Trinidad & Tobago

 Geography, History, and Culture

Geography

The Republic of Trinidad & Tobago consists of two islands in the southernmost part of the Caribbean archipelago. 

Much of Tobago and northern Trinidad consist of steep mountains and deep forests, while southern Trinidad has flat, agricultural land and gentle hillsides. The islands are tropical, making for warm weather all year. They experience dryness from January to May and rain from June to December. 

History 

Before Christopher Columbus landed on the islands in 1498, they were largely inhabited by the Arawak and Carib indigenous people of South America. These populations were mostly wiped out with Spanish colonization, the remaining forced to convert to Christianity and work as slaves. The land was under Spanish control and occupied by European farmers until it was taken by the British Crown in 1796. African slaves were brought to work on sugar plantations until slavery was abolished in British territories in 1838; they then refused to keep working in the fields after emancipation. 

To fill the hole left in the sugar industry, large populations of people from India, China, Portugal, as well as African-Americans were brought to work as indentured servants. The Indian population on the islands continued to boom until indentureship was abolished by the Indian Legislative Assembly. 

In 1962, Trinidad & Tobago gained full independence from the UK. While facing the typical problems of instability of a newly dependent nation, its economy has experienced huge growth with the oil and gas industries. 

Culture 

The ethnicities making up most of the population of Trinidad & Tobago are Indian and African. Smaller populations of ethnicities from around the world also contribute to the makeup of the two islands. English is the country's official language, with most people speaking a creole variant of it called Trinidad English. Few speak French, Spanish, and Hindi. 

While in Spanish control, Roman Catholicism was the official religion and has remained strong. Protestantism was brought with the British, and numerous faiths were brought from Africa. Protestant sects of Christianity currently hold the highest population of religion in the country. 

The most important celebration in Trinidad & Tobago is Carnival, brought by French farmers in the late 18th century. The celebration occurs in the few days coming before Lent. Carnival was viewed as a white, European celebration until being transformed and given new meaning by newly freed African slaves through their traditions and telling of stories. Though their festivities were suppressed by the government, conditions improved along with the development of Carnival. Today, it is marked by huge parades, dancing, music, and colors in masses. 

Music

Instruments 

In the late 19th century during Carnival celebrations, the playing of all string, percussion, and wood-wind instruments was prohibited by authorities due to their perceived disruptiveness. To combat this, the people of Trinidad created the Tamboo-Bamboo, a length of bamboo played by striking the ground. 

The bamboo's lack of durability left musicians with the issue of the instrument wearing and splintering. This led them to experiment with different materials such as metal, which ultimately led to the creation of the steelpan. 

The steelpan is the most important instrument of the Caribbean, and its early models were created by cutting a cross section from a petroleum container. Indents were then made on the surface to produce different pitches when struck. Since then, it has developed into a modern instrument coming in a variety of sizes, timbres, and ranges of pitch. 

The notes on the pan are not laid out diatonically, rather they circle in 5ths. 

Orchestration 

Modern steel bands have different sections of instruments grouped by pitch and timbre. High tenor, low tenor, and double tenor pans are all a part of the frontline. Mid-range pans consist of guitar pan, quadrophone pan, and cello pan. In the background are a variety of bass pans. Continuing the tradition of the tamboo-bamboo, the "engine room" provides the rhythmic basis for the group with instruments such as drums, shakers, and other percussion instruments made of iron. 

Calypso 

Trinidad & Tobago is the birthplace of Calypso music, which would go on to be known as the music of the Caribbean. Its origins lie in the songs and stories of west African griots. The tradition was brought to the islands and carried by African slaves who used it to communicate, tell stories, and express their heritage. Some west African elements that can be found in the Calypso genre are the complex rhythms, call and response patterns, improvised speech/singing, and social commentary found in the words. Songs were originally sung in the French creole dialect called patois, and eventually shifted into Trinidad English. 

In the 1920's, Calypso was beginning to be widely played in tents during Carnival season, taking it to its Golden Age in the mid 20th century. One of the biggest Calypso artists during this time was the Mighty Sparrow. 

Soca 

The soca (soul & calypso) genre was birthed when calypsonian Lord Shorty decided to start incorporating Indian rhythms into the calypso beat. 

Soca has grown into a massive genre and taken over the Carnival party scene completely. Subgenres have grown out of it such as chutney soca and ragga soca. 

My Experience 

I took steel drums class in my senior year of high school. Our percussion teacher, Mr. Kilby, took a great deal of care in encouraging us to appreciate and learn more about the culture our instruments and music came from. I gained so much more from the experience than I was ever expecting. On our final concert, he invited guest artist Josanne Francis, a teacher, composer, and steelpan player from Trinidad to teach and play some of her compositions with us. My favorite of these was a piece called "Pragati". It incorporates the Indian elements of Raga (in the best way it could be translated to our medium) and Tala, and the concert also featured a professional tabla player. Josanne is incredibly smart, a wonderful musician, and a brilliant educator. She's also just a fabulous human being and lovely to talk to. I couldn't seem to get ahold of the video of our performance, but the first part of this video features her playing Pragati: 

Sources 

"Geography", Trinidad, https://trinidad.us/geography

"History of Trinidad", Milwaukee Public Museum, 2022, https://www.mpm.edu/research-collections/anthropology/online-collections-research/east-indians-trinidad/history

Bridget M. Brereton, "Trinidad and Tobago", Britannica Academic, https://academic-eb-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/levels/collegiate/article/Trinidad-and-Tobago/117403#article-contributors

"Trinidad Carnival", the Cambridge Guide to Theatre, 2000, https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MjczNTYx

"Steelband", Trinidad and Tobago National Library and Information System Authority, https://www.nalis.gov.tt/Resources/Subject-Guide/Steelband

"Calypso", Trinidad and Tobago National Library and Information System Authority, https://www.nalis.gov.tt/Resources/Subject-Guide/Calypso

"Soca", Trinidad and Tobago National Library and Information System Authority, https://www.nalis.gov.tt/Resources/Subject-Guide/Calypso