This is a picture of Vincy Mas. Vincy Mas is the carnival that takes place in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It is similar to Cropover in Barbados. Mas, which is short for masquerade, is an event that initially was a pre-lent affair introduced to us by the French. After years of changes, we have what is celebrated today, which includes African, Indigenous, and European traditions. Vincy Mas is a 12 day annual event, which ends with the carnival parade pictured above. Many different groups of people organize sections referred to as “bands”, and each band incorporates a colorful bathing suit style costume adorned with feathers and accompanied by a large headdress or back piece. The band Party Nation SVG is pictured above, as they followed a beautiful orange theme for Vincy Mas 2017. Though the costumes were once an opportunity for indigenous Caribs and escaped slaves to each express their own culture in a place of solidarity, now costumes come from a sense of individualistic creativity as usually a single person designs the costume for each band. As a first generation immigrant from St. Vincent, this festival is a very important event for me as well as other Vincentian diaspora as it allows a chance for us to go back to our home country yearly and celebrate our roots. Because majority of my family falls in the category of indigenous Carib, we value Vincy Mas as it helps us to remember our ancestors while celebrating the path they have created for us now.
Similar to your culture Puerto Ricans also celebrate African, Indigenous, and European traditions. Vinci Mas reminds me of a similar carnival that takes place in Puerto Rico called Las Mascaras de Hatillo. The carnival commemorates the religious day of the “Slaughter of the Holy Innocents,” a tradition brought from Spain. Just like in Vinci Mas the costumes worn during this carnival are designed by a single person for each individual group. It’s captivating to find these similarities amongst different cultures of the Caribbean.
The meaning to Man is really great. I didn’t think carnivals had a deeper meaning. I feel like that adds so much more value to the event. In the Bahamas and Jamaica we have something called Junkanoo. It looks very similar to carnival, but the purposes are different. I may not have all the details right, but Junkanoo is a competition. It brings a lot of people together and unifies the nation, but competition is the undertone! So thank you for sharing.
This was very enlightening to read. I have many friends who participate in the carnivals parades. I didn’t know that Vincy Mas was twelve day event. The Caribbean’s carnival, along with African carnivals kind of remind of the carnival of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Many don’t dress up, but it is similar to me because It celebrate the black culture and etc. It was especially interesting to read the the carnivals have a deeper meaning. I always knew that it mean’t, but I always wanted to know what.
Mas is one of the most commonly celebrated events in the world. Countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil also celebrate this event as much of their population comes from African heritage. This event started as Ole Mas and somewhat of a mockery of the slave owners, but has blossomed into an event that celebrates the rich cultures of their ancestors. It is amazing to see that in St. Vincent, Mas is celebrated in a similar way to Brazil considering the distance between them. I hope to one day travel to a place like St. Vincent so that I can experience Carnival.