French Culture in Trinidad and Tobago

French Culture in Trinidad and Tobago
Report by : Anna Lisa Soodeen
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................
2. French Places in Trinidad & Tobago and their Meanings...........................................
3. French Language Influence in Trinidad & Tobago........................................................
4. French Influence on National Festivals and Dress.......................................................
5. Historical Record of French Presence in Trinidad & Tobago...................................11
6. French Influence on Folk Stories....................................................................................12
7. Reference...............................................................................................................................16
By: Anna Lisa Soodeen
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1.
Introduction
The culture of Trinidad and Tobago reflects the influence of African, French,
Amerindian, Chinese, British, Indian and to a lesser extent Spanish and Portuguese
cultures. The histories of Trinidad and Tobago are different, and there are contrasts
in the cultural influences which have shaped each island. There are also regional
differences within each island.
Bilateral relations between the countries France and Trinidad and Tobago have
existed for about two hundred years. [1] Currently, France has an embassy in Port of
Spain. Trinidad and Tobago is represented in France through its embassy in Brussels
(Belgium). Trinidad and Tobago also has bilateral investment agreements with
France.[2]
By the later 1790s, the white upper class on Trinidad "consisted mainly of French
creoles," which created "a powerful French cultural influence in Trinidad. This was
expressed not only in the widespread use of French patois...but also in the general
population's enthusiasm for the Catholic tradition of Carnival." [7] Sean Sheehan
explains further that for "about a hundred years, the language spoken in Trinidad
and Tobago was a pidgin form of French, which was basically French with Twi or
Yoruba words included. Even today, there is a strong element of French in Trini, and
in some rural areas, people speak a language that is closer to French than to
English."
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2.
French Places in Trinidad & Tobago and their Meanings
Blanchissuesse - A French Place name meaning washer woman

Grande Riviere - A French place name meaning large river
La Fillette - A French place name meaning the little girl.
Lopinot - Named after the French settler Charles Joseph Count de Lopinot
Matelot- Derived from a French name apparently related to the word sailor or
boatman
Pointe-a-Pierre - The French version of the original Spanish name of Punta de
Piedras, which meant Stony Point.
Point Fortin- Named after a French settler Messier. Fortin who had a sugar estate in
the area
Sans Souci- A French name meaning Without Care
Anglais Road- Anglais is the French word for "English" and it is believed that this
area in Cumana Toco is named after the English who attempted to create a
settlement in the area in 1631, while Trinidad was still a Spanish colony.
Basse Terre - A French place name meaning Loose or Poor Earth
Bonasse - This village in Cedros is believed to have been named after the French
word meaning "nice".
Bonne Aventure- A French name meaning good adventure
Cap de Ville- An area in Point Fortin named after a French estate owner Monsieur
Cap de Ville
Carenage- Named by the French because of the careening of boats in the bay to
clean their bottoms
Champs Fluers - A French name meaning a field of flowers
D'Abadie - A French place name after a French Creole estate owner
Embarcadere - A French word that means wharf or shipping place
Fondes Amandes - Located in St Anns this is French for Almond Grove
Laventille - A French name given to the area because it was considered The Vent ( La
Ventaille) through which the winds blew
Morne Bleu - A French name meaning Blue Mountain
Point Radix - Under the Cedula of Population of 1783, a French immigrant with the
surname Radix was granted all of the northern headland of Mayaro Bay. Over time
the headland came to be called Point Radix.
Point Gourd - This name for an area in Chaguaramas is derived from the original
Spanish name of Punta Gorda (Fat Point) which the French called Pointe Gourde and
the English changed to Point Gourd.
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Vessigny - A French name as a result of the Corsican settler Simon Paul Vessiny who
opened a sugar estate in the area
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3.
French Language Influence in Trinidad & Tobago
As we know, Trinidad was a Spanish colony until 1797. It was never a French colony
yet France has greatly influenced its history and culture.
This happened, of course, because of the influx of French immigrants in the late
1700s, as a result of the Cedula of Population (1783) inviting foreign Catholics to
settle in Trinidad. These immigrants, coming mainly from the French Caribbean
colonies, especially Martinique, and also from Grenada (British since 1763 but with a
significant French population) and including many "free coloureds" as well as
whites brought with them their enslaved labourers, who were given no choice in
the matter.
