The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...

in Trinidad and Tobago. 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. It is said that if the islanders are not celebrating it, then they are preparing for it, while reminiscing about the past year's festival. Traditionally, the festival is associated with

calypso music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...

, with its origins formulated in the midst of hardship for enslaved West and Central Africans; however, recently Soca music has replaced calypso as the most celebrated type of music. Costumes (sometimes called "

mas Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Songs * Más ( ...

"), stick-fighting and limbo competitions are also important components of the festival.

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

, as it is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago, is also celebrated in several cities worldwide. These celebrations include Toronto's

Caribana The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly 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 ...

, Miami's Miami Carnival, Houston Carifest,

London's London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

, as well as New York City's

Labor Day Carnival The West Indian Day Parade Carnival is an annual celebration of West Indian culture, held annually on around the first Monday of September in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City. It is organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Associ ...

Origin

The Mas tradition started in the late 18th century with French plantation owners organizing masquerades (mas) and balls before enduring the fasting of Lent. The slaves, who could not take part in Carnival, formed their own, parallel celebration called "

Canboulay Canboulay (from the French ''cannes brulées'', meaning burnt cane) 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 ch ...

". Canboulay (from the French ''cannes brulés'', meaning burnt cane) 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 Canboulay (from the French ''cannes brulées'', meaning burnt cane) 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 ch ...

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. Steelpan Stick fighting and African

percussion music A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

were banned in 1881, in response to the

Canboulay Riots The Canboulay riots were a series of disturbances in the British colony of Trinidad and Tobago in 1881. 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 S ...

. 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 A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...

lids and

oil drums A drum (also called a barrel) is a cylindrical shipping container used for shipping bulk cargo. Drums can be made of steel, dense paperboard (commonly called a fiber drum), or plastic, and are generally used for the transportation and storage of ...

. 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 The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descriptio ...

music among soldiers, which began its international popularization. J'Ouvert J'ouvert (translated from French as "break of day"), symbolizes the start of the official two days of Carnival. Beginning early Monday, revellers parade through town in the tradition of the Canboulay celebrations. Jouvay, as it is commonly known, features a variety of homemade or satirical costumes. This celebration involves participants dousing themselves in oil, mud and powder while they dance to calypso music through the streets. 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.

Carnival dates

The table shows a list of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival dates from 2009 to 2026. The 2021 edition of the event - scheduled for February 15 and 16 2021 - has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Characters

A few specific characters have evolved during the history of Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival. Among these characters are: * Burrokeet – A "donkey-man" character constructed so as to give the illusion of a dancer riding a small burro or donkey. This masquerade was brought to Trinidad by Venezuelan settlers. *

Dame Lorraine Dame Lorraine or Dame Lorine (Trinidad and Tobago) called ''Mother Sally'' in the land of its birth, Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern co ...

– An ample voluptuous woman. The costume parodies the dress of 18th-century French aristocratic women and is stuffed in the hips and bust. * Jab Jab – The name comes from the

French Patois ''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon o ...

word for devil. * Midnight Robber – A character who brags about himself and whose costume is influenced by American Cowboy clothes. * Minstrels – A group of singers * Moko jumbie - A stilt dancer. The character is of African origin. Originally the character wore a hat made of dried wild cucumbers, and the stilts were striped. * Pierrot – ''A well-dressed character that prides himself on his knowledge

References

External links

Official Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Site – www.gotrinidadandtobago.com

Calendar of Events at the Trinidad Tourism Site

National Carnival Commission Official Website

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The Birth & Evolution of Trinidad Carnival
{{Carnival around the world Trinidad and Tobago culture Music festivals in the Caribbean Annual events in Trinidad and Tobago Carnivals in Trinidad and Tobago Winter events in Trinidad and Tobago Folk festivals in Trinidad and Tobago