Music of Trinidad and Tobago

The Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago is best known as the homeland of calypso music, including 1950s stars Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. Other forms of music include Carnival songs like lavway and leggos, as well as bongo music (which originated at wakes). Yoruban shango and Dahomean rada are also popular among the descendants of indentured servants in Port-of-Spain.

Related Topics:
Caribbean - Trinidad and Tobago - Calypso music - 1950s - Lord Kitchener - Mighty Sparrow - Lavway - Leggos - Bongo music - Wakes - Yoruba - Shango - Dahomean - Rada - Indentured servants - Port-of-Spain

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Stamp featuring Lord Kitchener anddescribing Trinidad and Tobago as the "Land of Calypso"

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Calypso was developed on the island of Trinidad, and has since become one of the major musical ancestors of diverse styles, including reggae, soca and rapso. The musical genre began when African slaves were brought to the area to work plantations owned by Europeans, and the slaves were forbidden to talk to each other (in any case, they spoken dozens of different languages, so communication was inherently difficult). A creole culture was formed, combining elements of hundreds of African ethnic groups, native inhabitants of the islands, French, British and Spanish colonizers. The Spanish originally moved into the island in 1532, bringing African slaves. In 1783, the French began to immigrate in large numbers due to a Spanish rule encouraging Roman Catholics to relocate to the islands. With St. Lucia and Dominica taken by the British from the French one year later, in 1784, French immigrants came to dominate the island. In 1802, however, the French and African/Spanish creole population of the islands became a British colony, further muddying the cultural development of Trinidadians and Tobagans. Carnival had arrived with the French, and the slaves, who could not take part in Carnival, formed their own, parallel celebration called canboulay, where calypso music began its existence. In 1834, these two celebrations began a merger because the slaves were emancipated, while the islands' ethnic mix further diversified by the mass migration of Indians beginning in 1845. Most were indentured servants and brought their own folk music, primarily from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, to the native mix, resulting in chutney music.

Related Topics:
Trinidad - Reggae - Soca - Rapso - Musical genre - Africa - Plantation - Europe - Creole - French - British - Spanish - 1532 - 1783 - Roman Catholic - St. Lucia - Dominica - 1784 - 1802 - Carnival - Canboulay - Calypso music - 1834 - India - 1845 - Indentured servant - Uttar Pradesh - Bihar - Chutney music

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Stick-fighting and African percussion music were banned in 1880, in response to the Canboulay Riots. They were replaced by bamboo sticks beaten together, but these too were eventually banned. In 1937, however, they reappeared, transformed as an orchestra of frying pans, dustbin lids and oil drums. These steel pans are now a major part of the Trinidadian music scene and are a popular section of the Canboulay music contests. In 1941, the United States Navy arrived on Trinidad, and the panmen, who were associated with lawlessness and violence, helped to popularize steel pan music among soldiers, which began its international popularization.

Related Topics:
1880 - Canboulay Riots - 1937 - Steel pan - 1941 - United States Navy

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