Martinique is a abundant with rich cultural traditions and celebrations. There are a variety of celebrations and festivals that take place in Martinique that are special and unique to the island. Some of these festivals include music, dancing, food, singing, and masquerading. These celebrations reflect the cultural roots of the island and its history.
The importance of the festivals is not strictly cultural, the festivals help grow Martinique's tourism industry which in term helps the economy of Martinique.
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is a national holiday that celebrates the creation of the French Republic in 1789 after the French Revolution. Most retail stores are closed as families celebrate. It is held every year on July 14. During this event people can enjoy pageants, parades, and fireworks. While most of Martinique’s population is of mixed French and African descent, the people nevertheless think of themselves as French and joyfully celebrate the holiday by dressing up in red and white attire as seen in the image below.
The Carnival (Vaval)
The next event to be discussed is the Martinique carnival or Vaval. Carnival in Martinique is the celebration and expression of the island’s culture which occurs every year over the four days before Ash Wednesday. The period before the Carnival in Martinique sees various communities in the nation spend time building floats and crafting costumes for the festival. Today, the Carnival in Martinique is celebrated on the streets of Fort de France.
During Ash Wednesday, the last day of Carnival, the "devils" mourn the death of the King of Carnival. Recognized as Vaval, the Carnival King’s demise and traditional burning marks the end of the Carnival celebration the celebration of Carnival to an end. Many people gather to mourn dressed in black and white, parading to honor the Vaval. There is an additional symbolic burning of the stake later in the day. In the initial years of French rule, Carnival was observed in the old capital city, Saint Pierre. Carnival first was celebrated during the 17th century by Catholic French. Carnival spread in the Caribbean, and Martinique, during the late 17th and early 18 centuries. The tradition was started out as a festival exclusively intended for the wealthy individuals of French colonies. Early versions of Carnival in Martinique were characterized by over the top parties for the elite in Saint Pierre.
Below are the main aspects of the carnival:
traditional dancing
dressing in traditional costumes
singing
playing instruments
burning of the stake
This is a video of the 2018 Martinique Carnival, watch it to get a better idea as to how it is celebrated
Martinique Jazz Festival
Starting on the last week of November and ending on the first weekend of December, Martinique's Jazz Festival is rumored to be one of the longest in the Caribbean. As an area which contributed a lot towards the promotion of jazz, The festival is intended to create an event to unify the local audience and to showcase the local artists while also introducing foreign musicians to people. Martinique jazz such as biguine exemplify the contributions the region has made towards the genre. Musicians from the island sometimes went on to become big names in the industry such as Marius Cultier and Bibi Louison.
As seen in the image, the locals gather during the festival to listen to new and old jazz music performed by local artists. Jazz is important to the hearts of the Martinique people as it is historically significant and is a staple of Martinique musical culture.
Sources:
Guide, World Travel. “Discover the Rich History, Language and Culture of Martinique.” World Travel Guide, Columbus Travel Media Ltd, 26 May 2019, www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/caribbean/martinique/history-language-culture/.
Online, Martinica. “About the Island.” MartinicaOnline, TatosKoncept, 2018, martinicaonline.com/history-martinique.
Lovely blog post! The information given about the carnival was very well put together! I also enjoyed the video you added! It was a very nice touch!
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