Carnival

Nothing gets done in December here, because it is Carnival season in the Caribbean. It's basically a couple of weeks worth of a series of competitions, shows, festivities, concerts, and street activities based on folklore & culture that culminates on New Year's Day when street parades and performances climax in a grand finale. It originated in Trinidad and is now celebrated in many of the Caribbean islands with their take on the West African festivals.

The word ‘carnival’ is derived from the Italian ‘carnevale’ which means literally ‘the removal of meat’. With roots going back to the pagan past, carnival, in much of Catholic Europe, became a time of festivity when the devout and not so devout Christians shed their inhibitions and indulged in a last orgy of feasting, dancing and other sensual activities before Ash Wednesday and the long period of fasting which followed. These activities were characterized by masked balls where those of the aristocratic and wealthy commercial classes could, for a time, play out their fantasies and indulge their yearnings for liberation from some of the strictures of everyday living.

This tradition of Pre-Lenten festivity took root In some of the colonies settled by French, Spanish and Portuguese peoples in the Americas. Here In the so-called “New World”, it was re-enforced and transformed as It came into contact with other traditions.

Today there are numerous annual festivals celebrated throughout the Caribbean and In North and South America which are not all derived, however, from Pre-Lenten festivities, but nonetheless share certain common features: notably street dancing and parades, strongly percussive and rhythmic music, and the wearing of masks and costumes. The motifs are derived from the cultures of five continents: Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas; but the driving’ force, the rhythm is predominantly African.

In the structured and oppressive regimes of plantation society of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the few occasions when African slaves were allowed a measure of freedom were opportunities for explosive outpourings of energy In dance, music, and general festivity. Remembered traditions and rituals were re-enacted or transformed by the realities of the times, and the traditions of the dominating European classes were imitated and parodied. In many cases, the Africans assimilated, If only partially, the customs of the Aboriginal people and incorporated these in their costumes and their dances.

From New Orleans in North America, through the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, the Lesser Antilles, to Trinidad and Tobago, and down to Brazil In South America, we celebrate with an exuberance of song, dance, music, and colour at various times of the year coinciding with festivals of Christmas, pre-Lent and other feast days of the Christian calendar.

In St. Kitts and Nevis, the traditional time of our celebration is at Christmas. However, over the past twenty-one years, the Trinidad-style pre-Lenten Carnival has come to Influence and even dominate our Christmas festivities.

Here is the official website with some of the events to come: http://www.stkittsneviscarnival.com/

All of last year's volunteers said it was a lot of fun, so I'm super excited about it. But my point was, there is a major lack in productivity because the whole country goes on break for Carnival. Although I will be participating in Carnival events with some of my counterparts, which I count as 'work'. Hey, the Peace Corps is a 24/7, 7 days a week job. So I'm 'working' when I go to experience the culture at a parade =)

This Friday was the official opening of Carnival with samples of what's to come. It was basically a block party of sorts with masquerade folklore performances on the street followed by the official program in Independence Square with the pageant contestants, teen contestants, calypso performers etc. all making appearances. It wasn't too exciting because it was just me and Will, neither of who was drinking or dancing in the street, but I'm still glad we went.

Some of the folklore masquerade performing on Central Street. If you have facebook, I posted a video of this too.

 

Roadside barbecue chicken set up on Central Street because of the crowd. One of the cheapest and best dishes available on the island (so far the best is the one Kim and Geoff introduced us to on the west side)

I convinced Will to take a picture with one of the folklore performers with their hats

Then on Saturday Will, Patty and I went to Dieppe Bay. There's the view of Statia in the background. We planned on swimming but there was yucky sea weed everywhere. We have a goal to try and eat at all the affordable places on the island and to hit up all the beaches too.

We went to a local bar sort of thing after wards and got some $3 chicken. Patty and Will got cheese sandwiches too. We sat and ate at a local grocery store where a Kittitian told us he would take us to see the monkeys, much to my dismay. After a little coaxing from Will and Patty I was convinced to try and get over my fear...

Don't ask me how Will forced me into actually feeding the vicious monster.

I literally screamed and ran away when they all started attacking each other after Will tried giving them his soda. It was really scary and totally reminded me of the video of drunk monkeys. I'm just glad that most of the monkey's seem to stay inland and aren't near me.