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The culture of Trinidad and Tobago reflects the influence of

Amerindian, Chinese, British, French and to a lesser extent Spanish and Portuguese cultures. The histories of Trinidad and Tobago

are different, and there are contrasts in the cultural influences which have shaped each island. There are also regional differences within each island.

Trinidad and Tobago is an

English-speaking country with strong links to the United Kingdom. Historical membership in the British Empire left a major influence on the country, including the dominance of the English language and the popularity of the two top sports in the country, football and cricket

.

Festivals

Carnival

The most influential single cultural factor in Trinidad and Tobago is

Trinidad Carnival. Carnival was originally confined to the upper classes, which rode the streets in floats, or watched from the upper stories of residences and businesses. The night was given over to the lower classes. The first few hours of Carnival Monday morning, from about 4 am until sunrise was known as J'ouvert

(a contraction of jour ouvert). Costumed and masked by the darkness, J'ouvert allowed the wealthy to mix with the poor in relative anonymity. Monday night (night 'mas) had a similar, but lesser function.

Mas'

The daytime of Carnival Monday and Tuesday are dominated by costumed masqueraders. Until World War II, most of these masqueraders portrayed traditional characters including the Midnight Robber, Police and Thief, Wild Indian, Bat', Jab Molassie, Jab Jab, Red Devil, Blue Devil, and Dame Lorraine. With the wartime^[when?] presence of US soldiers (and war movies) Sailor Mas' was added. In the postwar period, individuals gave way to organised bands, which today can include thousands of masqueraders. Peter Minshall is often considered the greatest mas' designer.^[why?]

Carnival fetes

Carnival take place most heatedly during the week before the actual parade of bands on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. However, traditionally, the Carnival season begins on Boxing Day December 26 and soca and calypso music reign supreme over the airwaves. The fetes that take place from year end through carnival (usually in February) are generally carnival-themed and feature live music from bands and soca artists who are promoting their song contributions for the year.

Christmas

In

fruit cake, sweet bread (paime)^{[clarification needed]} are customary eats; Peardrax,^[1] ponche de creme ("punchin'"), ginger beer, sorrel wine are the drinks. As most of the residents are Christian

, Christmas is one of the biggest celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago.

Divali

is a Hindu festival, a celebration of the victory of good over evil.

Hosay

tadjah

at Hosay in the 1950s.

Remembrance of Muharram in Trinidad and Tobago^[2] (where is it spelled Hussay). The name Hosay comes from "Husayn", whose martyrdom is commemorated in the festival.^[why?] .^[why?

] Recently it has been revived elsewhere.

Phagwah

An East Indian spring festival, celebrated as a festival of colours.

Shivaratri

A Hindu Festival celebrated with an annual carnival in which thousands of devotees spend night in over 400 temples across the land, offering special jhalls (a mixture of milk, dhai, flowers, sugar-cane, sweets) to Lord Shiva.^[3]

Music

Legislative Council, and the elected town councils of Port of Spain and San Fernando. As English replaced patois (Creole French) as the dominant language, calypso migrated into English, and in so doing it attracted more attention from the government. Calypso continued to play an important role in political expression, and also served to document the history of Trinidad and Tobago.^{[clarification needed}

]

Calypso Music and Nationalism

In terms of political expression, Calypso music was the beginning of Trinidadian Nationalism. During the 1930s and 1940s, Trinidad was looking for ways to rebel against the British Empire. Nationalists used Calypso music as a way to garner Trinidadian Nationalism, “they proposed the existence of a distinctly Trinidadian culture, claiming its most eloquent expression was a musical form” [4]. Songs expressed ideas of what Nationalists believed local culture should and ought to be in a purely Trinidadian run nation. For Nationalists culture and music should be “raw, crude, and uncorrupted by modernity…[songs] offered a kind of “hidden transcript” of folk authored resistance” ^[5] . In this same moment the United States was beginning to build a base on the island. As a result, Americans present on the island began to listen and approve of this new type of music and culture. This approval helped to popularize Calypso and allowed the Nationalism movement to encounter a wider, global audience^[6].

Soca

Soca is a dance music which is a mix of Trinidad's calypso and Indian music and rhythms, especially

Shorty's classic compositions "Ïndrani" and "Shanti Om". Soca and its derivatives (Chutney soca, Groovy soca, Ragga soca) have largely displaced mainstream calypso as the music of Carnival

.

Chutney

Chutney was born out of the East Indian influence in Trinidad, and derives elements both from traditional Indian music and popular soca music.

Rapso

Rapso is a uniquely Trinidadian music that grew out of the social unrest of the 1970s, though it is often described as a fusion of soca and calypso with American hip hop.

Parang

Parang is a music with Caribbean and Latin American cultural influences. The word is derived from two Spanish words: Parranda, meaning "a spree or fete" and Parar meaning "to stop". Parang is a popular folk music originating out of Trinidad and Tobago, it is part of the Island's Hispanic heritage that originated from over 400 years ago during Spanish rule via Venezuela.

Pichakaree

Pichakaree is an

Indo-Trinidadian musical form which originated in Trinidad and Tobago. Pichakaree songs are generally social commentary, and are sung using a mixture of Hindi, English and Bhojpuri words. The musical form was devised by RaviJi, spiritual leader of the Hindu Prachar Kendra.^[when?] Pichakaree competitions are an integral part of Phagwa celebrations hosted by the Hindu Prachar Kendra.^[who?

]

Steelband

The

steelband developed during wartime.^[when?] They were preceded by the Tambu Bamboo bands, which used percussion instruments based on bamboo

. The steelband movement developed in the postwar period with many bands taking names from war movies like Casablanca, Tokyo, Free French and Tripoli.

Cuisine

The cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago draws upon the varied origins of its people. Three influences predominate, Creole, Indian and Chinese cuisine.

Creole food commonly includes

restaurants

.

Theatre

The first permanent folk-dance company and theatre in Trinidad was the Little Carib Theatre. See: Beryl McBurnie.

Literary scene

Trinidad and Tobago has produced many noted writers, including Nobel laureates Sir Vidia Naipaul and St. Lucia–born poet Derek Walcott, and other award-winning authors such as Earl Lovelace and Michael Anthony.

Religion

The largest religious groups are the

Pentecostal" by most Trinidadians (although this designation is often inaccurate). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

(LDS Church), has also expanded its presence in the country since the mid-1980s.

References

^ Vanished UK drink is toast of Caribbean, an April 2007 article from the BBC website
^ Korom, Frank . Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas, Austin. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2003/shankarg036/shankarg036.pdf. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Grand Shivratri Carnival celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
^ Neptune, Harvey. Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the United States Occupation. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 20.
^ Neptune, Harveu. Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the United States Occupation. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 48.
^ Neptune, Harvey. Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the United States Occupation. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 138-139.

Category:Trinidad and Tobago culture

[bbc-1] Vanished UK drink is toast of Caribbean, an April 2007 article from the BBC website

[2] Korom, Frank . Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas, Austin. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2003/shankarg036/shankarg036.pdf. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[3] "Grand Shivratri Carnival celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 1 March 2014.

[4] Neptune, Harvey. Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the United States Occupation. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 20.

[5] Neptune, Harveu. Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the United States Occupation. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 48.

[6] Neptune, Harvey. Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the United States Occupation. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 138-139.

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[6]

Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean
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Dependencies not included. Semi-autonomous territories are in italics.