Carnival really a Trini thing?

THE EDITOR: Now that the Carnival celebrations are over, and hopefully all participants have collected their just due, I humbly ask: how did the Trinidad Carnival begin?

I ask this because as a child (I’m over 60 now) I was told, and over the years it was literally engraved in me, that Carnival is the celebration of freedom from slavery from the colonial masters.

Today when I take a glimpse at international news, see the descendants of the same colonial masters of Western Europe celebrating what they also call carnival, with accompanying music (though different from ours) and costumes similar to ours.

And when I look at our South American neighbours of European and Amerindian descent, they too are celebrating carnival with all its associated fanfare.

Truth is, I’d feel a little disappointed if I now learn that our celebration is really an adopted culture given our unique calypso music and our innovative national instrument (the steel pan) that is now internationally sought after and mass-produced (without our permission apparently) in original and electronic forms.

So can someone please tell me the origin of Trinidad Carnival? If it is indeed the celebration of freedom from slavery, why does it carry the name of the colonial masters’ celebration, the very people we fought for our freedom? If it is not, whose and what are we celebrating?

LLOYD RAGOO, Chaguanas