he ancient whip-making process that our local #CarnivalArtisans use for traditional Jab Jab whip fighters. This Mas is a form of martial arts passed down by our ancestors.
: Shown here is the Original Whip Master, Mr. Ronald Alfred from Couva, Trinidad. Courtesy Export Centres Company Limited, T&T (Source: Omardath Maharaj, Feb 3, 2023)
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From generation to generation....16 year old Jude Charleau portraying the Dame Lorraine "Madame Bosee, the Old Woman and the Shoe" today at the savannah for Junior Individuals, Boys 11-17. His mother Tracey Sankar-charleau and her sister Nadia Sankar played this Mas with their mother June Sankar. Tracey's daughter Nathaniel and another of her sons Joshua have also played this Mas.
Jude made the amazing shoe that you see on his back. Stunning details. While the Dame Lorraine is played extensively by women today, it is a mas originally played by men. Jude made his own costume and the attention to detail was striking. What you can't see in this photo is that he had an exquisite shoe on his back. Will share a view of that in another post. "At the start of the 19th century, Trinidad’s upper-class ladies dressed for masquerade balls in voluminous flowing gowns. Decked with exquisite jewellery, they danced elegantly through the night — observed through the windows by their slaves and servants. Naturally, these aristocratic ladies and their refined airs were prime targets for mockery when the freed slaves held their own Carnival celebrations, and thus evolved the burlesque character of the Dame Lorraine. Copying the ladies’ fine gowns with whatever materials they could find — assorted rags, makeshift fans and hats, shiny objects imitating jewels — the masqueraders mocked the pretensions of respectable society. Over time, the Dame Lorraine mas became more elaborate. Heavily padded breasts and posterior reinforced the parody, and a large “pregnant” belly hinted at less than immaculate morals. Fine wire mesh masks, with eyes and mouth painted in, lent the masquerader the safety of anonymity. In Port of Spain’s backyards, the Dame Lorraine evolved into a theatrical event, enacted at midnight on Carnival Sunday for an eager audience. Imitating the stately scenes at the old plantation balls, a “butler” introduced arriving couples, who then performed exaggerated versions of formal dances, accompanied by small cuatro bands. ...Beneath the masks were cross-dressing men, many of whom happened to be the descendants of the very French planters they were mocking." Dylan Kerrigan, Creatures of the Mas, Caribbean Beat, Jan/Feb 2005 #damelorraine #traditionalmas #carnivalheritage #carnivaltraditions The celebration of Carnival first came to Trinidad and Tobago with French planters and enslaved Africans after the Cedula of Population in 1783. It was celebrated mainly by the French elite and included masked balls, parading through the streets of Port of Spain, and visiting each other’s estates for various events.
Whilst enslaved Africans were barred from participating in these events, they performed and enjoyed their own activities, such as kalenda (stick fighting), juba and bélé dances. During the 19th century, Calypso music also developed in Trinidad, from the West African music that was brought by enslaved Africans. After Emancipation in 1838, the formerly enslaved began joining in the Carnival festivities by masking, dancing, stick-fighting, and mocking the white planters, bringing radical changes into the pre-Lenten revelry. Popular masquerades during this period included devils, clowns, mokos, and Canboulay (cannes brulées), which had become an important feature of the Carnival to commemorate Emancipation. This illustration shows Carnival in Frederick Street, Port of Spain in 1888 by artist William Heysham Overend from the “Illustrated London News”, courtesy of the book “The Trinidad Carnival”, by Errol Hill. It is part of the National Archives Exhibition “Carnival of Long Ago”. References: “Carnival of Long Ago” National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago Exhibition, http://www.natt.gov.tt/.../Carnival_Exhibition_Board.pdf The National Carnival Commission (NCC) held a breakfast meeting on Wednesday to discuss plans for Carnival 2023.
Present were stakeholders representing the pan, mas and calypso organisations as well as the police and other entities involved in the staging of the national festival. Beverly Ramsey-Moore, President of pan Trinbago, Ainsley King, President of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) and Winston “Gypsy” Peters, Chairman of the National Carnival Commission all spoke and outlined plans for the return of what is being dubbed “The Mother of all Carnivals”. Here are some of the plans outlined for Carnival 2023. Panorama Return of the North Greens Return of the North Stand 60th-anniversary celebrations Medium Band finals are to be held in Tobago, and large band finals in Trinidad to feature 12 bands instead of 10 Calypso Calypso finals to return to the Dimanche Gras Calypso semis to return to Skinner Park Mas Regional Carnival bodies to be consolidated for more cohesive activities Carnival route to remain the same NCC Events Online ticket purchases for all events to be implemented Free Wifi to be made available at Carnival City Park and Ride collaboration with PTSC to shuttle folks from East, Central and South to Port of Spain A one-stop Carnival shop to be opened at Carnival City from January 16. (Source The Loop, Dec 15, 2022) Fantastic Friday will belong to Machel Montano as the soca king has announced that his 40th-anniversary show in Trinidad and Tobago will be held on Carnival Friday.
This will be the first show the King of Soca will do on home soil for his 40th anniversary in music. Montano has done shows in the US and has performed in Barbados and Guyana as well this year. He performed briefly in T&T a few months ago for a fundraiser for filmmaker Danielle Dieffenthaller. In ads for the Carnival Friday show called Machel 40, Montano teases that there will be guest performances from Nigerian artistes. Fans are speculating that Afrobeats singer WizKid could be one of the guest acts. Machel 40 will be held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Tickets go on sale on January 1. This will Montano's first concert since staging his last Machel Monday show in 2020. Miss Palmiste - Jeanine Brandt is the new Miss Trinidad and Tobago 2021 and will now represent our nation at the Miss World 2021 Pageant.
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