In The Beginning
As we all know carnival is about dancing in the street, beautiful costumes and having a fantastic time with friends and even strangers. But what is carnival. What is its origin? That is the question.
Well there are a few theories out there when it comes to how it all began and the matter has not been without its share of controversy. With some saying it is an African tradition brought over to the Caribbean though the transatlantic slave trade and other claiming that it is actually a European event originally practiced by the oppressors and planters families that inhabited the Caribbean through the 16th to 19th century.
The more you look at the evidence and accounts of the earliest recorded instances of the events, the more the question becomes not so much about carnival’s origin but how it developed into the celebration we know it as today.
Judging from the records of newspaper articles and literature not only in regard to the Caribbean islands but across Europe it’s fare to say that the original carnival event was introduced to the Caribbean by the European oppressors. The planter families would hold masquerade balls the days leading up to the time of Lent in the Christian calendar; much like the street party known as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, these parties were the slave owners last opportunity to eat well and revel in merriment before the self imposed fasting of lent would begin.
As the name suggests, elaborate masks would be worn at these balls for the purpose of hiding the identity of the masqueraders from each other giving them licence to indulge in behaviour which would otherwise be considered shameful, lewd or inappropriate for an upstanding god fearing European family.
What Is Really Ours
Slaves were not permitted to join in the festivities during the carnival as their oppressors felt it lead to misbehaviour. But the African slaves would dress up in an exaggerated mockery of the European dress of the period, and parade themselves as their European counterparts. Undoubted the Africans would bring elements of their own traditions to the festivities. They were said to have stick fighting and the playing of drums throughout the event but most important was the music which came by way of calypso, a sound which developed from the west African Kaiso music. The musician who would sing over the music in french creole was called a Griot and would later become known as Calypsonians
Calypso music would continue to develop with time. Following the 1838 emancipation of Africans in the Caribbean, a large scale influx of indentured Indian labourers arrived in the Islands to replace the vacant workforce. They had and continue to have a great influence on calypso music. The 1970s saw the emergence of a new sound evolving out of calypso. This music seemed to be the fusion of many of the popular music genres of the time merged with the rhythm of calypso to form a genre called soca. Many attributes the invention of soca to the extremely talented artist, Lord Shorty. Soca has become the theme music of carnival across the world and to this day it continues influence and be influenced by musical genres and cultures all over the afro-diaspora.
Carnival itself has developed in many ways as it spread across the Caribbean, across the Americas and across Europe. The history and culture of it’s players is expressed in different forms wherever it has emerged. In Grenada they have jab jab, where players cover themselves in oil or paint –if you have not seen this, check it it out– it is a site to behold. in Brazil extreme emphasis is placed on breath taking floats and choreographed parades, and in Notting Hill, England Carnival is a moving street party, stretching across 3 major roads, and a few minor ones.
In The End
Clearly the notion of a celebration on this date with the masquerade element was likeley to be brought to the afro-diaspora’s attention via the Europeans, but carnival(Mas) as is enjoyed in it’s current form world wide is absolutely “we ting.”
