Steel pan, pan, steelband, used interchangeably in this paper to designate a collection or ensemble of pans, began humbly enough, as the main musical accompaniment for poorer revellers on Carnival days in Trinidad and Tobago. Pan’s acceptance in academia as a legitimate area of study bespeaks therefore a coming of age and a celebration of national consciousness and confidence. It bespeaks, too, the acceptance of music itself, and of the Carnival arts, as worthy of academic study.