(Courtesy: Caribana Toronto/Facebook)
“Carnival isn’t just feathers and a grand parade, it’s legacy and a lineage of Caribbean culture,” says the author of Two Times Removed: An Anthology of Indo-Caribbean Fiction by Tiara Jade Chutkhan. Here is all about the origins of how Caribbean Carnival came to be.
There is no doubt that if you have experienced Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival it is a vibe. From the energy to beautiful costumes and lively music there is no other feeling like it. But many don’t know how carnival came to be. In an interview with Tiara Chutkhan, she tells us all about the origins of the beloved Caribbean Carnival parade and why it is so important for the Caribbean community.
“Our roots of carnival come from resistance come from empowerment come from protest,” Tiara said.
During the carnival season, she said she can’t help but think of how far the Caribbean community has come since the carnival’s origins. Caribbean ancestors during the mid-1700s to early 1800s fought to be able to have the celebration of the carnival we now see today.
In the interview, Tiara talked about how carnival started with the Afro-Caribbean ancestors and it started because they weren’t allowed to celebrate with instruments, religion or music. It was outlawed even after they were freed from slavery.
During the origins of carnival, people made costumes out of the things they could find, they used what they had at home. Like rice bags covered in the leaves of plantain trees. Bigger celebrations led by those who colonized the Caribbean did not allow them to participate.
So, Carnival started as a celebration of freedom “Even though there are these rules in place, we can’t do certain things were standing up to that and taking part and we are celebrating our freedom and emancipation with the things that are a part of our culture” said Tiara
Tiara said that as an last generation gets older and can’t participate as they used to she hopes to see younger people have an interest in carrying on the legacy. If you haven’t experienced the beauty of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival be sure to check it out next year around.
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