Carnival: Constructing Cultural,
National and Individual Trinidadian
Identity through Festival
Mikinee Moses
Dr. Randall Hill and Dr. Andrea Nouryea, Faculty Mentors
McNair Summer 2005 Research
The function of identity is to link the members of all cultural epistemic communities, and rituals are a manifestation of this linking. Many countries have their unique rituals that reflect cultural, national and individual identity. I am investigating the ritual of Carnival on the cosmopolitan islands of Trinidad and Tobago as a means to identify and understand my epistemic community. Carnival is held on Monday and Tuesday before the beginning of the Lenten season. The components of Trinidad carnival that I shall investigate are Calypso/Soca/Chutney Soca music, Steel-pan, J’Ouvert and Mas. I will look at the historical background and aspects of these events that make the Trinidadian unique.