At Martinique Carnival They REALLY Don’t Stop the Carnival!
Martinique carnival begins long before the official festival dates. For months leading up to the big days, the joy of decorating floats, designing elaborate costumes and rehearsing songs and dances make pre-Carnival time almost as much fun as Carnival itself.
While the party starts early across the region, Martinique Carnival stands out for the simple fact that celebrations here end later than just about anywhere else.
Each year, as revelers in other Carnival hot spots wind down with the close of Shrove Tuesday, the Martinique fete keeps going, reaching a climax on one of the most solemn days on the Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday. No wonder the “bonus” day of revelry carries the theme, “Rejoice Today, Repent Tomorrow.”
Here’s a rundown on what you can expect if you’re ever lucky enough to experience it…
Dimanche Gras
Known in Martinique as Dimanche Gras, Fat Sunday is the official first day of Carnival. Daytime parades flow into the streets with a wide range of costumed characters performing throughout the streets of Fort de France. Among the more popular and notorious characters is the Nègres-Gros-Sirops; mischievous revelers covered in coal tar and sugarcane syrup from head-to-toe that break through the crowds of spectators playfully frightening children.
Another outrageous character, Marianne La Po Fig appears as the music and dancing extend deep into the night wearing, as her name implies, nothing but dry banana leaves. Throughout the day, marchers parade around with spectacularly dressed puppets called Bwa Bwa creating a veritable feast for the eyes.
Lundi Gras
Lundi Gras, or “Fat Monday” in Martinique brings “Mock Weddings,” burlesque parodies played out in the city streets with men dressed as pregnant brides or floozies, and women serving as reluctant bridegrooms. Ceremonies are held well into the night, culminating in elaborate masquerade balls where drag is the preferred costume de nuit.
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), “Red Devils Day,” is all about Martinique carnival for the kids. There are glorious processions featuring hundreds of children dressed in brilliant red costumes, carrying homemade tridents and wearing fright masks made of animal skins and horns. Red cloth jumpsuits are adorned with hundreds of glittering mirrors and small bells that jingle as the kids dance all the way to sundown. The elders carry on the party from there until the wee hours.
La Fête des Diablesses
As Carnival revelers in other parts of the world nurse hangovers with the arrival of Ash Wednesday, the party in Martinique kicks into high gear. The bonus “Day of the She-Devils” (La Fête des Diablesses) marks the climax of the celebration with more than 30,000 “mourners” gathering to mark the end of Carnival and the symbolic death of King Carnival, known as Vaval.
The local media reports death notices in honor of Vaval, while festivities take place as his funeral pyre is built. Only two colors are worn – black and white. “She-Devils,” their faces smeared with pale ash or white flour, wear embroidered waist petticoats and blouses, a black skirt and headscarf made with a damask white table napkin. Mismatched black and white socks, shoes, and gloves complete the traditional ensemble.
As dusk falls, Vaval’s funeral flames light up the sky. The party, an arousing explosion of pulsating rhythms, exotic dance, mirth and rum, peaks as Vaval is consigned to the fire. Only when the flames die down does a calm settle over the masses. With the burial of Vaval, the crowds chant, “Vaval, pa kité nou,” which translates to “Carnival, don’t leave us.”
Martinique Carnival don’t leave us!
Officially, Martinique’s Carnival ends at the close of Ash Wednesday. However, in the island’s inimitable celebratory spirit, carnival celebrations are revived three weeks later with a second bonus day of revelry known as Mi-Carême, or mid-Lent.
Vaval remains buried, but cities and towns across Martinique spring to life again. Colorful costumes, rum, and parades combine again to fuel non-stop revelry amid a Carnival-like atmosphere. Another mini-Mardi Gras in the land where the party never stops.
So, see you at Martinique carnival?
Related Posts
Uncommon Photo-Op: Chromatic Carousing Around Martinique Carnival
Up Next: Our First Taste of Martinique Carnival
