I came across this article and thought it very relevant to on line confrontations that have kicked of recently on the popular
Trinidad Carnival Diary. While a lot of what had been said has been removed by those who posted for various reasons, there is one thing is sure, There is a massive amount of ignorance and misconceived notions about the history and cultural roots of Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival.
As a result their are individuals calling themselves
mas designers attempting to
design carnival costumes based on the traditional Carnival characters of Trinidad's Carnival and getting it all very wrong!
And while I identify arrogance and creative laziness as the cause of these tragic attempts to recreate the 'Trinidad experience'and get it so very wrong on so many levels it is even clearer that in this the ultimate age of information IGNORANCE is the root of this designers foolishness.
So im posting this article because it INFORMS those with patience to read on some of the basics of
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival its like a light introduction to was once considered by most to be the Greatest Show on
Earth
Keith Noel, Contributor
Carnival, in many ways encapsulates much of the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. It is a vibrant exposition of a people's culture and, because it has its roots in African traditions brought over to the New World by the slaves, it resonates with black people everywhere. Carnival is more than 'bacchanal, fêtes and a street parade. It was introduced to Trinidad around 1785 by French settlers. Slaves were also allowed to celebrate, so they used the opportunity to practise their rituals and maintain their link with their spiritual homeland by parading through villages in traditional costumes and masks. They added humour by caricaturing their masters' behaviour. After slavery, the celebrations became more ornate as they drew upon all of their creativity to depict other things apart from their ancestral figures and caricatures of the whites.
Magnificent 'street theatre'
By the 1960s the East Indian population had begun to participate fully in carnival and their culture began to impact on the nature of carnival. Trinidad carnival blossomed into a magnificent 'street theatre' with elaborate headdresses and costumes and 'artists of the carnival' like Peter Minshall emerged. Minshall became world-famous for his 'dancing mobiles' or 'moving sculptures', a form of performance art that combines the three-dimensional quality of large-scale sculpture with the dramatic and choreographic expressiveness of a live human performer. Minshall was hired to create a number of them for the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympic Games. The steelband had a similar history. After slavery, when the playing of drums was banned, the blacks created the tamboo bamboo, a rhythmic ensemble made up of bamboo joints beaten together and pounded on the ground. Biscuit tins and dustbins were crafted into instruments, becoming the first 'pans.'
With the coming of the oil industry, they discovered that the oil drum, burnt to temper the steel and pounded into a convex shape, made a useful instrument. The simple 'ping-pong' was invented. In time, this rapidly developed into the modern reality of steelbands, with over a hundred players creating some of the most exciting music in the world. Calypso grew from the exploits of the 'Chantuelles' in the tenement-yards of Trinidad. At carnival time, the chantuelle (or 'chantwell') would compose verses for the yard's entertainment. Fierceness
These 'kaiso' (later called 'calypsos') were rated for their wit, their incisive social commentary, and their mastery of the double entendre.Singers had 'calypso sobriquets' like Lord Executor, Atilla the Hun, or the Roaring Lion, which indicated fierceness or 'nobility'. These calypsonians composed on topics ranging from local scandals, world politics and relationships between men and women. They were rated for their perceptiveness, imagination, diction and wit, and their ability to employ irony, innuendo and double entendre.
In the 1960s, to gain 'international' in its appeal, an effort was made to develop a beat which would attract young American audiences. The 'so' from the word 'soul' (which to the Trinidadian symbolised all US music was joined to the 'ca' from the word calypso) and the new, bouncy, 'soca' was born which focused on rhythm and not lyrical content.
In Trinidad, as carnival approaches, the celebrations culminate in the Saturday night 'Dimanche Gras' shows where the steelbands, the King and Queen of the costume 'bands' and the calypsonians all compete for their respective titles.
On Monday, they take to the streets for J' Ouvert (Jour ouvert - the 'opening' of the day) when we sometimes see those traditional costumes that still are extant. On Tuesday the season culminates in a splash of colour and creativity
In recent years, the capitalist urge has led to a number of designers outfitting their groups in pretty but skimpy clothing and although their groups are still colourful, one associates them with this rather than with their artistry. The celebratory, highly sexualised, aspect of the celebrations are also a focus. It is this 'branch' of carnival that was 'transported' to Jamaica and has become very popular.
This is an integral part of carnival, but when it is the only focus and the cultural aspects are removed," it en really canaval yuh have! So dat is why I, a big, big Trini, not in dat!"
Keith Noel is an educator. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com
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Image by Getty Images via @daylifeIt was a year ago today Haiti was shook to its knees, one year later the Haiti is still struggling to get back on her feet . One year later and 95% of the rubble still lays where it fell, one year later bodies are still being exhumed from the buildings that became their graves. One year later and not one reconstruction project has begun. Out of the 5Billion dollars that the world donated to Haiti not much of it has actually been received.
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