Anatomy of a festival

With this set of diagrams, I have attempted to dissect the main urban characteristics of Trinidad’s Carnival. The photographs follow the main carnival route, as shown in the key map in red.

By separating the individual parts that are specific to the festival, it’s anatomy becomes quite clear. The next stage of this set of diagrams will be to add a layer of information about the places in the city in which theses images are taken.

These 12 diagrams walk you through Port of Spain. The places they are taken are listed below, in order of appearance:

Ariapita Avenue

Adam Smith Square

Park Street (outside of Lapeyrose cemetery)

St. Vincent Street upper

St. Vincent Street Lower

Independence Square

Twin Towers (outside Central Bank Trinidad)

South Quay lower

South Quay Judging Point

Rosary Junction

Charlotte Street

Queens Park Savannah

a begining

Guinea John[1] went to the East Coast of Trinidad and climbed up a cliff in Manzanilla. He put 2 corn cobs under his arms and flew back to Africa; leaving behind his children and grandchildren to fend for themselves. It wasn’t that   Guinea John did not care about his descendents, but he knew that they had eaten too much salt on the island; and that they were too heavy to fly back to Africa. So rather than burden them with the wisdom of flight and levitation that they could never use, he took it back with him to Africa, leaving them now bound to Trinidad. Two hundred years ago Gang Gang Sarah tried to fly home too. She was a witch who was blown from her home in Africa to Trinidad. She had a long life in Trinidad where she became known for her kindness to the villagers. When her husband died, she climbed to the top of the tallest silk cotton tree[2] in Tobago to try to fly back to Africa.  Gang Gang Sarah fell to her death when she jumped from the branches – too heavy with salt to fly home. So now Totoben and Maisie[3] have become Trinidadian and their fractured history, a part of their reconstructed reality.

---

[1] From the novel Salt by Earl Lovelace, pg 3.

[2] The silk cotton tree is known locally as a tree in which spirits reside. It is supposedly difficult to find someone who will cut one down. This particular tree, relevant in this myth still stands today.

[3] Totoben and Maisie; main personas in the publication Caribana: African Roots and Continuities, by Nourbese Philips

voice

I’m struggling to begin writing my individual stories. I know that the way in which I articulate these stories will be crucial in representing where each persona stands in the world. For example, for the Colonial narrative, it seems natural to me that it is simply a historical account; perhaps written as so many accounts are from that time, as letters between governors and officers; speaking from a cool, Christian, separated experience of the New World. The African story however is much more problematic. The spirit of Carnival in Trinidad itself needs to come through. Also, given the power of oral tradition within Yoruban society, it seems most reasonable to me that that story is articulated through personas and experiences. It’s very important though that that story is very thorough and remains focused on forming a picture of Trinidad now. The Pagan story will probably be the most difficult. I’ve narrowed down the scope of that experience to look at the evolution of Dionysus into Bacchus and into Pan. Through looking at the celebrations that occur in honour of this character, I hope to create an understanding of the ancient beginnings of celebration that through the rise of Christianity becomes crystallised into Carnival. 

In the end the entire point of this chapter is to give the reader a significant insight into the simultaneous stories that co-exist and form Trinidad's Carnival. But it’s extremely difficult to keep each voice steady in my head. I confuse myself before I even begin to write! I really need to start writing though – so my next post will be part of my 1^st story.

Someone please hold me to that!