Photo credit: The Ultimate Trinidad Carnival 2019 website. 

Link to website: http://trinidadcarnivalpackages.blogspot.com/2018/03/ultimate-trinidad-carnival-2019-is-here.html 

The photo shown above truly represents the statement “all ah we is one”. This photo was taken in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad in 2019 on carnival Tuesday. In this photo we can identify various ethnicities coming together to celebrate carnival in their colourful costumes, flaunting gems and fancy feathers as they make their journey through the town. Individuals from across the globe usually visit Trinidad to celebrate carnival among the locals. Culture brings us together and religion promotes us as one, however race divides us. But regardless of culture, religion or race we all get along.  

According to Parekh (2000) culture can be defined as a body of beliefs and practices in terms of which a group of people understand themselves and the world and organize their individual and collective lives. Trinidad and Tobago along with other Caribbean islands can be viewed as a mass melting pot. Meaning, because of our history we can be viewed as a multicultural society. Sociologist Orlando Patterson believed that the Caribbean was artificially created to serve the economic needs of the European colonists[1]. To achieve this, individuals from Africa, India and a few other destinations were sometimes forcefully removed from their homelands and others came voluntarily to serve as a labour force for the colonies. Thus these individuals brought their social and cultural traits which contributed to the moulding of society today. 

In the Caribbean there is a strong African influence that invades music, dance, artistry, literature, speech forums and religious practises. The assumed explanation for this is that since Africa had insignificant cultural development the slaves should have left their culture in the Middle Passage. This belief suggested that the Africans would arrive as a blank slate ready to adapt to the Europeans custom and beliefs. Life in the Caribbean made it almost impossible to practise their ancestral patterns of living as plantation owners ensured that members of the same tribe were separated throughout different plantations. However in attempt to adapt to the new world some aspects of their culture were abandoned and some were modified to create new cultural practises. The adaption for the Africans can be referred to as Creolization. With the large number of Africans settling in the local society and the length of time they would have spent, contributed tremendously to the Afro-Caribbean culture.  Despite having a dominant European society and culture, the African communities survived. A unique opportunity was provided for the Africans because of the lack of cultural homogeneity by the planation elites whereby the Africans were able to create their own society and influence the culture. 

It is no secret that the Caribbean is a multi-lingual and diverse nation, the spoken language in the Caribbean may be one of the following; English, Spanish, French or Dutch. Haiti for example has a creole dialect which contains a french vocabulary but it is heavily influenced with an African input which therefore creates a language of its own. Creole was first applied as a term by French explorer Michel Jajolet, sieur de la Courbe, in his premier voyage du sieur de la Courbe on the coast of Africa in 1685. He used the term to refer to a Portuguese based language that was spoken in Senegal. As a linguistic term, creole may not have been applied to other languages until the late eighteenth century, it was not also applied to English until after 1825. The term that was commonly used instead of creole was patois. Besides African culture influencing linguistics it also influenced festivals. 

In 1795 the French introduced carnival as seen in Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Cuba and Brazil however the enslaved had their own little twist. While the French introduced the masked balls with fancy gems and accessories, the enslaved developed their own celebration using African rituals and folklore, along with imitating their masters’ behaviour.  In Trinidad and Tobago this is known as ole mass which is celebrated on carnival Monday in a parade like form. After emancipation the Africans tried to keep the carnival celebrations alive by taking their celebrations elaborately through the streets. As time elapsed and the black population enjoyed their annual celebration of carnival, the bourgeoisie tried to demolish carnival as a public festival. By the twentieth century carnival attracted all races and classes from different countries around the world, eventually it led to the approval and the official support from the government of these islands. Folk festivals have earned the respect of various ethnicities with different cultures, folk festivals are also open to all classes and races, for many aspects with regards to folklore festivals are owed to the African- Caribbean people.

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” – Mahatma Ghandi. Religion in the Caribbean today is dominated by Christianity as it did during the period of slavery, various forms of Christianity can be found throughout the islands. When the Europeans arrived in the Caribbean they brought forth their own religions. Specifically the French and Spanish were representatives of Catholics while the British were Protestants, however the Dutch brought aspects of their own reform beliefs along with Catholicism. Due to the fact that the region was constantly being claimed by various nations religion became mixed creating religious diversity. To understand the diversity of religion in the Caribbean today we must acknowledge the religions of the slaves and indentured labourers as those assisted in forming the diverse religions we know today. 

