This is a study done on the history, growth and public opinion of the kiddies carnival in Trinidad based on secondary research, interviews and surveys.

1. The Future of Kiddies Carnival
ANESHIA BEACH
M.A. CARNIVAL STUDIES
CLASS OF 2015

2. Research Statement
Due to empirical evidence gathered from my
own involvement in the children’s mas, the
future of Kiddies Carnival is based on the
interest of the public in the mas, the present
day challenges and the measures taken to
improve said challenges.

3. Significance of study
Children’s mas has grown significantly from holding
competitions in small pockets of the country to its full
scale street parade in the Carnival of 1976. Although it
has been in existence for quite some time and many
have heralded it as the “real Carnival”, attention must
be paid to the direction in which it is headed in order to
maintain this reputation of creativity and beauty that it
has built for itself.

5. Why weren’t they allowed?
Mr. Canute Spencer, noted that for many, Carnival was
not a place for children. Many adults did not find it
necessary to allow their children to participate in the
festivities, namely the mas, citing it as an adult
celebration and not seeing any derived benefit.
Although there existed small children’s competitions
about the country, the children were not allowed to
take to the streets to display their costumes.

6. What is mas?
Mas, has always been the pivotal piece of Carnival
which holds the festival together. As it is this
massive street parade that presents to the public,
and to the world on a broader scale, the creativity
and beauty that the country has to offer.

7. What is Kiddies Carnival?
Kiddies Carnival, otherwise known as Junior
Mas, or The Junior Parade of the Bands is a
celebration of the art of mas as created and/or
portrayed by those under 18 years. It is marked
by fully clad, colourful, creative and more literal
presentations than their adult counterparts.

8. History of Kiddies Carnival
 During the Carnival celebrations of the French, the children of the planter class were
encouraged to participate in all cultural activities. The slaves, as was expected, were
excluded from the festivities but that did not hinder them from engaging in activities
of their own privately until 1838 when they were granted full emancipation.
 It is assumed by Maxime that upon emancipation of the approximately 30,000 slaves
on the island, a substantial amount of them would have been children and so they
would have also been engaged in revelry of their own. The freed Africans brought
out several Kalinda bands and it was noted that children formed part of these bands
as participants or willing students.
 In 1919, shortly after the end of World War I, namely the Children’s Fancy Dress
competition.
 The children of Carnival were able to take part in competitions designed exclusively
for them.

11.  From the 1920’s to 1960’s, there were competitions held either at
certain venues or by different interest groups in North Trinidad such
as; The Queen’s Royal College Grounds, The Child Welfare League,
The Queen’s Park Savannah, The Nelson Street Boys R.C. School, St
Ann’s Children’s Carnival Committee, St Mary’s College, St Joseph
Convent and Fatima College.
 Maxime goes on to state that the Red Cross Junior Carnival,
emerging in the 1960’s brought an entirely new phase of
development of the mas as this local arm of an international body
encouraged many prominent members of Trinidad society at that
time to pay attention to the children’s mas. Thora Dumbbell, Lady
Pierre, Helen Humphrey, Eric James and Aubrey Adams are all
notable names who contributed to the development of children’s
mas through the Red Cross.

12. On January 30th 1976, there was the
first ever Junior Carnival competition
where the children were allowed to
parade in the streets of Port of Spain
in costume as well as participate in
steelpan and calypso competitions.

13. Maxime also stated that:
“The Kiddies Carnival is an
integral part of the overall
festival and so great
attention must be paid to its
genesis and expansion.”

14. Literature Review

15. 1. History and Development of Mas
 The Trinidad Carnival: A Mandate for a National Theatre – Errol Hill
 Dr. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool’s work Rituals of Power and Rebellion: The
Carnival Tradition in Trinidad and Tobago 1763 – 1962
 Michael Anthony’s The Carnival of Trinidad and Tobago
 Dr. Kim Johnson’s The Illustrated Story of Pan
 Michaelene Crichlow Carnival Art, Culture and Politics: Performing Life
 Rubadiri Victor’s work, Meditation on the Tradition; Images from the
Trinidad Carnival 2k8
 Moko Jumbies: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad - Sean Faulke

16. Rubadiri Victor on children’s mas
“The place where the real mas
still lives – in inventiveness, in
its alliance with dream, in its
capacity for joy and endless
invention.”

