by Curlan Campbell
- Tobago’s carnival scheduled for 25–27 October
- Tobago and Grenada share historic cultural ties dating back to 1833
- In 2022, SMC and GTA contingent travelled to Tobago for carnival exchange
Tashia Burris, who serves as the Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities & Transportation in the Tobago House of Assembly, stated that one of the most notable occurrences during Tobago’s 2022 carnival was the reestablishment of the historic cultural ties dating back to 1833, between Tobago and Grenada.
At that time, Tobago formed part of the Windward Islands alongside Grenada and St Vincent until 1889. Then, Tobago merged with Trinidad to create the colony of Trinidad and Tobago, which gained independence in 1962.
Burris stated that this move was aimed at asserting Tobago’s political autonomy, showcasing its unique cultural identity. She faced resistance from mainland Trinidad and defended their decision, stating that relying on Grenada was not meant as an affront to Trinidad.
“It’s kind of unfortunate that the conversation back home went the way that it went because it was not an affront to our relationship with Trinidad that we came to Grenada, because we know what carnival product Trinidad has to offer,” Burris said.
In 2022, a 12-member contingent travelled to Tobago as part of the carnival exchange launched by Spicemas Corporation (SMC) and the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) for the promotion of Spice Mas and Grenada.
Burris said this was an opportunity to bring the cultural practitioners of traditional mas from Grenada to Tobago to help craft this unique carnival product. “We don’t want a situation where creatives interpret the theme according to their own preferences. We don’t want someone in Tobago using a Grenadian jab theme to create a costume that looks like a jab-jab costume.”
She said this was also an opportunity for Tobagonians who have never visited Grenada to trace their ancestral lineage. “The reason why we came to Grenada was to pay homage to our history. I’ve been wanting to create an opportunity to connect practitioners and bring authentic mas to the streets of Tobago. Many people there have traced their lineage to Grenada, but have never visited and are unaware of their Grenadian ancestry.”
Burris, who briefly visited Grenada for the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC 2024) in April, spoke about her plans for this year’s festival and the rationale behind the push to restore cultural ties to Grenada. She said this year’s October carnival will be no different, as the island will continue to reach out to Grenada and other neighbouring islands to continue developing this unique carnival product.
According to Burris, Tobago’s carnival has experienced significant growth in attendance over the past 2 years, which is a testament to the effectiveness of this unique carnival model. Planning for this year’s event began in January; all postmortems from last year’s event have been completed, and stakeholders have been called to the table again to contribute.
Tobago’s carnival is scheduled to take place from 25–27 October 2024.
Thank you for this article, I found this interesting and informative and I learned something new. I was not aware of the strong ties between Grenada andTobago.
As a Grenadian born native living inEngland since childhood it makes me very proud of our nation’s contribution to Tobagos carnival.
They say you learn something new everyday, your article certainly proves that.