Visual Culture: Ten Traditional Mas Characters You’ll Find At Trinidad Carnival

Words by Tishanna Williams and Jesse Serwer
Photos by Colin Williams

When most people think of Trinidad Carnival today, what comes to mind first are fit bodies, decked out in feathers and beads, wining in the streets to soca music. This is one interpretation of modern Carnival, and certainly an accurate description of what you might find on the road in Port of Spain this Carnival Monday and Tuesday. However, if you look hard enough, you will spot the remaining vestiges of the original Carnival spirit: traditional masquerade characters whose costumes, rituals and traditions have been passed down through successive generations.

Find any one of these characters on the road, and they may tell you a fascinating story. Collectively, they tell the story of Trinidad Carnival. Though the designs of their costumes evolve year after year, many of these figures can trace their roots back to the original Carnival celebrations from the early 19th century, when slaves would parody the masquerade balls held by their colonial masters in the period just before Lent. Following Emancipation, Carnival took on even greater significance, as freed slaves took to the streets of Port of Spain with exuberant and “vulgar” displays meant to shock. Over time, and amid repeated efforts by authorities to suppress these displays, these representations developed a complexity and significance comparable to that of old-world mythology.

Many traditional mas characters have sinister characteristics which, while represented playfully in Carnival, can only be properly explained by tracing a dark and twisted backstory. Often, they will ask you for money, as reparation for some wrong they have experienced. Given the level of theater and vibrance that they bring to the celebration, and the cost and energy expended into building their costumes, these tolls are not exactly unfair fees.

For years, these characters have been diminishing in visibility, their presence drowned out by skin and feathers and other efforts to “pretty” up Mas (There have been several movements over the last century make Mas more comfortable for the upper classes and visitors). Fortunately, our Colin Williams has kept his eye on them, documenting many of the same characters year after year with his camera. We’re fortunate to be able to share what is certainly one of the most vibrant set of images documenting the traditional masquerade characters of Trinidad Carnival.

While this is by no means a complete list, these are many of the characters and figures you’ll find during the main Carnival in Port of Spain, and at Carnival season celebrations throughout Trinidad & Tobago.

See the list here.

MOKO JUMBIE

Historically linked to African masquerade, these stilt-walking entities were said to seek out evil in villages as well as among men, going so far as to sense evil thoughts. Today, the moko jumbie plays a large role in Carnival culture. More of a dancing character than a theatrical one, he can be seen during the season at fetes as well as traditional mas parades. The art of stilt walking is still taught in Trinidad by veterans of the form.

JAB JAB

Not to confused with Jab Molassie devils, the Jab Jab masqueraders are fully clad in bright costumes with small pieces of reflecting materials stuck on in various places. Their weapons of choice are long, thick whips which crack loudly when used. It’s the sound of the whip that truly makes the viewer jump. But fear not, the bark of the whip is not followed by a bite… Unless two Jabs meet, of course. Then, as they say in Trinidad, “any number could play.”

PIERROT GRENADE

Another brightly dressed masquerade, the Pierrot Grenade is thought to have been brought over from Grenada. Clad in frilly costumes made of strips of differently-colored cloth or maybe a rich silver with trimmings, this mas brings to mind the schoolmasters of the old colonial Caribbean and African griots. The Pierrot uses long educated yet convoluted speech and creates rhymes and stories to spell a word. It is also said that Pierrots spoke to relay information of what was happening in other small islands.

MIDNIGHT ROBBER

Imagine seeing a doom-and-gloom figure with a huge wide brim hat, coffin and gun stalking onto a stage, blowing a shrill whistle and bellowing at you to stop and fall to your knees before regaling you with the brutalities he has committed both in this world and others, including hell. The Midnight Robber deals in terror and their speeches are long and macabre, to say the least. The robber is steeped in the Western movie culture that was rampant in Trinidad decades ago, using words as his weapon, instead of gunshots. Robber speech —  it’s a bit like battle rap meets slam poetry — is still taught by stalwarts of the tradition.

BABY DOLL

In the barrack yards of old, where enslaved persons attempted to recreate communal dwellings after Emancipation, there were many people trying to make a living and come to terms with their sudden release from the only life some of them had ever known with little to no compensation from their past owners. One thing they continued to deal with was white (bakra) men coming over in the dead of night to sleep with the women of the yard, and as a result many mulatto children (shabine pickney) were born. The baby doll mas reflects this. Characters dressed in baby doll dresses with knickers, carrying toy baby dolls of their own — symbolising that she herself is but a child — roam the streets accosting men who could be the father of their child. If you don’t want a public embarrassment, you will pay her a few dollars and she will be on her way to the next mark.

