Carnival - Stations of the road

I have noticed that references and comparisions to religion are often brought up when reading literature on Carnival. I have read about the trance-like state of ecstasy being compared to the feeling as if in prayer at church, isolated and completely involved. I have read of devoted costume designers like priest with all helping hands like devoted acolytes dedicated to the costume and the carnival as if it were their faith. References to pan yards as cathedrals where every year dedicated pan men and women will gather to practice, as if gathering for their daily mass of prayer. Then finally I thought to myself, that the actual carnival event of two days that takes place on the city's streets and is puntuated by stages along the given route bears resemblance to the Catholic tradition of the stations of the cross.The fourteen stations of the cross, marked by pray ,tell the story of the devotion of Christ and his journey to his crucifixion. This may seem an extreme reference but it leaves me wondering of ways to categorize my thesis and its layout ... as if if chapter were stations of the cross... or stages along the carnival route with the end result being an ecstatic revelation of the collective.

With that said I am now thinking ... this makes sense! ... because ever since I started researching for this thesis, it has been about the human experience weather it be individual or collective experience it was an experience that was allowed to occur during Trinidad's carnival. I have noted before that this is the people's second life, an other world or rather a world turned upside down where what was deemed strange, illegal, abnormal in the ordinary world is expected in this other world. This other world is temporary and entering into it is voluntary, but for those two days everything is done in excess with the ambition of all to achieve a state of ecstasy. So besides my own experiences, I came across some literature that held characters that spoke out of the experiences along this journey in this other world. These characters are Aldrick from Earl Lovelaces book ' The Dragon can't Dance' and the character in the poem 'Savannah Ghost' by Paul Keens - Douglas.
I wish to illustrate these characters and their journey much like how Christ's journey is documented by each station weather it be represented by paintings or carvings as it is in the catholic church.

I will also use quotes from both pieces of literature to further document the characters experience.



"Ah could hardly see dese damn people.
Is like everybody look alike, like dey
Join together.
Is like dis place is a jungle,
De people like ah wall round me,
Dey hot, sticky, sweaty, like they want to
stifle me,
Like dey have every smell in dis band,
In me nose, in me eye, in me mouth.
Is like ah jungle with vine, an’ color,
An’ snake, an’ bush,
Touchin’ me, roughin’ me, pullin’ me.
Is de rum, no de music, no is de people man.
Move foot move, jump, yu hear me, jump.
“Ah diggin’ horrors, because, all ah
Readin’ bout
Is guerillas, more laws, and wars”
Take me up foot, up, up over dis stinkin’ band’
Past all dese winding backsides, sweaty backs,
Bouncin’ bubbies, multinational bad – breath.
Up, up slowly, out de jungle,
Up, up slowly, out de jungle,
Up, up, up towards de clean sky.
O’ god ah could see the whole world now,
Trinidad is really ah island, ah didn’t believe dem,
But from coast to coast is water,
Black with oil, black with pitch, black with history
Not one hero in sight, is only mas!"

Excerpt from Savannah Ghost by Paul Keens - Douglas




"He wanted them to know that he will always be threatening there, a breath away from them. Some could'nt understand it, this refusal of the coins. They thought that they were not offering enough; and as he danced before them they made another journey into their pockets and showed him more coins. He didn't take the money - ' No, this couldn't happen! This dragon was crazy! This fellar wanted trouble!' But it was Carnival. Whoever heard someone calling the police for a Dragon.Aldrick growled and he spat and he moved to press against them, watched them grow more afraid, more confused "

Excerpt from 'The Dragon can't Dance' by Earl Lovelace