The Nature and Customs of African Masquerades

Festivals are usually celebrated to mark the beginning or an end of a significant cultural or historical event. For Africans, almost all their festivals are done to celebrate the gods or their community heroes. During the slave trade, as Africans were enslaved in Caribbean plantations and other parts of the West, they tried their very best to preserve their cultures and traditions. They even developed new traditions and ways of life that were the result of fusing their own and Western practices. Here are four Caribbean festivals that Africans started during their years as slaves but are still widely celebrated today, as listed by Face 2 Face Africa, a premier pan-African digital media and events company based in New York City.

The Bahamas' Junkanoo Festival

On December 26 and January 1, people of African descent come together to celebrate their heritage and history through music, dance, and costume. This festival originated from ancient times when Africans celebrated the victory of John Kenu (which was adulterated thus the name of the festival) over the Dutch who wanted to conquer the Ahanta land in Ghana and sell the natives into slavery. He also defeated many conquistadors from Germany and England. As the news of his victory reached the Africans in the Caribbean, they created this festival.

Barbados' Crop Over Harvest Festival

This festival celebrates the successful harvest of sugarcane on Barbadian plantations. The slaves back then thanked their gods for the bountiful harvest and prayed to them to do the same for the next harvest season. This festival also hosts the Kadooment Parades, which is the highlight, popularized by Rihanna.

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

This annual celebration was started in the 1700s as enslaved Africans who were not invited by their French plantation masters to their grand pre-Lenten balls and parties created their own festival that is designed to imitate and mock the French. However, as time went by, it became a celebration of African cultures that had survived the crossover from their homeland to the Caribbean, the place where they were enslaved. There are lots of music and dancing, as well as eating and drinking during the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. They also host a colorful parade during that time.

Haiti's Fete Gede Festival

This is the festival of the dead, one of the most important celebrations of the Voodoo Calendar. The voodoo religion is one of Africa's oldest, and it was then developed by the enslaved Africans in the Carribean. It actually coincides with the Catholic calendar's All Saints Day. It is a celebration held during the first two days of November commemorating the spirits, and of the dead ancestors. They also view this time as when they should ask for strength, protection, and reconnection with the dead, as well as the time to resolve the dead's issues with the living.