17. First-hand accounts of children being
involved in mas in Trinidad from the 1960’s
onward
 Ramesh Deosaran “Kiddies Carnival and the Rights of the Children”
 An article by Brian Ng Fatt in the Trinidad Express on 13th February 1988
highlights the anticipation of the children before the proposed day
 Dr. Lennox Bernard, head of the University of the West Indies, Open
Campus (Trinidad) presented an editorial piece in the Trinidad and Tobago
Newsday in 2011 focusing on solutions that can be found to deal with the
academic learning time lost during the Carnival season

18. Articles on integrating mas into the
curriculum in the UK and Canada
 “Why Should We Teach Children and Teachers about Carnival?”
Carnivalineducation.com, a UK based website
 An article appearing in the summer 2014 issue of the ETFO Voice details an
educator’s experience in bringing Carnival to the classroom.
 A project in the UK to revamp the arts in the experience of students
entitled HEARTS incorporated Carnival into the curriculum.

19. The impact of the involvement of children
in Mas as it relates to developmental
psychology in the general sense.
 Kenwyn Murray, through his essay, “The Child and Children’s Mas: Play,
Imagination and Caribbean Identity”, views the children’s mas in the
context of developmental psychology.

20. Significance
Although there has been work done on the
benefits derived from playing mas and
integrating it into the curriculum, there isn’t
work done on how the Junior bandleaders feel
about the future of the children’s carnival and
what challenges are presented to them.
Therefore this study is important in the field of
Junior Mas and therefore in carnival overall.

21. Research questions
1. Why do we involve the children in the mas?
2. What is the general public’s response to the
children’s mas?
3. What are some of the challenges faced
within the Junior Mas fraternity?
4. What improvements can be made to the
mas?

22. Methodology
In order to have these research questions
answered, various methods of data collection
were utilized with different groups. Apart from
the secondary analysis of the limited, existing
data, primary research is essential. Purposive
Sampling was implemented, conducting
interviews and distributing questionnaires with
people who fit the following criteria:

23.  Members of the Trinidad public who are willing to offer opinions on
the Junior Mas.
 Mas practitioners who are involved in the field of Junior Mas (both
school and non – school)
 Former members of the Carnival Development Committee (CDC)
who were instrumental in developing the Junior Parade of the Bands
 Members of Junior Carnival committees responsible for holding
different children’s mas competitions i.e. Red Cross etc.
 The head of the governing body of the mas, the NATIONAL
CARNIVAL BANDS ASSOCIATION – David Lopez.
 Children who have played mas for three years and above.

24. Q1: Why do we involve the children in
the mas?
 The head of the NATIONAL CARNIVAL BANDS ASSOCIATION, David Lopez
was interviewed.
 Past members of the committee responsible for organizing the first Junior
Parade of the bands, Canute Spencer and Dr. Hollis Liverpool were
interviewed.
 Chairman of the Red Cross Children’s Carnival, Mrs. Vindra Amar was also
interviewed.
 Chairman of the Pointe a Pierre Children’s Carnival competition, Mr
Fitzroy Jackman was interviewed
 15 Mas practitioners within the junior mas fraternity were interviewed.
 10 Junior masqueraders were also interviewed.

25. Q2: What is the general public’s
response to the children’s mas?
 I created a survey distributed to 283 participants online
via the survey forum surveymonkey.com.
 The survey was distributed via email and the social
networking site Facebook in an effort to have a broad
cross section of the Trinidad public.
 The participants were asked 10 simple questions
concerning their opinions on the Junior Parade of the
Bands.
 Of the 283 I received 100 responses.

26. Q3: What are some of the challenges
faced within the Junior Mas fraternity?
 Current as well as former mas practitioners (both school
and non-school) were questioned about this as they
would be able to highlight what they are responsible for
concerning the mas.
 The head of the NCBA was also interviewed concerning
challenges presented by mas practitioners as well as
concerns that they have had and asked what
improvements can be made.
 Mrs Amar and Mr. Blackman were also presented with
these questions concerning the aid that they have gotten
from the corporate community.

27. Q4: What improvements can be made
to the Junior Mas?
Fellow mas practitioners were questioned about
this as they would be able to determine, based
on their experience, what improvements can be
made to the mas.
The head of the NCBA was also interviewed
concerning what steps are being taken to rectify
the challenges.

