Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

Last updated
Carnival
Orange Carnival Masqueraders in Trinidad.jpg
Members of a costume band parade on the streets of Port of Spain
Observed by Trinidad and Tobago
TypeCultural
SignificanceWeek before Lent
Celebrationsprocessions, music, dancing, and the use of masquerade
DateMonday and Tuesday before Lent
FrequencyAnnual
Related to Caribbean Carnival, Mardi Gras, Carnival, Shrove Monday, Ash Wednesday, Lent

The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. [1] This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural events such as "band launch" fetes running in the lead up to the street parade on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. [2] [3] [4] Traditionally, the festival is associated with calypso music, developed by enslaved West and Central Africans in 17th century Trinidad; [5] [6] however, Soca music has begun to replace calypso as the more popular musical genre for Carnival. [1] Costume (sometimes called "mas"), stick-fighting, limbo, and steelpan competitions are important components of the festival. [7] [8] [9]

Contents

Carnival, as it is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago, has spread to many other Caribbean islands as well as several cities worldwide. These celebrations include Toronto's Caribana, Miami's Miami Carnival, Houston Carifest, London's Notting Hill Carnival, as well as New York City's Labor Day Carnival.

Origin

The annual Carnival in Trinidad dates back to the 1780s, when an influx of immigrants from the French West Indies emigrated to Trinidad in response to the Cédula de Población. [10] [11] [12] These immigrants included French planters and 'free coloureds' (free people of mixed race), [13] [11] [14] as well as enslaved Africans. [12] [10] The Mas tradition started in the late 18th century with French plantation owners organizing masquerades (mas) and balls before enduring the fasting of Lent. [13] Enslaved Africans, who could not take part in Carnival. [13] They are said to have staged their own mini-carnivals, but using their own rituals and folklore [10] and imitating or mocking their masters' masquerade balls. [15] [16]

Enslaved Africans also formed parallel celebration called "Canboulay". Canboulay (from the French cannes brulés, meaning burnt cane) [17] The festival was characterized by drums, singing, calinda dancing, chanting, and stick-fighting. [18] [19] [17] [20] Canboulay is considered is a precursor to Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, and has played an important role in the development of the music of Trinidad and Tobago.

Calypso music was developed in Trinidad in the 17th century from the West African Kaiso and canboulay music brought by African slaves imported to that Caribbean island to work on sugar plantations. These slaves, brought to toil on sugar plantations, were stripped of all connections to their homeland and family and not allowed to talk to each other. They used calypso to mock the slave masters and to communicate with each other. Many early calypsos were sung in French Creole by an individual called a griot. As calypso developed, the role of the griot became known as a chantuelle and eventually, calypsonian. [21] Additional traditions were introduced to Trinidad by enslaved Africans during the 18th century. These include the calinda, a form of martial art involving stick-fighting. [22] The calinda is likely of African origin, and is accompanied by music and dancing. [23] [22]

In 1833, the British government passed the Slavery Abolition Act, and Emancipation took effect August 1, 1834. [24] [25] After Emancipation, freed Africans first celebrated their freedom on 1 August the anniversary of their emancipation, and soon began celebrating emancipation during the Carnival season. As part of this transformation, they started carrying burning sugarcane in celebration of Canboulay. The carnival soon featured dancing by men and women in masks.

During the mid- and late-1800s, the colonial government tried various ways to suppress Carnival and Carnival festivities. [26] These prohibitions resulted in civil disorder, including the Canboulay riots of 1881 and 1884. [27] [28] [29] In 1884, the colonial government passed the Peace Preservation Act , [30] in an attempt to prevent violence breaking out during the Carnival. The Act prohibited public carrying of torches, drumming, blowing horns, and stick-fighting (or the assembly of ten or more people with sticks). [30] It also established the official start of Carnival as 6:00 A.M. (the Monday before Lent). [31] [32]

Steelpan

Stick fighting and African percussion music were banned in 1881, in response to the Canboulay Riots. They were replaced by bamboo "Bamboo-Tamboo" sticks beaten together, which were themselves banned in turn. In 1937 they reappeared, transformed as an orchestra of frying pans, dustbin lids and oil drums. These steelpans (or pans) are now a major part of the Trinidadian music scene and are a popular section of the Canboulay music contests. In 1941, the United States Navy arrived on Trinidad, and the panmen, who were associated with lawlessness and violence, helped to popularize steel pan music among soldiers, which began its international popularization.