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Together they ensured that a fused African-French culture would be dominant in

Trinidad for many years to come in language (French, and Crole or Patois),
religion (French forms of Roman Catholicism), the expressive arts (dance, music,
song), folklore, festivals and so on. Spanish influences were largely though not
entirely eclipsed.
The sister island was a formal French colony for two periods, 1781-93, and again
1802-03. Yet French influences there were minimal, except for a few place names.
Why the difference? During the two periods when France ruled, hardly any French
people, other than a few officials, came to live in Tobago. The landowners, the
holders of the enslaved labourers, continued to be British the persons who'd been
given land grants when Tobago was formally ceded to Britain in 1763 and others
who'd acquired land subsequently.
They and their slaves, mostly people kidnapped in Africa and brought on the
infamous Middle Passage, and their descendants, ensured that Tobago's culture
would continue to be an African-British fusion in language (English, and Tobago
English Creole), religion (various Protestant faiths, especially the Anglicans,
Methodists and Moravians), the expressive arts (African-British traditions of music,
dance and song). The two periods of rule by France, which didn't involve any
significant French immigration, made little impact on Tobago's culture.
After 1803, Tobago remained a separate British colony until unification with Trinidad
in the new (British) Colony of Trinidad and Tobago, which came into being in 1889.
No other European power had a significant influence on Tobago's modern (post1763) development.
Trinidad passed from the Spanish to the British Empire in 1797, by force of arms
during wartime, and then by formal treaty agreement in 1802. It was a separate
British colony until 1889, when the Colony of T&T was created. The formal end of
British colonialism, of course, came on 31 August 1962 next year will mark the
golden jubilee of Independence.
For much of the 19th century, British influence on Trinidad's culture was fairly
limited, outside the realm of law and governance. Patois remained the majority
language into the start of the 20th century. French was the first language for the
French Creole group up to the turn of the century, and 19th century Trinidad
newspapers often had sections in that language.
Despite efforts by the colonial government to push the Anglican faith, the great
majority of the people (except for the Indian immigrants) remained at least
nominally Roman Catholics, even if they often combined this faith with African belief
systems such as the Orisha or Shango movement.
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But gradually, the colonial government, the churches and the schools managed to
spread the English language and British culture in the society. By the 1920s or
1930s English Creole had replaced Patois as the majority language. The use of
Patois (and Spanish) declined.
Though Anglicanism remained a minority faith, it did gain some ground, especially
with the immigration of thousands of people from places like Barbados, Tobago or St
Vincent, who had often been Anglicans in their home islands.
Of course, the colony's legal system, which had been Spanish, was gradually
overhauled until, by the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially English. Our laws
and legal procedures are still basically British (and the Privy Council is still our
highest court of appeal).
The system of publicly funded schools, first set up in the post-emancipation years,
was modelled on the English and Irish schools; the prestige secondary schools, like
Queen's Royal College, were imitations of English "public" (that is, private!) schools
and taught entirely British curricula well into the last century. Even today, our
education system has more in common with that of Britain than (say) the US.
British influences on our popular culture were fairly strong, especially in sports. Both
football and cricket were invented by the Brits and spread throughout the world
wherever they went.
Of course, British literature exerted a strong pull on the colony's writers, and the
first generation of T & T, and Caribbean, creative writers gravitated almost naturally
to London. The BBC played a significant role in nurturing the talents of this
generation, including VS Naipaul and Michael Anthony, especially in the 1950s.
And as everywhere in the Empire, the British organised a system of government in
T&T which was based, even if loosely, on their own. The "Westminster System" is
also an inheritance of British colonialism.
So like it or not, European influences derived from the colonial powers, Spain,
France and Britain, have played a key role in the evolution of T&T's culture and
history.
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4.
French Influence on National Festivals and Dress
French has had major influence on carnival activities and celebrations in Trinidad
and Tobago. When the French arrived in 1783, their influence was on the carnival
with the masks and parades etc.
