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

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

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

, Miami's Miami Carnival, Houston Carifest, London's Notting Hill Carnival, as well as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Labor Day Carnival.

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 c ...

". 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. Excl ...

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 ...

. They were replaced by

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

"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 The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

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 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