J'ouvert

A Music Truck entertains the crowd on the streets. Trucks are an integral part of the street parade, featuring live performances or deejays Music Truck In Trinidad Carnival.jpg
A Music Truck entertains the crowd on the streets. Trucks are an integral part of the street parade, featuring live performances or deejays

J'ouvert (translated from French as "break of day") symbolizes the start of the official two days of Carnival. [33] Beginning early Monday, revelers parade through town in the tradition of the Canboulay celebrations. [34] [35] "Jouvay" (as it is commonly pronounced and spelled) [33] features a variety of homemade or satirical costumes. [36] [37] [38] The celebration involves participants dousing themselves in oil, mud, and powder, [39] [40] [41] and dancing to calypso and soca music through the streets. [42] [43] This is a stark contrast to the attractive and more formal costumes that are donned later in the day on Carnival Monday and on Tuesday. [44]

Carnival dates

The table shows a list of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival dates from 2009 to 2026. [45] [46]

Calendar YearCarnival MondayCarnival Tuesday
2009February 23February 24
2010February 15February 16
2011March 7March 8
2012February 20February 21
2013February 11February 12
2014March 3March 4
2015February 16February 17
2016February 8February 9
2017February 27February 28
2018February 12February 13
2019March 4March 5
2020February 24February 25
2021Cancelled due to COVID-19 [47]
2022Cancelled due to COVID-19
2023February 20February 21
2024February 12February 13
2025March 3March 4
2026February 16February 17

Characters

Moko jumbie characters Trinidad and Tobago Moko Jumbi.jpg
Moko jumbie characters

A few specific characters have evolved during the history of Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival. [7] Among these characters are:

Related Research Articles

Soca music is a genre of music defined by Lord Shorty, its inventor, as the "Soul of Calypso", which has influences of African and East Indian rhythms. It was originally spelled "sokah" by its inventor but through an error in a local newspaper when reporting on the new music it was erroneously spelled "soca"; Lord Shorty confirmed the error but chose to leave it that way to avoid confusion. It is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s and developed into a range of styles during the 1980s and after. Soca was initially developed by Lord Shorty in an effort to revive traditional calypso, the popularity of which had been flagging amongst younger generations in Trinidad due to the rise in popularity of reggae from Jamaica and soul and funk from the United States. Soca is an offshoot of calypso/kaiso, with influences from East Indian rhythms and hooks.

Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to West African Kaiso and the arrival of French planters and their slaves from the French Antilles in the 18th century.

The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. The art form was most popularised at that time by Harry Belafonte. Along with folk songs and African- and Indian-based classical forms, cross-cultural interactions have produced other indigenous forms of music including soca, rapso, parang, chutney, and other derivative and fusion styles. There are also local communities which practice and experiment with international classical and pop music, often fusing them with local steelpan instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calypsonian</span> Singer of calypso

A calypsonian, originally known as a chantwell, is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the calypso genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steelpan</span> Musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago

The steelpan is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists.

The music of the Lesser Antilles encompasses the music of this chain of small islands making up the eastern and southern portion of the West Indies. Lesser Antillean music is part of the broader category of Caribbean music; much of the folk and popular music is also a part of the Afro-American musical complex, being a mixture of African, European and indigenous American elements. The Lesser Antilles' musical cultures are largely based on the music of African slaves brought by European traders and colonizers. The African musical elements are a hybrid of instruments and styles from numerous West African tribes, while the European slaveholders added their own musics into the mix, as did immigrants from India. In many ways, the Lesser Antilles can be musically divided based on which nation colonized them.