Trinidad was discovered by Columbus in 1498 (he named the island for the Christian Holy Trinity)
and was ruled by Spain for virtually 300 years, remaining one of her most 'underdeveloped'
American possessions. Only in the 1770s, with the 'Bourbon reforms' of Charles III designed to rejuvenate flagging colonial efficiency -did the Spanish crown pay attention
to this thinly-populated, almost uncultivated, Caribbean island. A Cedula issued by the Spanish
monarch in 1776 highlighted the island's neglected state: with no European Spaniards available
for emigration, it invited West Indian French Catholics dissatisfied by Britains 1763 take-over of
their Antillian islands - Grenada, Dominica, St Vincent, Tobago to settle in Trinidad. They were
encouraged by land grants to set up agricultural units under their own management and to
transfer slaves in quantity to work these plantations Influenced by France, but also set on
maintaining Spanish control and the Roman Catholic faith in his American colonies; Charles III
extended this provision in 1783 by issuing a further Cedulad e Poblacion. This allowed any
Catholic to settle in Trinidad providing he agreed to stipulate immigration conditions, including a
loyalty oath to the Spanish crown.
At this point the island's population was very small indeed, comprising Spanish-speaking whites,
coloureds, slaves and Indians and, as has been pointed out by Andrew Pearse in his study of
'Carnival in Nineteenth Century Trinidad', because there is no concrete evidence for the existence
of an annual Shrovetide festivalbefore this date, 1783 is a convenient neutral starting point for
discussing the development of the Trinidad Carnival.
Over the next fourteen years, due to the unsettled times in the Caribbean - the British having
taken control of most of the French West Indian islands in the latter part of the eighteenth
century - a great number of French planters grasped the opportunity to settle in Trinidad, bringing
their slaves with them. In consequence, when in1797 the British took Trinidad itself, there was a
significantly French-speaking and mainly Creole population. The French whites had established
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themselves as a landed aristocracy and using the labour of their black slaves had created
flourishing plantations growing tobacco, sugar, cotton, and coffee. It has been necessary to
outline the sequence of French settlement in Trinidad because of its utmost importance in
establishing the Shrovetide celebration of Carnival on the island - at least as far as the written
record is concerned. Despite a large and speedy increase in population - in particular from the
Spanish Main, North America, Africa, and the British West Indian islands - and, indeed, some
French emigration, the French community remained in control of the island's economic core and,
thus, were able to stamp their cultural characteristics on its ensuing festive developments.
Following emancipation, in 1833, peoples from the Near-East, Indian subcontinent and the Orient
were to increase further the population and cultural-mix.
The most influential single cultural factor in Trinidad and Tobago is Carnival, brought
to Trinidad by French settlers from Martinique in the later part of the 18th century.
Originally the celebration was confined to the elite, but it was imitated and adapted
by their slaves and, after the abolition of slavery in 1838, the practise spread into
the free population. The Canboulay Riots of 1881 were a turning point in the
evolution of Trinidad Carnival. Carnival was originally confined to the upper classes,
which rode the streets in floats, or watched from the upper stories of residences and
businesses. The night was given over to the lower classes. The first few hours of
Carnival Monday morning, from about 4 am until sunrise was known as J'ouvert (a
contraction of jour ouvert). Costumed and masked by the darkness, J'ouvert allowed
the wealthy to mix with the poor in relative anonymity. Monday night (night 'mas)
had a similar, but lesser function.
MAS'
The daytime of Carnival Monday and Tuesday are dominated by costumed
masqueraders. Until World War II, most of these masqueraders portrayed traditional
characters including the Midnight Robber, Police and Thief, Wild Indian, Bat', Jab
Molassie, Jab Jab, Red Devil, Blue Devil, and Dame Lorraine. With the wartime
presence of US soldiers (and war movies) Sailor Mas' was added. In the postwar
period, individuals gave way to organised bands, which today can include thousands
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of
masqueraders.
Peter
Minshall
is
often
considered
the
greatest
mas'
designer.Template:Why?
CARNIVAL FETES
Carnival take place most heatedly during the week before the actual parade of
bands on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. However, traditionally, the Carnival season
begins on Boxing Day December 26 and soca and calypso music reign supreme over
the airwaves. The fetes that take place from year end through carnival (usually in
February) are generally carnival-themed and feature live music from bands and soca
artists who are promoting their song contributions for the year.
MUSIC
Calypso music developed together with Carnival. The chantuelle, who spoke for the
band, evolved into the calypsonian (and other characters, such as the Midnight
Robber). The music, which drew upon African and French influences, became the
voice of the people. It allowed the masses to challenge the doings of the unelected
Governor and Legislative Council, and the elected town councils of Port of Spain and
San Fernando. As English replaced patois (Creole French) as the dominant language,
calypso migrated into English, and in so doing it attracted more attention from the
government. Calypso continued to play an important role in political expression, and
also served to document the history of Trinidad and Tobago
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5.
