The biggest party of the year
Carnival is the most important festival of the archipelago. It is the most federative festival of the year, capable of getting the whole island moving! The Sunday after Epiphany opens the festivities, which last until Ash Wednesday. Days and nights follow one another in frenzy and joy!
The costumes compete with each other in inventiveness. It is said that, after Rio de Janeiro and Louisiana, the parades of Pointe-à-Pitre and Basse-Terre are the most elaborate. The perpetual delay of the parades in relation to the announced schedule tends to diminish every year. But the show is no less enchanting! Specialist shops and garment workshops are busy from the start of the winter season. From the romantic to the most modern, including sexy outfits, the naive DIY is often the tastiest. But certainly, the clothes of rhinestones and light of each commune shine for the time of a parade. Everyone gives free rein to his imagination through shimmering disguises, playing his role a little better each day, ensuring his own staging ... Carnival is a time of great release, the ultimate outlet for differences. During these weeks, Blacks, Whites, Coolies, Békés or Métisses evolve under the mask of anonymity. And as in the férias in the south of France, the desire to be together is unleashed.
The three most important days of the Carnival each have a dominant colour that can be found in the people's disguises. This meeting of masks and costumes takes place within the framework of a musical and rhythmic intrigue. Vaval, king of the festival is the mythical character. His effigy is burnt at the end of the carnival to signify that the festival is over. Of course, radios, television channels and the Internet then take over and broadcast a sort of anthem, usually a hit with explicit lyrics, which breaks all audience records. The Guadeloupean carnival is a year of waiting, a quarter of preparations but above all weeks of celebration and popular jubilation eagerly awaited by the whole population!
History of the carnival
The Guadeloupean carnival has its origins in the colonial past of the archipelago. When Catholic settlers settled in the West Indies during the 17th century, they brought with them their customs, including carnival festivities. Visiting each other's properties, they organized beautiful receptions and masked balls before the Lenten period. At that time, slaves could not participate in all these festivities. They were in fact forbidden to gather together by article 16 of the Black Code promulgated by Louis XIV in 1685. They would then organize their own festivities, but with their own touch. We then find elements directly imported from their African culture such as masks, songs, musical instruments (drum, ti-bois, cha-cha...) or even beliefs. These festive moments are marked by the reappropriation of African deities.
The masters will then authorize the organization of parades within the properties. This carnival offers them a moment of celebration and escape from their daily life as slaves. They can, for example, make fun of their masters without fear of repercussions, with songs or costumes. If the feast days ended on Shrove Tuesday for the masters, giving way to Lent, the slave carnival continued until Ash Wednesday.
During the 18th century, carnival was subject to prohibitions. Before the abolition of slavery, it was forbidden for slaves to parade beyond the property of the masters. It was only after the end of the slave system that former slaves were finally allowed to parade through the streets.Symbols linked to history
The carnival period allows Christians to have fun and enjoy themselves before the hardships of Lent. It begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts 40 days. Even today, the Caribbean carnival still has symbolic elements that are very much marked by African culture and the past of the slaves: whips, masks, drums, musical instruments... It is necessary to be aware of the particular history of the West Indies and the struggle of the slaves to understand the presence of these symbols.
Fatty days
If the festive period extends over several weeks, the most festive days are the fat days, from Sunday to Ash Wednesday.
Shrove Sunday is marked by a large colourful masked parade with floats and bands. The cracking whips are a direct reference to the years of slavery. Shrove Monday is the day of the inversion. Men disguise themselves as women and vice versa. Burlesque weddings take place. In the evening, a large night parade is held. Mardi Gras is the festival of the Red Devils. Devils and imps, all dressed in red, accompany the floats for a parade. On one of the floats you can see Vaval, the king of Carnival.
Finally, Ash Wednesday is the day of the great "déboulé". It is the climax of the carnival, after months of preparation and weeks of festivities. The groups parade in black and white and celebrate the end of the festivities.