Voodoo the religion of Haiti was coined together from some aspects of Christianity and various African tribes which is currently practised by Haitians. The word voodoo derives from a fon word used by West African tribes to describe spirits in which they serve. Haitian voodoo which is influenced by West Africa refers to the practise of ancestral magic, it was brought by Africans who were forcefully removed from their homes and brought to the Caribbean island Hispaniola to serve as slaves on plantations. In Haiti someone whom practises voodoo would be regarded by their rank or says mwen sa vi lwa pronounced (Moo-en Say-vee luh-Wah).  Haitians refer to voodoo not as a religion but as a way of life. Elements of Catholicism is strongly identified in voodoo rituals along with imagery. Religion also formed a source of communication among the slaves throughout different plantations which united the slaves. Franasois Makandal a famous maroon leader established various networks between maroon slaves and African slaves.  Between 1751 and 1757 Makandal led a rebellion in Saint Dominque.  It is important to note that African and Taino religious practices both played important parts in Makandal’s movement. As we have discussed the role of African tribes and Christianity in contributing to a new religion in the Caribbean as seen in Haiti we must also discuss the indentured labourers. 

Indentured labourers were brought to the Caribbean to replace slaves, the group of indentured labourers included Chinese, Africans, Whites, Portuguese, Syrians, Lebanese and East Indians. East Indians were by far the largest group with approximately four hundred and three thousand immigrants in the Caribbean. They specifically came from Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.  It is important to note that Hinduism experienced a reconstruction in the Caribbean when compared to the religious texts of India such as Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana and it shows that Hinduism has survived as described in these religious texts. However this is where the diversity begins, new Hindu traditions are being introduced to the social life of the Caribbean because of their social interactions with other cultures. This interaction thus paved the way for new cultural construction in the Caribbean. For example in a village of south Trinidad Hindus go to pray at a Catholic church, when usually it would be a temple.  Similarly as well as in Guadeloupe, though the Hinduism survived it adapted to the French culture with Christianity being dominant.  Referring to the term “all ah we is one”, we have already discussed two reasons such as culture and religion as to why we can refer to ourselves as one. However there is one distinct point that separates us, which is race. 

Discussing race in the Caribbean can be a very touchy subject, it often ends in an argument because as in the motherlands, racism also exists in the Caribbean. Racism in the Caribbean began in the days of slavery whereby the plantation owners separated themselves from the slaves not by identifying themselves by their status in society but by their colour. Hence whites always being identified as superior even in the present. Racism is referred to the belief that someone is inferior to you simply because of their race. As we previously discussed, history in the Caribbean as a lot to do with its current status today. The Caribbean has a multi-lingual and multi-cultural society because of slavery and indentured labourers. Africans, East Indians, Kalinagos, Tainos and whites did not choose to live together because they felt like it. Everyone was tied to either ruling a planation, captured for the purpose of labour or the promise of a better life in return to provide labour. For example let us take into consideration the twin island Trinidad and Tobago, the population is made up of mainly Africans and East Indians. Anyone with social media can identify the hasty and disrespectful comments made towards each other, prejudice and racism continues till this very day.  There is no signs of racism disappearing anytime soon. When you think separation between both races cannot occur any further than it already has, it does. Politics also play a huge role when it comes to dividing the country. The politician does not encourage this but the followers do, it is sort of imbedded in them per say as each generation blindly becomes a supporter to a specific political party mainly because of their parents. For instance in Trinidad and Tobago the biggest political rivals are the People’s National Movement and the United National Congress this separates us like nothing else in this world, the commentary involved can be disgusting and disrespectful.  It must be acknowledge that colonisation erased heritage and forced European standards, like Talcott Parsons a famous sociologist who promotes the western world to be superior. 

The Caribbean is filled with beautiful flora and fauna which acts as a magnet to pull foreigners to explore their beautiful islands, paired together with diverse culture and reconstructed religions, it is a magnificent site to see as it shows everyone how the people of the Caribbean can be identified as one despite few separation factors. It is no surprise to see a Christian attending a Hindu festival such as Divali or Phagwa or even a Hindu being married to a Muslim, which we know in other nations can be forbidden.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

Ø   Mustapha Nasser. Culture in the Caribbean. Sociology for Caribbean students. Ian Randle Publishers. 2013. Jamaica

Ø  Tann Chita Mambo. Haitian Voodoo. An introduction to Haiti’s Indigenous Spiritual Tradition. Llewellyn Publications. 2012. Woodbury Minnesota

Ø  Beasley M Nicholas. Christian ritual and the creation of British slave societies 1650-1780. University of Georgia Press. 2009. Athens Georgia. 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Mustapha Nasser. Culture in the Caribbean.  Sociology for Caribbean students. Ian Randle Publishers. 2013. Jamaica