28. Delimitations
 In total, 15 bandleaders, from several areas of Trinidad, both school and non-school were
interviewed. 10 child masqueraders ranging in ages 4 – 18 from different bands in Trinidad as
well as different parts of the island were also interviewed in person to get a fair idea of their
perspective of the mas. 3 mas administrators, 2 former members of the Carnival Development
Committee and 100 members of the public were interviewed.
 The bandleaders interviewed were from different areas of the country as I did not want the
research to be limited to the seemingly popular Junior Mas bands but wanted to get a more
general idea of the experiences of the band leaders in an attempt to identify similarities and
differences of them.
 As the head of the organization that governs the mas, the NATIONAL CARNIVAL BANDS
ASSOCIATION would have a key role to play in the management in the junior Carnival.
Therefore it was imperative to meet with and discuss with Mr. Lopez, the issues surrounding
the Kiddies Carnival and the NATIONAL CARNIVAL BANDS ASSOCIATION’s role in propelling
the Junior Mas forward.

29. Limitations
 Due to time and financial constraints I have limited my research to
Trinidad Due to time constraints during the Carnival season,
 Gaining financial info from band leaders as well from the National
Carnival Bands Association was extremely difficult as all stated that it
was sensitive information that could not have been easily relayed.
 Statistical information also proved to be problematic in receiving thus
as there was much reluctance to provide this by the NCBA citing it as
extremely sensitive information.
 The responses by the children may also be limited due to diction at
their level, however the questions in the interviews were posed as
simply as possible in order to effectively conduct a successful
interview.

30. ANALYSIS
The relevant data was grouped according to
the responses by different groups such as:
 Band leaders
 Masqueraders
 Mas administrators
 Members of the public.

31. FINDINGS

32. Question 1: Why do we involve
children in the mas?
 Involving children in the mas was initially based on creating a
space for them to exhibit their creativity while not exposing
them to the explicitly sexual nature that is deeply entrenched
in the Carnival. It was a matter of involving them in the
carnival atmosphere while still preserving their innocence.
 According to Canute Spencer, “It was imperative to have
children involved in Carnival because this is our culture and
the children should know from an early age what it entails.”
The art of making mas was declining and there was a need
to teach the children how to make mas.

33. Today, involving children in the mas has an even
greater importance than it did in 1976.
It has become, according to the views of both
mas practitioners and the general public, the
only aspect of mas that has stayed true to the
creativity and beauty that was once prevalent in
the mas. It has also been the space for
maintaining the traditional aspect of the Carnival.

34. “Mas is an
education
itself.”
Canute Spencer

35. “When you
see
children’s
mas you
see
costumes,
you see
creativity,
you see
intricacy of
design.”
David Lopez

36. “The only bastion of
creativity and design
Trinidad and
carnival is in
mas. In most
mas a story is told.
With the exit of adult
mas names such as
Minshall, Berkeley,
Heung, McFarlane etc.
there is literally
at all left by way of
design, creativity or
story telling.”
Rosalind Gabriel

37. “Creativity is found in
the children’s mas as
opposed to the adult
mas. This is where the
real mas is as the adult
mas’ creativity has
been lost to the two
piece and fries (bikini
and beads) mas.”
Stephen Derek

38. The view of the children

39. “I like to wear
the pretty
costumes and I
like to see the
moko jumbies. I
am going to be
a moko jumbie!”
Ahraya Julien (4
years old)

40. “I love helping make my
own costumes at school
because I learn a lot.
And it helps because
people always ask us
what we are when we
are on the streets.”
Leah Govia (13 year old
traditional masquerader)

41. “I always love
playing mas
because I learn a
lot about Port of
Spain and I love to
help in the mas
camp at night”
Teja Humphrey (13
year old
masquerader who
resides in New
York)

42. “When everybody
sees me so high
up I like to see
how surprised
they are that I
can do that.”
Tishaun Jordan
(11 year old moko jumbie)

43. Question 2
What is the general public’s
response to the children’s mas?

44. The respondents surveyed were of
varying ages
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
NUMBER
AGES OF RESPONDENTS
18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45-54 55 - 64 65 - 74 75 +

