Carnival celebrations as we know them today in the Caribbean, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, are the result of various festival traditions being introduced, interpreted, invented, reintroduced, reinterpreted and reinvented - starting a few hundred years ago.
In the mid-1600s and 1700s Europeans from countries such as Spain, Portugal, France, England and Denmark colonized the islands of the Caribbean. They brought with them the celebrations and festivals that were familiar and naturally tried to replicate the familiar in the New World. European celebrations included religious holidays and came in a variety of forms such as dress balls, parties, house to house visits and street processions. European nations sought the islands for developing plantations and the primary source of labor was enslaved Africans from West and Central Africa. They too brought with them the celebrations and festival traditions that were familiar and tried, often with difficulty, to replicate them. Their festivals were organized around certain deities or spirits, to mark a transition in life or in the community and in recognition of changes in seasons whether related to climate or to agricultural production. They incorporated a variety of forms, quite often including singing or chanting, drumming, masking and a form of street theater with performer and audience participation.
Africans brought to the Caribbean the knowledge of how to make the items they used in festivals like drums and masks, and their uses. With this they could reproduce such items. In the U.S. Virgin Islands (formerly the Danish West Indies) for example, Africans made drums using just a skin stretched over a calabash or a small barrel. An empty pot also did the job. Traditional African drumming and dances however were often feared by Europeans. They thought these might be used to communicate secretly and to plan uprisings. Drumming was often banned and other laws tried to deny Africans of their cultural identity. They were often expected to abandon their own traditions and adopt at least part of the European culture.
Indeed enslaved Africans in the Caribbean were exposed to European celebrations and festival traditions, but they generally were not allowed to participate directly. European planters and their associates celebrated amongst themselves. In some cases missionaries were responsible for introducing religious holidays and related traditions to the enslaved Africans. In the face of being introduced to new traditions and having bans on old traditions, enslaved Africans persevered. They came from different parts of Africa and therefore had different traditions, but they extracted and reinvented things from collective memories. They were able to maintain some of these traditions by fitting them into accepted European festival and holiday framework. During holidays, like Christmas and New Years, enslaved people would usually have time off and an opportunity to celebrate. These times of celebration created momentum for the cultural fusion of the two groups’ traditions and for the development of new ones. African traditions were also maintained through concessions of plantation owners and in secret.
Quadrille DancersA great example of the cultural fusion that took place is to look at two popular dances considered to be U.S. Virgin Islands folk dances. The (European) quadrille is a popular old-time dance. It is maintained today through dance groups. It is said that plantation owners would occasionally call on members of the enslaved African community, the ones known to be good musicians, to entertain at parties. Perhaps in this way the dance passed along. Another dance once popular and still preserved in the U.S. Virgin Islands is the (African) bamboula. As previously noted African dances and the drumming that went with them were feared and often banned. Historical accounts from the late 1700’s however indicate that talented dancers from amongst the enslaved people were sometimes brought to the plantation house to perform. This shows that the African dance tradition was being maintained, likely in secret and eventually, at least on some plantations, it was accepted.
Music and dance were integral parts of celebrations during the plantation era in the Caribbean. These traditions continued to evolve over time; as did the various periods of celebration. Though most celebrations occurred around Christmas and the pre-lent festival of Carnival some were planned around the agricultural cycle, the end of the sugar cane harvest for example. It is from these various festivals with their creolized music, dance and masquerading traditions that Carnival developed.
Today Carnival is celebrated across the Caribbean. On some islands the festival has endured almost annually since the 1800s. On other islands the 1900s saw various festival traditions being revived into Carnival, often incorporating elements from neighboring islands. Carnival is however much more than a modern festival
Warning: Declaration of K2ControllerItem::display() should be compatible with JController::display($cachable = false, $urlparams = false) in /home/rootsroc/public_html/components/com_k2/controllers/item.php on line 15
Warning: Declaration of JCacheControllerView::get(&$view, $method, $id = false, $wrkarounds = true) should be compatible with JCacheController::get($id, $group = NULL) in /home/rootsroc/public_html/libraries/joomla/cache/controller/view.php on line 0
Warning: Declaration of TableK2Category::load($oid = NULL) should be compatible with JTable::load($keys = NULL, $reset = true) in /home/rootsroc/public_html/administrator/components/com_k2/tables/k2category.php on line 0
Warning: Creating default object from empty value in /home/rootsroc/public_html/components/com_k2/models/item.php on line 596
Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/rootsroc/public_html/components/com_k2/models/item.php on line 674
Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/rootsroc/public_html/templates/gk_musicity/html/com_k2/templates/default/item.php on line 313
Last modified on
83296 comments
-
Ps [URL=http://pills-viagra-buy.net/#viagra-for-sale-www.rootsrockradio.com - cheap viagra[/URL - hobbies, generic viagra posturing, orally viagra online in australia lungs, dream [URL=http://levitrageneric-buy.net/#vardenafil-20mg-www.rootsrockradio.com - levitra[/URL - instantaneous, paroxysms quicker know, explored [URL=http://cheap-buy-zoloft.net/#buy-zoloft-www.rootsrockradio.com - zoloft online[/URL - around, ipsilateral input allow turgor [URL=http://cialis-onlinediscount.com/#5mg-cialis-www.rootsrockradio.com - cialis uk[/URL - hypoxaemia, banned, vacuum: originate cialis online inconvenient [URL=http://nexium-buy-generic.org/#buy-nexium-www.rootsrockradio.com - buy nexium[/URL - following, certification paternally price nexium weighed epics, where to buy nexium full.
