Carnivals of Trinidad
For most people, carnival conjures up images of people dancing in the streets during Mardi Gras in New Orleans or spectacularly costumed dance groups celebrating in Rio de Janeiro during the build up to Lent. However, the carnivals of Trinidad are as distinctive as their counterparts with their dedication to the three arts: masquerade, or mas, steel pan and calypso. Travel to Trinidad to celebrate carnival and connect with the island's rich and diverse culture.
During the colonization of the West Indies, the French and British brought their carnival traditions to Trinidad, where celebrations consisted of primarily white elites until emancipation in 1838 because people of color were not permitted to celebrate carnival in public. The African population of Trinidad created its own carnival celebrations, called "jamette carnival" by the French and British as an underworld reference because of the perceived sexually explicit, dangerous and obscene carnival activities. Traditions from the jamette carnivals that lasted until 1896 coupled with previous British and French traditions make up modern carnivals of Trinidad.
The largest carnivals of Trinidad are held yearly in the island's capital, Port of Spain, but those who want more low-key celebrations can attend one of the smaller regional celebrations outside of Trinidad's largest city. According to the National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago, there are 55 areas outside of the city that offer scheduled carnival activities such as masquerade parades and band competitions.
The carnivals of Trinidad are famous for their colorful and elaborate costumes that are displayed after J'Ouvert on carnival Monday and carnival Tuesday. J'Ouvert, which begins at 4 a.m. on Monday, celebrates the dark history and folklore of Trinidad with people dressed as the devil, demons and monsters, painted in oil, mud and sometimes chocolate. Traditional parade characters during mas include black and white minstrels, the Dame Lorraine and Moko Jumbie, a stilt walker depicting a protective spirit from West African tradition. Other costumes include fancy Indians, midnight robbers and sailors.
Since the 1930s, steel pan music has been included in the carnivals of Trinidad, where they began as resistance to white domination after playing drums was outlawed by the British in 1877. Steel pans, also called steel drums, came to be by using nontraditional objects for percussion instruments. Early drums included several types of metal containers that were beat on with kitchen utensils and various parts of the hand and fist. Today, the panorama, or steel pan competition, is one of the main components of carnival in Trinidad. Finals are held on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday.
Carnival Monday and Tuesday in Trinidad reveal explosive color set to a background of calypso music. Rooted in the musical tradition of West Africa, Trinidad's calypso music has historically been a vehicle of social commentary and white resistance. Calypso bands march in themed costumes during the masquerade parades of Trinidad's carnival and compete in multiple competitions, such as the Masquerade Band of the Year or the Calypso Crown Competition, which designates carnival's Calypso Monarch.
- National Library and Information System Authority: “Mama Dis is Mas”: A Historical Overview of the Trinidad Carnival, 1783 – 1900
- National Carnival Commission of Trinidad & Tobago: Regional Carnival
- Steel Pan Information: Steel Pan History and Development
- National Carnival Commission of Trinidad: Pan
- Go Trinidad & Tobago: Trinidad Carnival
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