Here is what Cary Ginell had to say in his review of Harry Belafonte's early recordings.

The haunting Kalenda Rock is described as a mourning song, derived from the calinda, an African tradition of
stick fighting during Carnival on the French speaking islands of the C aribbean. The activity, known as cannes
brûlées (burnt canes), had its origins during slavery. Eventually spelled kalenda, it came to define the songs
and other performances accompanying the fighting, which could turn deadly.