jouvert
anxieties rise
into Monday's carnival
J'ouvert (pronounced 'joovay'
locally) involves calypso/soca bands and their followers dancing
in the capital cities of the various islands. The festival starts well
before dawn and peaks a few hours after sunrise when revelers have
tired out or been bludgeoned into submission by strong rum. Part of
the tradition involves smearing paint, mud, or oil on the participants
known as Jab Jabs. This is done in remembrance of a civil disturbance
in Port of Spain, Trinidad, when the people smeared themselves with
oil to avoid being recognized.
|
