate dealt with such cases
- It promised penurious penalties swiftly to be visited upon every offender - the fine was TT$240.00 at a time when the average daily wage was only 24 cents TT
- It denied the convicted any right of appeal, unlike murderers and rapists, who could seek redress all the way to the Privy Council
The British declaration of war against Nazi Germany came during the midst of weekly congregational worship for Shouters - at 11.15 a.m., on Sunday September 3rd 1939. British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, spoke to the nation via radio. He spoke of how Britain had given Hitler an ultimatum to withdraw from Poland after the Germans invaded Poland on September 1st.
Chamberlain's words would not have been lost upon a famous Shouter Baptist by the name of Tubal Uriah "Buzz" Butler, who, via shortwave radio, was listening attentively in his humble abode at Fyzabad, Trinidad.
Butler was detained under the WWII Defence Regulations and kept at Caledonia Island till all hostilities ended. Upon his release, Butler at once refitted his British Empire Citizens' and Workers' Home Rule Party for general elections, which were due in 1946, the first election to be held under the universal adult suffrage rule.
With the overwhelming support of the Shouter Baptists, the Butler Party won three of the nine seats in the 1946 elections. No party won more, though the United Party also won three seats.
Butler himself didn't win because, perplexingly, he opted to challenge Albert Gomes instead of staying on home territory in south Trinidad. The favourite son of the Shouter Baptists thus had to wait four more years before being able to represent his religion in the Legislative Chamber.
And represent he did.
Prior to Butler assuming office in the 1950 Council on October 20, 1950 there were many futile pleas for the repeal of the nefarious ordinance. Notable among those was the unsuccessful petition filed by the Shouter Baptists in 1940 through a united body under Bishop Elton Griffith asking for the Legislative Council to revoke the ordinance.
On 30 March 1951, within a few months of the new Legislative Council dominated by Butler being sworn into office, the bill to repeal the Shouter Baptist Prohibition Ordinance was passed.
The repeal of the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance so resonated with the masses, there was open clamour for Butler to be the leader. Thus, the cognoscenti realised they wouldn't be able to conjure up a second lightning strike in the ensuing general elections due in 1955.
So the colonial powers concluded to identify and mould a suitable alternative. Time was of the essence, for the next elections were due in 1955. By 1953 they had already found one who perfectly fitted the bill in the person called Dr. Eric Eustace Williams.
Since 1948 Dr. Williams was employed by the Caribbean Commission under a contract due to expire in 1955. It gave him ample opportunity to cultivate an affinity to the masses if he wished. He didn't, even though major social issues demanded someone like him so to do.
Williams did something which Butler had steadfastly refused to do; he launched a national political party named the People's National Movement, the first of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago. The PNM was born on January 26th 1956. And, thenceforth, the Trinbago politics has never been the same.
From 1956 onwards, the Shouter Baptist community formed an integral part of the ground troops of the PNM. Yet, never was it given the recognition due.
Williams did something which Butler had steadfastly refused to do; he launched a national political party named the People's National Movement, the first of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago. The PNM was born on January 26th 1956. And, thenceforth, the Trinbago politics has never been the same.
From 1956 onwards, the Shouter Baptist community formed an integral part of the ground troops of the PNM. Yet, never was it given the recognition due.
Shouters weren't permitted to invoke blessings at major party or government-sponsored events and their pleas for a national holiday were politely but studiously scorned. Even though "town had it to say" that every single PNM Minister had some Spiritual Leader or Mother to shield or guide them.
It would take a leader not of their tribe to do the honourable thing.
It would take a leader not of their tribe to do the honourable thing.
On March 30th 1996, there was jubilation such as never before seen in every Spiritual Baptist home, Church and street corner in Trinidad and Tobago, for on that day, as delivered by Basdeo Panday (he was then the Prime Minister), the Shouters were accorded a Public Holiday in part compensation for the years of ignominy they suffered both pre and post Independence.
It is March 30th 2012, the 17th anniversary of the Baptist Liberation Public Holiday and 61st year since the SPO 1917 was repealed. Thanks to the contribution of the Spiritual Baptist community, each Trinbagonian now has a sword in hand.
It's good and fitting that The Lord be allowed to help all to use it well.
Richard Wm Thomas
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