Vaval, the king of the carnival
If the Christian carnival has a king of madmen who will be sacrificed before Lent, the West Indian carnival, with its multiple influences, also has an emblematic figure. There is a king who takes the appearance of a mannequin who parades throughout the city. This is Vaval, king of the carnival. Each year, a societal, political or environmental theme is attributed to the new King Vaval. This mythical figure parades in several parades before being burned in the public square. The "burning Vaval" marks the end of Carnival. This cremation is symbolically strong: it is a purification of souls before the beginning of the Lenten period when restrictions will be imposed.
The bands, stars of the parades
The big parades are formed by many carnival groups. Guadeloupe today has about 80 of these groups, which can be classified into different categories.
Some groups use modern instruments. One finds for example the groups with clear breaks, where dancers and musicians parade on foot, the whole in a mixture of colors, sublime decorations. The brass instruments give the rhythm of the parade. The bands with synthesizers are made up of "synths", bass guitars and loudspeakers on board a van. The choreographies of the dancers are at the rendezvous. This type of group was very common until the 1970s, when foot parades became more important.
Today, traditional groups are more and more present in parades. The "skin groups" (gwoup a po in Creole) are composed of musicians who use traditional instruments: drum covered with a goatskin or lambi conch. Young carnivalists, at the front of the groups, crack whips in memory of slavery. The Akiyo group is a reference in this field.
Appearing in the 2000s, the "Ti Mass groups" mainly attract young people. The members wear gorilla masks while the musicians beat on drums and snare drums. The best known of these groups is Mass Moul Massif, whose reputation is well established.
Mas Vyféò is a group from the commune of Vieux-Fort. It was formed at the beginning of the 20th century and has the peculiarity of having always kept the same traditional costume: madras fabric, ribbons, mesh mask, mirrors in the headdress. The musical style of the group is also original since it is based on flute, accordion, triangle and cha-chas.
The carnival also allows the meeting of minority cultural communities on the Guadeloupean territory, since there are Haitian, Brazilian and Dominican groups. There is even a Breton group, Bagad-Karukéra, which mixes the sounds of the bagpipes and the Ka (local traditional drum).Mythical characters
At the heart of the groups marching, you will meet mythical characters who have become symbols in the parades. All these characters draw from European and African culture and from the period of slavery.
Men and women disguise themselves and embody the "Neg Marron". Dressed in loincloths, they are entirely covered with molasses (drum syrup mixed with soot). They represent the Negro Maroons, that is to say the fugitive slaves who had deserted the plantations and who lived independently in the forests, hiding from the masters.
Conch blowers are men blowing into a lambi conch, which serves as a musical instrument. At the time, lambi conches were used in the villages to announce a death or a natural disaster.
Another recognizable character, the "malpwops" are people dressed in very sexy outfits or in small outfits to parade. They were initially present at Fat Monday burlesque weddings, before becoming more common. The suggestive outfits and attitudes are part of the West Indian carnival tradition: they embody the idea of letting off steam.A popular festival
The carnival period is the most expected time of the year for Guadeloupeans. This festival has a strong popular dimension. The festivities are prepared weeks in advance. The groups work on their songs, choreographies and costumes with numerous workshops and rehearsal sessions.
The carnival is an event that brings families together: young and old are members of the groups. The spectators also go with their families to the parade sites. At each parade, the streets are invaded by Guadeloupeans eager to vibrate to the rhythms of the groups and to marvel at the mosaics of colors. The onlookers settle down along the route with their folding chairs and coolers. Many come to the site very early to take advantage of the best location to admire the parade!
Every year, the carnival is also the occasion for claims and denunciations. Many carnival-goers or spectators express, on placards or banners, their opinions on social themes (political, social, health, history), not without a certain sense of humour or an offbeat tone!
The "Ben démarré", first steps of the festivities
Every January1st, some carnival groups get together to perform the traditional "ben démarre". This is a small parade before going to the sea to swim. A way to start the year off right by getting rid of all the bad things that have happened during the previous year.
