Subculture In The Caribbean Culture

The project involves discovering how the Caribbean culture flourished as a subculture during the 1700 to1800, and was influenced by the Spanish, French and British traditions. The goal is to show that the black popular subculture culture continued to develop with the art, music, and literature of the dominant European groups in spite of the slave’s inferior status and unequal treatment, especially after the emancipation of slavery in 1838. By examining the work of Francis Bebey, African Music: A People's Art, and the Roots of Calypso by George D. Maharaj, it becomes clear that the extemporizing rhythmic arrangement, songs, distinctive drum styles, and a process of call and response format for the people developed into a symbol of freedom and

While Black culture contributed to the culture of the United States of America Caribbean popular culture is and has always been the channel used to dispute the dominant group’s efforts at restricting the celebrations of the enslaved on the Caribbean islands in late 1800 and early 1900. For the purpose of this essay, Trinidad Carnival will be the focus of this discourse. Trinidad Carnival origins are wedged in the 18th centuary French extravagant masquerade balls at Christmas and before the Catholic Lenten season as well as the African and Indian religious celebrations, rituals, customs and beliefs. The limited geographical area, subordinate status and unequal treatment encouraged a form of cultural relativism necessary for Africans enslaved and Indian indenture servants to established their ancestors culture’s worth and equal value. The term Microculture is new, still it illuminates the growth of the Africans enslaved and Indian indenture servants’ distinctive culture of the Caribbean. Even though, Trinidad Carnival has roots in the French extravagant masquerade balls at Christmas and before the Catholic Lenten season as well as the African and Indian celebrations religious celebrations, rituals, customs and beliefs the Culture remains the collaborative accomplishment of the Africans enslaved and Indian indenture servants desire to

The traditions connected the people to country, community, family and friends. Many of these traditions are still passed down in oral form from generation to generation despite the growing ethnocentrism that looks at Caribbean popular culture as weak, corrupt and primitive. This is the same feeling of superiority in the European dominant group culture that pushed racial discrimination during the 17th and 18th centuries, when European countries kept Africans enslaved because of the belief that the Europeans culture, customs and ethics were superior to Africans, Arawaks, Caribs, and East Indian cultures.
Over the years Trinidad and Tobago’s Africans, Arawaks, Caribs, and East Indian culture fused into new forms of popular music. Chantwell singers name changed to calypsonian, and calypso is widely identified as popular music throughout Trinidad and the Caribbean. The steelband replaced the tamboo bamboo band, and in the 1960s calypso merged with Indian music, soul and funk to become today’s soca beat.
Although, the Caribbean islands have a history of slavery that dates back to the 15th century and the Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, British, and French colonized the West Indies as well as North America, Caribbean music, art, literature, fashion, dance, and culture which