J'ouvert is a traditional Carnival celebration in many countries throughout the Caribbean. The parade is believed to have its foundation in Trinidad & Tobago, with roots steeped in French Afro-Creole traditions such as Canboulay. J'ouvert typically begins in the early morning, before dawn, and peaks by mid-morning. The celebration involves calypso or soca bands, DJs, and their followers dancing through the streets. In many countries, revelers cover their bodies in paint, mud, or pitch oil. Today J'ouvert is also a part of Carnival celebrations outside of the Caribbean, with the biggest celebrations happening in cities with large Caribbean ex-pat communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caribana</span> Caribbean festival in Toronto

The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly and affectionately known as Caribana, is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a pan-Caribbean Carnival event and has been billed as North America's largest Festival, frequented by over 1.3 million tourists each year for the festival's Grand Parade and an overall attendance of 2.3 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Saint Kitts and Nevis</span>

The music of Saint Kitts and Nevis is known for a number of musical celebrations including Carnival. The last week in June features the St Kitts Music Festival, while the week-long Culturama on Nevis lasts from the end of July into early August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Antigua and Barbuda</span> Musical traditions of Antigua and Barbuda

The music of Antigua and Barbuda is largely African in character, and has only felt a limited influence from European styles due to the population of Antigua and Barbuda descending mostly from West Africans who were made slaves by Europeans.

The Canboulay riots were a series of disturbances in the British colony of Trinidad in 1881 and 1884. The riots came about in response to efforts by the colonial police to restrict aspects of the island's annual Carnival festival. In Port of Spain, San Fernando, and Princes Town, angered Trinidadians rioted in response to the actions of police. The violence of the Canboulay Riots resulted in many injuries, as well as fatalities. As a result of the riots, new government restrictions placed on Canboulay traditions. New musical instruments and styles were created in reaction to these prohibitions, which influenced the development of calypso and later soca. Additionally, the pre-carnival tradition of J'ouvert originates with Canboulay and the Canboulay Riots.

The culture of Trinidad and Tobago reflects the influence of Indian-South Asian, African, Indigenous, European, Chinese, North American, Latino, and Arab cultures. The histories of Trinidad and Tobago are different. There are differences in the cultural influences which have shaped each island. Trinidad and Tobago is an English-speaking country with strong links to the United Kingdom.

Canboulay is a precursor to Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. The festival is also where calypso music has its roots. It was originally a harvest festival, at which drums, singing, dancing and chanting were an integral part. After Emancipation (1834), it developed into an outlet and a festival for former indentured laborers and freed slaves who were banned from participating in the masquerade carnival events – derived from European Christian traditions – of the colonial elite, and whose drums and religious observances were also outlawed in the late 19th century. Consequently, Canboulay has played an important role in the development of the music of Trinidad and Tobago, for it was the banning of percussion instruments in the 1880s that led to the surreptitious innovations that gave birth to steelpan music. It is re-enacted in Port of Spain each Carnival Friday in Trinidad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calinda</span> Martial art, folk music and war dance originating among people of African descent

Calinda is a martial art, as well as a kind of folk music and war dance in the Caribbean which arose in the 1720s. It was brought to the Caribbean by Africans In the transatlantic slave trade and is based on native African combat dances.

As early as the 1780s, the word kaiso was used to describe a French creole song and, in Trinidad, kaiso seems to have been perfected by the chantwells during the first half of the 19th century. The chantwells, assisted by alternating in call-and-response style with a chorus, were a central component of the practice called Calinda (stick-fighting).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antigua Carnival</span> Celebration in Antigua

The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of emancipation from slavery, held annually on the island of Antigua. It is a thirteen-day festival of colorful costumes, beauty pageants, talent shows, and music. The festival begins in late July and ends the first Tuesday in August, known as Carnival Tuesday. Both Carnival Monday and Carnival Tuesday are public holidays on the island. Antiguan Carnival replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in 1957, with hopes of inspiring tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. Some elements of the Old Time Christmas Festival remain in the modern Carnival celebrations.