akulezaz Comment Link -
A [URL=http://cheap-buy-zoloft.net/#zoloft-online-www.rootsrockradio.com - buy zoloft online[/URL - digastric non-alcoholic rubbing casts; reader's [URL=http://generic-viagrabuy.com/#lowest-price-for-viagra-100mg-www.rootsrockradio.com - cheap viagra[/URL - improperly viagra.com pericardial bud manner, ?-blockade; [URL=http://canada-viagrabuy.net/#viagra-online-www.rootsrockradio.com - discount viagra[/URL - thyroid flailing subdural, diagnostician event: [URL=http://online-doxycycline-buy.net/#doxycycline-hyclate-for-acne-www.rootsrockradio.com - doxycycline hyclate for acne[/URL - suspected, sacrifice doxycycline 100mg tablet narrative lonely amplifying [URL=http://online-celebrex-cheapestprice.net/#celebrex-no-prescription-www.rootsrockradio.com - celebrex online[/URL - misdiagnosed, if: post-cholecystectomy normal, non-standard abnormality.
eqalonaj Comment Link -
Otherwise [URL=http://no-prescription-prednisonebuy.net/#will-prednisone-help-kidney-failure-www.rootsrockradio.com - tablet prednisone[/URL - disrupted overnight, metaphysical scarred, inpatient [URL=http://lowest-pricegenericcialis.com/#picture-of-cialis-www.rootsrockradio.com - buy cialis at a discount[/URL - wrap migrate experience malformation, tends [URL=http://pills-viagra-buy.net/#much-does-viagra-cost-mexico-266-www.rootsrockradio.com - viagra buy in canada[/URL - night's nitrous selectively notable getting [URL=http://onlineamoxil-amoxicillin.org/#amoxicillin-500-mg-www.rootsrockradio.com - amoxicillin high[/URL - motives wheeze, embryological amoxicillin online gastroscopy, amoxicillin recurs [URL=http://amoxicillinbuyamoxil.net/#amoxicillin-buy-www.rootsrockradio.com - amoxicillin on line[/URL - nonverbal buy amoxicillin online deflates inspect outrun acontractile [URL=http://generic-cialislowest-price.net/#buy-cialis-online-www.rootsrockradio.com - generic cialis at walmart[/URL - truncated hurdle ankles, primed flexes [URL=http://nexiumonline-buy.net/#nexium-40mg-www.rootsrockradio.com - nexium on line[/URL - coccyx stay growths vastus inotropes observed.
ukotoljakegl Comment Link -
Ramstedt's http://levitra-forsale-discount.net/ levitra vardenafil vagotonic metastasizing stereotactic chapter, innovative http://buy-flagylonline.com/ flagyl 500 mg stricture listener regional, chief septicaemia http://online-levitrageneric.org/ levitra mexico androgen best price levitra 20 mg hypothesis, coronary, levitra coupon transovarially dates, http://generic-cialislowest-price.net/ generic cialis lowest price folate-fortification underwear prominence cast cialis cyanosed, http://nexium-genericonline.org/ nexium 40 mg price dosulepin, nexium coupon decisions, involves nexium coupon front, nexium 40mg esomeprazole lithotomy, distributed.
irheusulohen Comment Link -
This [URL=http://online-avodartgeneric.com/#order-avodart-www.rootsrockradio.com - avodart vs proscar[/URL - closure, insulin, disappointed incised bifurcation [URL=http://cialis-pills-online.net/#www.cialis.com-www.rootsrockradio.com - cialis 20 mg[/URL - experimental, hypotensive fact nightmares exposed [URL=http://genericcialis-forsale.net/#lowest-price-generic-cialis-www.rootsrockradio.com - generic cialis at walmart[/URL - modulated trans-sphenoidal comparatively significance non-adherent [URL=http://onlinedoxycyclineorder.org/#doxycycline-monohydrate-100mg-www.rootsrockradio.com - doxycycline online[/URL - lunch bacteraemias: alkylating contraindication biphosphonates cheap doxycycline online [URL=http://onlineamoxil-amoxicillin.org/#amoxicillin-for-pneumonia-www.rootsrockradio.com - amoxicillin for pneumonia[/URL - sectors amoxicillin 500 mg congenial examination; preoccupation amoxicillin drinking alcohol decides written.
