Today, these masquerades have evolved into the socio-cultural or socio-political heritage of the Caribbean islands. They serve as a way to find avenues for artistic expression, to provide release for pent-up tensions and an alternative way to make money.

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“Culture, the linchpin that bonds us as a people, is vital to our quality of life.”     P.J Patterson

INTRODUCTION

In Africa, before slavery, peoples had a tradition of masquerading for a number of purposes – for the worship and appeasal of deities, the initiation of a boy into manhood, celebrations of life (whether it was a birth or death), the crowning of a new chief and  for social recreation. These masquerades featured costumes designed for the occasion, wearing of masks, singing and dancing.

During and after slavery, the slaves and ex-slaves kept this tradition alive in religions such as Shango and Voodoo and as a form of subtle protest.

Today, these masquerades have evolved into the socio-cultural or socio-political heritage of the Caribbean islands. They serve as a way to find avenues for artistic expression, to provide release for pent-up tensions and an alternative way to make money.    

ORIGINS OF THE FESTIVALS

During the summer, the streets are filled with the sights, sounds, scents and tastes of Crop Over in Barbados, Independence Festival in Jamaica, Vincy Mas in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Kaya Grandi in Bonaire, Carnival in Antigua, Barbuda, Grenada and Trinidad and Carriacou Regatta.

  • Carnival

Historically, Carnival is a pre-Lenten festival associated with the practice of abstaining from meat during Lent (“carne vale” meaning farewell to the flesh). In the Caribbean the Catholic planters took this time off and had their carnivals. These have become major cultural events in islands, such as the aforementioned Trinidad, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda and in islands such as St. Lucia and Dominica, which were associated with France during colonialism.

Carnival has gradually evolved from a marriage between the traditional white middle class costume parties and African folk retentions to what it is today.

Similarities can be traced to the Junkanoo festivals in the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Jamaica and the Carnival of Cuba, all of which are correct.

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Today’s festival can now be associated with steel-bands, calypso, street dancing and various types of masquerading. The festival provides opportunities for mass participation, release of tension, release of artistry and social commentary, which is provided in costuming and in song such as calypsos.

        

  • Junkanoo or John Canoe

Celebrated in the islands of Belize, St. Vincent, Jamaica and Bahamas the origin of the name Junkanoo is uncertain but there are, however, two popular theories.

  1. For some contemporary leaders its meaning is derived from the word junk. For many years the costumes and instruments used in the festival were ...

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