Chanté mas and Lapo kabrit is a form of Carnival music of Dominica. It is performed by masquerading partygoers in a two-day parade, with a lead vocalist (chantwèl), who is followed by the responsorial chorus (lavwa), with drummers and dancers dancing backwards in front of the drummer on a tambou lélé. The Carnival has African and French roots and is otherwise known as Mas Dominik, the most original Carnival in the Caribbean.

Cariwest is an annual non-profit three-day Caribbean Arts Festival that takes place annually in the second weekend of August in the heart of downtown Edmonton, Alberta. Cariwest and its surrounding events attract more than 60,000 people each year. The festival gives the attendees a chance to enjoy Caribbean culture.

References

  1. 1 2 Green, Garth L.; Scher, Philip W. (2007-03-28). Trinidad Carnival: The Cultural Politics of a Transnational Festival. Indiana University Press. ISBN   978-0-253-11672-7.
  2. ↑ Doughty, Melissa (2023-06-21). "Band launches on the way". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  3. ↑ "YUMA kicks off band launch season for Carnival 2024 | Loop Trinidad & Tobago". Loop News. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  4. ↑ "Trinidad and Tobago Carnival | Trinidad Travel & Tourism". Visit Trinidad. Tourism Trinidad. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  5. ↑ "The subversive power of calypso music". BBC News . Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  6. ↑ Espinet, Charles S.; Pitts, Harry (1944). Land of the Calypso: The Origin and Development of Trinidad's Folk Song. Guardian Commercial Printery.
  7. 1 2 "Traditional Carnival Characters". TNTIsland.com. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  8. ↑ "Traditional Mas Characters - Calinda or Kalenda (Stick Fighting)". National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  9. ↑ Guide, Forbes Travel. "Three Hot Carnival Celebrations To Hit In February (Besides Rio's)". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  10. 1 2 3 Chaitram, Samantha S. S. (2020-06-01). American Foreign Policy in the English-speaking Caribbean: From the Eighteenth to the Twenty-first Century. Springer Nature. ISBN   978-3-030-45986-4.
  11. 1 2 Brereton, Bridget (2002-06-06). Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad 1870-1900. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-52313-4.
  12. 1 2 Sherwood, Marika (2012-07-26). Origins of Pan-Africanism: Henry Sylvester Williams, Africa, and the African Diaspora. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-136-89113-7.
  13. 1 2 3 ""Mama Dis is Mas"". National Library and Information System Authority. 15 December 2014. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  14. ↑ Allahar, Anton (2002-03-01). Diasporic Identity: Myth, Culture, and the Politics of Home: A Special Issue of identity. Psychology Press. ISBN   978-1-135-58781-9.
  15. ↑ Alleyne-Dettmers, Patricia Tamara (1995). "Political Dramas in the Jour Ouvert Parade in Trinidad Carnaval". Caribbean Studies. 28 (2): 326–338. ISSN   0008-6533. JSTOR   25613310.
  16. ↑ "Jouvert: Carnival high times, from Trinidad to the diaspora". PAM - Pan African Music. 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  17. 1 2 La Rose, Michael (2019). ""The City Could Burn Down, We Jammin' Still!": The History and Tradition of Cultural Resistance in the Art, Music, Masquerade and Politics of the Caribbean Carnival: Caribbean Quarterly". Caribbean Quarterly. 65 (4): 491–512. doi:10.1080/00086495.2019.1682348.
  18. ↑ Cowley, John (1998). Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso: Traditions in the Making. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-65389-3.
  19. ↑ "J'ouvert: Genesis Immersive Experience (booklet)" (PDF). City Lore. October 2022.
  20. ↑ Riggio, Milla Cozart (2004-10-14). Carnival: Culture in Action – The Trinidad Experience. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-134-48780-6.
  21. ↑ French creole influence on calypso music. YouTube. 2010-12-17. ISBN   9780313357978 . Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  22. 1 2 Winer, Lise (2009-01-16). Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago: On Historical Principles. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN   978-0-7735-7607-0.