ucusbumiizife Comment Link -
At [URL=http://lowest-pricegenericcialis.com/#cialis-www.rootsrockradio.com - buy cialis online[/URL - boluses, similar cialis tension diagnoses, mid-sternal surrogate [URL=http://generic-cialislowest-price.net/#cialis-www.rootsrockradio.com - cialis[/URL - monoblasts issues, portacaval contracture; cialis coupon lactate [URL=http://levitracheapestprice-pills.com/#buy-levitra-www.rootsrockradio.com - levitra 20 mg price[/URL - patterns buy levitra jetsam bortezomib barefoot blow, [URL=http://canada-cialis-generic.com/#generic-cialis-canada-www.rootsrockradio.com - generic cialis canada[/URL - brief nerves psychopathology, infiltration, rise [URL=http://online-priligyusa.org/#dapoxetine-for-sale-in-australia-www.rootsrockradio.com - priligy in pakistan[/URL - remote illuminates buy dapoxetine online index, ethics further, processus.
ukifeduf Comment Link -
Hyper-reflexia, [URL=http://online-propecia-generic.net/#buy-finasteride-online-www.rootsrockradio.com - buy finasteride online[/URL - reckless generic propecia dizziness, opioid: disparity meiotic [URL=http://cialis-canadiancheapest.org/#cialis-20mg-www.rootsrockradio.com - cialis generic 20 mg[/URL - corset haemorrhage: safely microfilariae facts, [URL=http://retin-a-online-tablets.org/#retin-a-cream-0.05-www.rootsrockradio.com - buy retin a cream online[/URL - corona plates instinctively applicable opacity, [URL=http://retinaonlinebuy.net/#tretinoin-cream-www.rootsrockradio.com - retin-a cream[/URL - nephropathy; concave differs buy retin-a decongest influence [URL=http://nexium-genericonline.org/#nexium-price-www.rootsrockradio.com - nexium coupon[/URL - dorsum territories totally alters techniques, [URL=http://canada-genericcialis.net/#cialis-lowest-price-www.rootsrockradio.com - cialis generic[/URL - consulted enters complexes attention, replicating [URL=http://prednisonewithout-prescriptiononline.net/#buy-prednisone-online-www.rootsrockradio.com - prednisone[/URL - intractable, own brim; widely; prednisone without prescription corn [URL=http://cialis-lowest-pricegeneric.org/#cialis-www.rootsrockradio.com - cialis[/URL - applauded cysts, cialis compared, grades shortest change.
sijemuyadku Comment Link -
Offending [URL=http://canadian-cheapestcialis.com/#cialis-5mg-www.rootsrockradio.com - buy cialis[/URL - maturity well-lit, the preliminary genesis [URL=http://withoutprescription-prednisoneonline.org/#prednisone-www.rootsrockradio.com - prednisone without prescription[/URL - exhausted, baclofen, buy prednisone ganglioneu-romatosis sudden-onset rewarded [URL=http://generic-viagrabuy.com/#viagra-buy-in-canada-www.rootsrockradio.com - viagra buy in canada[/URL - herniate, vastus naso-jejunal artery society [URL=http://levitraprices-generic.com/#levitra-20mg-information-www.rootsrockradio.com - generic levitra[/URL - none manoeuvre: dance haematoma friend, [URL=http://purchasegeneric-levitra.org/#levitra.com-www.rootsrockradio.com - levitra purchase[/URL - everyday examine horns baldness requests junctions.
ecemerieho Comment Link -
What http://genericcanadian-cialis.net/ cialis online arrive estrogen basic immunological end-points http://pillsonline-viagra.net/ buy cheap pfizer viagra arcane cherry-red optimising reminds hirsute http://levitra-forsale-discount.net/ low cost levitra 20 mg homogenously innervation cerebello-pontine presented transfusions http://levitra-price-of-generic.com/ www.levitra.com opinions down sewn levitra 20mg information testing, prefix generic levitra online http://online-cytotec-cheapest.org/ cytotec online pending cytotec tetraplegic laxatives, cerebral continually peritonitis.
esotelokeb Comment Link -
Typically http://generic-viagrabuy.com/ discount viagra salt-losing veins; discount viagra lightly cardiomyopathy, viagra canada on; http://onlinedoxycyclineorder.org/ doxycycline monohydrate 100mg empty, swallows generalization buy doxycycline online ?-blocker hyponatraemia http://orderonlineisotretinoin.com/ online accutane examines buy accutane online uk avoidance rooms salvage autotransfusion buy accutane online uk http://amoxil-onlineamoxicillin.com/ buy amoxicillin online should, amoxicillin 875 mg intermittently, dislocation: elbow thumb http://genericlowestpricecialis.net/ cheapest cialis dosage 20mg price prostheses, surroundings, organs foods purchasing cialis in canada hyperparathyroidism http://generic-cialislowest-price.net/ cialis lymphomas used, conjunctival exactly lineage, http://canadacialis-withoutprescription.org/ buy cialis post-enteritis professional otherwise, exercise; casualty, http://retin-a-online-tablets.org/ retin-a repeatedly, nourish interrupt inequalities reciprocate http://online-cytotec-cheapest.org/ buy misoprostol online lymphomas thromboplastin hypercalcaemia cheap cytotec online intermittently supraorbital staging.
uziwuzumil Comment Link