Baby doll mas is still used by Drama Education companies such as Idakeda Gp to deal with issues of teen pregnancy and youth sexuality in T&T.

BLUE DEVIL/JAB MOLASSIE/RED DEVIL

In Grenada, they say they play a wicked jab. In Trinidad, the devils rule. Originally, players of this mas had only the molasses from the sugar cane to coat themselves in. Nowadays, red and blue paint is also used, with the blue being the most popular. Children and adults fear these characters and, if you ever experience a blue devil band on the streets of Port of Spain, you would be hard pressed to blame them. Beating out rhythms on a biscuit tin, these masqueraders advance with pitchfork in hand and what looks like clotted blood oozing from their mouths. Others breath fire and emit sharp screams with arms outstretched for cash. Pay the devil or else!

Tip: Blue Devil Mas should not be missed. Carnival Monday night, head up to the hills of Paramin for a country style road party and devil parade.

DAME LORRAINE

Originally played by men, Dame Lorraine mas has become a pretty portrayal of the thick madame. Fancy french gowns with parasols and stuffed bottoms and busts reminiscent of the once-bastardized Hottentot Venus, there is another side of the mas that is no longer seen. Historically, it was a time when the slaves mocked their owners and their various deformities or personality traits so the characters played a tad more to the vulgar rather than the classy demure portrayals seen today. Other Dame Lorraine masquerades included Gros Patat (big vagina), Gros Tete’ (Big Head) and Gros Coco (Big Balls)

SAILOR

From Fancy to King to Drunken, Sailor Mas is alive and well in Trinidad. It is said by some that Michael Jackson’s moonwalk was developed after he witnessed the sailor masquerade of the island. This mas comes directly from the days of Yankee sailors occupying the ports of Trinidad (the days of “Rum and Coca-Cola” and “Jean and Dinah”) and continues to be learned and referenced in soca, calypso and cultural competitions around the island.

Tip: Massy All Stars Steelband has the biggest traditional sailor band and even won Band of The Year in 2014. Check them out on upper Charlotte Street in Port of Spain. For Fancy sailor mas, head to Belmont and sign up with BOS, the oldest fancy sailor band in the area.

FANCY INDIAN

Based on the dress of North American plains Indians, Fancy Indian costumes have grown increasingly elaborate over the years. The headpieces — generally built onto a wire frame supported by the masqueraders’ body, and decked out with feathers, ostrich plumes and other decoration — can be particularly magnificent.

Fancy Indians (as well as the lesser-seen Wild Indians and Warahoons) are known to speak in their own improvised language, known as “Red Indian,” memorizing call-and-response chants and dialogues only translatable and understood by other Indians. Aspects of Fancy Indian culture recall the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans. In any case, the Fancy Indian is one traditional Mas culture that is alive and well, bringing a distinctly Trini twist to this symbol of North American culture.

Bats

Another elaborate costume that requires a certain amount of personal space,  Carnival bats are known to have a wingspan of as wide as 15 feet, with wings made from wire and bamboo or cane. Most often, bats appear on foot in brown and black costumes with their face covered in a mask. However, moko jumbies on stilts are also known to appear as bats, and with even more elaborate, multi-colored costumes. It is said that those who have played bat mas long enough begin resembling the bat in their everyday life.

And, a few more fading mas characters still worth a mention, though rarely seen today.:

Originally played by men, pis en lit translates as ‘piss in the bed’ and is a disgusting mas for many. Clad in a nightgown that could be stained with what is to be considered menstrual blood and carrying around a used chamber pot (or posey, to the Trinidadian), the masqueraders would demand money from viewers. Considering that many men still choose to dress in nightgowns with clean poseys for J’Ouvert, maybe the mas isn’t so absent after all.

Then there is Miss Mary a well-dressed woman carrying around a mysterious box with things inside that she will convince you are worth seeing… after you pay her, of course. Once paid, look inside and maybe you will see something wonderful — or maybe you will see a doll’s head and an old banana skin. Either way you’ve already been fooled and the payment is non-refundable. Tricked ya!