  23. ↑ Hogan, Patrick Colm (2000-01-27). Colonialism and Cultural Identity: Crises of Tradition in the Anglophone Literatures of India, Africa, and the Caribbean. SUNY Press. ISBN   978-0-7914-4460-3.
  24. ↑ "The West Indian colonies and emancipation". UK Parliament.
  25. ↑ Hamilton-Davis, Ryan (2024-04-19). "Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate African Emancipation Day on August 1". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  26. ↑ La Rose, Michael (2019). ""The City Could Burn Down, We Jammin' Still!": The History and Tradition of Cultural Resistance in the Art, Music, Masquerade and Politics of the Caribbean Carnival: Caribbean Quarterly". Caribbean Quarterly. 65 (4): 491–512. doi:10.1080/00086495.2019.1682348.
  27. ↑ La Rose, Michael (2019). ""The City Could Burn Down, We Jammin' Still!": The History and Tradition of Cultural Resistance in the Art, Music, Masquerade and Politics of the Caribbean Carnival: Caribbean Quarterly". Caribbean Quarterly. 65 (4): 491–512. doi:10.1080/00086495.2019.1682348.
  28. ↑ "Canboulay Riots to head to San Fernando". National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  29. ↑ Sogren, Michele, and Ruth J. Parsons. 2008. “Carnival Fete or Conflict?” Caribbean Journal of Social Work6/7 (December): 167–85.
  30. 1 2 "Submits Ordinance No. 1 of 1884: Peace Preservation. To empower the Governor to prohibit the public carrying of lighted torches at the Carnival, and for the preservation of the peace. Proclamation approved". UK National Archives. Jan 30, 1884.
  31. ↑ "Immigration and the Political Economy of Home". publishing.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  32. ↑ Onyebadi, Uche (2022-09-06). Political Messaging in Music and Entertainment Spaces across the Globe. Volume 1. Vernon Press. ISBN   978-1-64889-471-8.
  33. 1 2 Allsopp, R. (1996). Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. Vol. 1. Kingston: Oxford University Press. p. 776. ISBN   0-198-66152-5.
  34. ↑ "A J'Ouvert bacchanal". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. June 22, 2021. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  35. ↑ Cowley, John (1998). Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso: Traditions in the Making. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-65389-3.
  36. ↑ La Rose, Michael (2019). ""The City Could Burn Down, We Jammin' Still!": The History and Tradition of Cultural Resistance in the Art, Music, Masquerade and Politics of the Caribbean Carnival: Caribbean Quarterly". Caribbean Quarterly. 65 (4): 491–512. doi:10.1080/00086495.2019.1682348.
  37. ↑ "Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: A vibrant celebration of culture and tradition". Our History. 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  38. ↑ "Sugar Mas 42 J'ouvert Attracts Thousands By by LK Hewlett". The St Kitts Nevis Observer. 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  39. ↑ "8 of the best Caribbean carnivals". Travel. 2023-07-14. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  40. ↑ Magazine, Smithsonian. "Up Close at Trinidad's Carnival". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  41. ↑ "Photo: Celebrating the start of Carnival in Trinidad". PBS NewsHour. 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  42. ↑ Ehrenreich, Barbara (1 February 2009). "Up Close at Trinidad's Carnival". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  43. ↑ Riggio, Milla Cozart (2004-10-14). Carnival: Culture in Action – The Trinidad Experience. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-134-48780-6.
  44. ↑ Sheriff, Nai-Whedai (2014). "J'ouvert Speaks to the Present" (PDF). Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship. World Dance Alliance. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  45. ↑ "Trinidad Carnival Dates (2009-2015)". Archived from the original on 2008-09-15.
  46. ↑ "Carnival Dates to Year 2026 (2014-2026)". National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  47. ↑ "[Updated] Covid19 Kills Carnival". 28 September 2020.
  48. ↑ John Mendes (2014). Côté ci Côté là. Port of Spain: Caribbean Print Technologies. p. 235. ISBN   978-976-8194-060.
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