The Europeans brought Indians to Trinidad and Tobago as indentured labourers. Many of my ancestors came on the boat from India. Figure 4 is a picture of the Hindu God, Hanuman, that my great, great grandfather brought with him on the boat from India, in his "jaji" bundle, or meager belongings. When Indian Indentures came to the Caribbean, not only they bring belongings but they also brought their culture and religion.
    Their religion was a big part of their life. This played a big role in the shaping of their identity in the Caribbean. Three of the religious socializing agents are family, church and peers (Religious Studies Center). The religion of the Indian Indentures had a big impact on the Caribbean, especially in Trinidad. 
     "During Indian Indentureship a total of 143,939 Indians migrated to Trinidad and Tobago approximately 88 percent of whom practised various facets of Hinduism" (Sherry-Ann Singh). Indians built many temples all over Trinidad that are now historical sites such as the temple in the sea in Waterloo, the hanuman murti in Orange Field and many others. Many Hindu religious observation days are now public holidays like Diwali. These religions had such an impact on the country that they decided to open religious schools to educate children and teach them about these religions. 
    However,  Hinduism is not the only religion that impacted the Caribbean. The Spanish introduced Roman Catholicism to the Caribbean. Their purpose was to educate and convert the 'natives' to Christianity. Many churches and schools were built. Many Indians, including myself, have converted to other religions after being educated about them (East Indians in Trinidad).        Today, while there is a large number of Hindus, there is even a larger amount of Christians particularly Roman Catholics with 26% of the population in Trinidad. There is now 22.6% of the population that follow Hinduism (Trinidad and Tobago). Religion has impacted the Caribbean but our music has impacted the world. 

    Many people from different countries enjoy these types of music that Caribbean people have created. "Chutney music is a derivative of traditional East Indian music into which the Indentured and their descendants injected their expressions to create a completely new music form" (The Making of Trini Chutney). From this chutney evolved chutney-soca music. This was a mixture of their folk dance, music, and calypso of the Creoles. 
    In the Caribbean, chutney-soca music is a big contribution to Caribbean life/identity. There is even an event called Chutney-Soca Monarch which is a competition that displays all the chutney-soca music that came out for the year and what was most popular/most played in that time. This event is now not only a cultural gathering but over the years it has turned into a profitable event. Although the event is very profitable it is also very expensive. The government has decided to cut the funding by 75 percent. The first prize will now be $500,000 for this years' show. (Gov't Slashes Chutney Soca Monarch Funding). 
     "Today’s widespread popularity of chutney soca among Trinidadians of all backgrounds can be credited in part to the introduction of the Chutney Soca Monarch competition in 1995, open to all performers of the genre"  (Caribbean Soca Succession). One key artist in the Caribbean today, Drupatee Ramgoonai who is a Chutney-Soca singer in Trinidad, has become very popular along with Rikki Jai in this competition.