Carnival, a festival marked by merrymaking and processions, was raised up as a cheap way for former slaves to celebrate the end of slavery while mocking the dress and mannerisms of Massa.Somewhere along the line Trinis forgot this. They began to fall into the capitalists propaganda of Carnival for commercial reasons.So here they are believing Carnival means the Peter Minshalls and other mas designers' costuming. Originally, mas players indulged their own creativity. They made their own costumes. They also simply gathered together to form their own bands. There were no fees. No security ropes. No NCC authority herding mas players along city streets like slaves.Slavery has resurfaced in modern mas. Slavery to the capitalists, to the dollar, to vanity, to fear, to snobbery, to class polarisation, to falling under the control of Massa.
Sarah Parks,
via e-mail