Historical Record of French Presence in Trinidad & Tobago
France had colonized Trinidad during the seventeenth century. [3] France occupied the
colony from August 1666 to March 1667. On 6 December 1677, the French
destroyed the Dutch colony and claimed the entire island before restoring it to the
Dutch by the first Treaty of Nijmegen on 10 August 1678. In 1751, the French settled
colonists on the island, but ceded it to Britain in the Treaty of Paris of 10 February
1763.[4] Nevertheless, most "of the settlers were French, and French influence
became dominant."[5] It was again a French colony from 2 June 1781 to 15 April
1793,[6] nominally part of the Lucie dpartement of France from 25 October 1797 to
19 April 1801, and once again a French colony from 30 June 1802 to 30 June 1803.
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6.
French Influence on Folk Stories
Our folklore is predominantly of African origin, flavoured with French and to a lesser
degree, Spanish and English influences. In keeping with well-recognized African
traits, the picture is full of colour and decorated with a wealth of detail. Religious or
semi-religious cults of African origin have undoubtedly contributed much to the
Island's folklore; many of the supernatural folklore figures possess characteristics
which are identical with those of African deities. Indeed, it is extremely difficult to
draw a dividing line between the strictly religious elements and what may be
described as "legendary traditions".
"Papa Bois" is the most widely known of all our folklore characters. He is the old
man of the forest and is known by many names, including "Matre Bois" (master of
the woods) and "Daddy Bouchon" (hairy man).
Papa Bois appears in many different forms, sometimes as a deer, or in old ragged
clothes, sometimes hairy and though very old, extremely strong and muscular, with
cloven hoofs and leaves growing out of his beard. As the guardian of the animals
and the custodian of the trees, he is known to sound a cow's horn to warn his
friends of the approach of hunters. He doesn't tolerate killing for killing's sake, and
the wanton destruction of the forest.
There are many stories of Papa Bois appearing to hunters. Sometimes he turns into
a deer that would lead the men into the deep forest and then he would suddenly
resume his true shape, to issue a stern warning and then to vanish, leaving the
hunters lost or perhaps compelling them to pay a fine of some sort, such as to
marry "Mama Dlo".
If you should meet with Papa Bois be very polite. "Bon jour, vieux Papa" or "Bon
Matin, Matre" should be your greeting. If he pauses to pass the time with you, stay
cool, and do not look at his feet.
"La Diablesse", the devil woman of Trinidad and Tobago folklore, is sometimes
personified as an old crone, who steps forth with her cloven hoof from behind a tree
on a lonely road, the sound of chains mingling with the rustle of her petticoat.
Sometimes she takes the form of a beautiful woman, to lure some unsuspecting
passerby to his death or perhaps to madness. Sometimes she appears as a tall,
handsome creole woman who with swinging gait and erect stature, passes through
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a cane or cocoa field at noon and catches the eye of a man who then proceeds to
follow her, and, never being able to catch up with her - her feet hardly touch the
ground - finds himself lost, bewildered, far from home and he is never himself again.
She may have a bag of bones, grave yard dirt and shells, she may cast a spell and
be perceived as young and desirable, her rich perfume blending with the smell of
damp and decaying things. Although she may appear young, she will be dressed in
the ancient costume of these islands: a brilliant madras turban, chemise with half
sleeves and much embroidery and lace, "zepingue tremblant" (trembling pins of
gold), and all the finery of the by-gone days.
If you feel you may encounter a La Diablesse on your way home, take off all your
clothes, turn them inside out and put them on again, and this will surely protect you
from a La Diablesse.
"Mama Dlo" or "Mama Dglo" whose name is derived from the French "maman de
l' eau" which means "mother of the water" is one of the lesser known personalities
of Trinidad and Tobago folklore.
A hideous creature, her lower half takes the form of an anaconda. She is sometimes
thought to be the lover of Papa Bois, and old hunters tell stories of coming upon
them in the 'High Woods'. They also tell of hearing a loud, cracking sound which is
said to be the sound made by her tail as she snaps it on the surface of a mountain
pool or a still lagoon.
Mortal men who commit crimes against the forest, like burning down trees or
indiscriminately putting animals to death or fouling the rivers could find themselves
married to her for life, both this one and the one to follow.
Sometimes she takes the form of a beautiful woman 'singing silent songs on still
afternoons, sitting at the water's edge in the sunlight, lingering for a golden
moment, a flash of green - gone. Nothing but a big Morte Bleu, rising in the sun
beams.
"Did you see a fish jump?"
"Yes, but it did not go back in again!"
If you were to meet Mama Dlo in the forest and wish to escape her, take off your left
shoe, turn it upside down and immediately leave the scene, walking backwards until
you reach home.
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"The Soucouyant"
"A ball of flame, along she came flying without a wind" was how the Soucouyant of
Saint D'eau island was described.
She is the old woman who lives alone at the end of the village road, seldom seen,
her house always closed up as she sleeps away the day. As evening draws near, she
stirs and sheds her old and wrinkled skin, which she deposits into a mortar that she
hides carefully away. Now, as a glowing ball of flame, she rises up through the roof
and with a shrill cry that sets the village dogs to howling, she flies through the night
in search of a victim and she would suck his 'life-blood' from him clean.
As the blessed day dawns, she makes a beeline through the forest for her home,
finds the mortar with her wretched skin and proceeds to put it on, - but something's
wrong, it burns like fire, it seems to shrink and slide away, "skin, kin, kin, you na no
me, you na no me", she sings, crooning softly, pleading to the wrinkled, dreadful
thing. "You na no me, old skin." Then, with horror, she realizes the dreadful thing
that has been done: The village boys and men have filled her skin with coarse salt
and pepper and will soon come and get her, with a drum of boiling tar, the priest
and his silver cross, the church bells - and then, the end. If you wish to discover who
the Soucouyant in your village is empty 100 lbs of rice at the village crossroads
where she will be compelled to pick them up, one grain at a time - that is how you'll
know the Soucouyant.
"Duennes" are spirits of children who died before they were baptized and as such,
they are fated to roam the forests of Trinidad, practising their wide repertoire of
pranks, mostly on living children who are enticed away into the forest and are then
left abandoned. Duennes are sexless, their feet are turned backwards and they have
no faces (although they do have small round mouths). On their rather large heads
they wear huge mushroom-shaped straw hats.
To prevent the Duennes from calling your children into the forest at dusk, never
shout their names in open places, as the Duennes will take their names, call them
and lure them away.
A story is told of a man called Lastique who was riding home one night, as he
passed the big silk cotton tree at the corner of Belmont Circular Road and the
Savannah, he heard a baby crying, so he stopped and picked it up, thinking he
would take it home for the night and carry it to the orphanage in the morning.
Cycling along, he was reduced to a state of absolute terror by the time he reached
the hospital, when he realized that the child was getting bigger and heavier.
Suddenly the child said in a man's voice, "You'd better take me back were you found
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me", which the terrified Lastique did at once. As he drew nearer the tree, the 'child'
shrank steadily back to its original size and was deposited, once more, a bawling
baby at the foot of the giant tree. The moon, a silent witness, hid its face in a cloud
as a chill wind blew and an owl flew out of the tree.
The "Ligahoo" or "Loup Garou" is the shape changer of Trinidad's folklore. An
ability which is handed down in some old creole families, this phenomenon is
usually associated with an old magic-dealing man of a district who is both feared
and respected, not only for his facility to change his form to that of a vicious animal,
but also for his power over nature. He can lay curses and extended protection; from
him, charms and bush medicine are also readily available.
At times the apparition may take the form of a coffin being carried through the
streets and the clank of chains is distinctly heard. A single man may bear it on his
head, protected by a giant "phantome". If by chance, the coffin and its gruesome
attendant were to be used to facilitate the uninterrupted transportation of Bush
Rum, this effect would virtually ensure its safe passage. If you want to see a Ligahoo
and not be seen by it, take some yampee from the corner of a dog's eye, put it in
your eye and peep out of a key hole at 12 midnight.
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7.
Reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France%E2%80%93Trinidad_and_Tobago_relations
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Colonialisms_in_T_T-133587223.html
Carnival in Trinidad8/30/2010http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/trinidad.htm
http://www.triniview.com/TnT/Folklore.htm
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Report by : Anna Lisa Soodeen