45. The respondents were from various
locations
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Port of Spain &
Environs
San Fernando &
Environs
Chaguanas and
environs
Arima & environs Point Fortin &
environs
Couva & environs Diego Martin &
environs
Penal-Debe &
environs
Princes Town &
environs
San Juan/
Laventille &
environs
Sangre Grande &
environs
Siparia &
environs
Tunapuna &
environs
Location of Respondents

46. 90%
9%
1%
Are you familiar with children's Carnival?
yes no skipped

47. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Junior Parade of the
bands
San Fernando
Kiddies Carnival
(Sunday)
Red Cross Junior
Carnival
arima kiddies
carnival (carnival
Sunday)
marabella kiddies
carnival
St James Kiddies
Carnival
Nostalgia Parade San Juan Junior
Parade of Bands
Guaracara Park Chaguanas Junior
Parade
Junior King and
Queen competition
Junior Mas Parades Attended

48. 71%
25%
4%
which parade would you prefer to look at?
children
adult
skipped

49. Opinion of the quality of children’s
presentations
 Creative and it reflects the culture of carnival
 Well organized
 Gorgeous, creative and certainly better than the adults presentations
 Very creative costuming. Big disparity between schools and private bands
in quality and cost of costumes.
 Needs more funding and security.
 Still very creative but there is a concern with commercial manipulation and
lack of schools’ involvement.
 “Costumes are suitable to the ages. Simple children’s performance. The
conduct of some of the children left much to be desired as the influence of
the adult was very apparent.

50. Question 3
What are some of the challenges faced
within the Junior Mas fraternity?

51. Prize money
The prize money allotted by the NCBA
as well as regional competitions were
not found to be enough for the band
leaders.

52. Lack of sponsorship
It was found that the bands often do not get any
sponsorship whatsoever or in some instances
they are only received if the band leader or
member of a band has close, personal ties with a
major company. Many of the major sponsors,
who target children in their advertising, do not
sponsor children’s bands but rather pay
attention to the adult party bands.

55. Administrative issues
The other major challenge is the
administration of the Junior Parade of the
bands which is done through the
governing body, the NCBA. There has
been a lot of issues surfacing between
bandleaders and the NCBA’s president
David Lopez

56. Dwindling school participation
There is a higher
number of private
bands participating
than school bands.

62. Reasons for decreased participation
 Lack of parent/teacher support for production of costumes.
 School’s curriculum is too heavy to facilitate ‘extra projects’
 Teachers are reluctant as they use money out of their pocket
 Discouraged by competition from the private bands as they had
an advantage with skilled artisans etc.
 Lack of ministry involvement

63. Negative influence of adults
While most parents were supportive of preserving
the innocence of the child, there were still those
who encourage lewd behavior of the children and
band leaders noted that that was problematic.

64. Question 4 recommended
improvements
Due to the challenges presented, it was
found that the mas practitioners already had
some solutions in mind concerning the
different challenges faced.

65. Maintain a united front

66. There was also a call to fellow masqueraders to not
become complacent but to do research and
maintain the creativity and lessen the repetition of
the mas.
A call to improve the skill or ‘up ones game” was
also brought forward

67. The NCBA Mas Academy Outreach Programme
&
Export Centres Company Limited Carnival Arts Programme

68. The bandleaders implored the members of the
public to support the mas whether it is free or paid
as the growing number of spectators will lead to a
greater attention from the corporate community to
the Junior Mas.

69. With regard to the NATIONAL CARNIVAL BANDS
ASSOCIATION, the recommendation made is a total
restructuring of the administration as many are unhappy
with the management thus far. Many called for the
publishing of the prize structure etc. to ensure transparency
in the association’s dealings in an attempt to ease some of
the dissent expressed.

70. Integrate Carnival arts into the
curriculum
 Through VAPA – Visual and Performing Arts.
 Carnival should not only be seen as putting on a costume but it should
enhance the child’s imagination through pretend play.

71. “Up to the 70s mas provided a moment to play yourself, that is, your fantasy
of wealth, power, desirability or fearsomeness. For a day you were an Roman
or Aztec ruler, a slut or anti-hero of Western culture: an avenging robber, a
wild Indian or African warrior, a vampire or mummy, a demon, imp or
Beelzebub himself.” Kim Johnson

72. Mas as theatre
Mas as History
Mas as knowledge

73. Mas as theatre

74. Recommendations for Further Study
 A deeper study of the relationship between Pan Trinbago and the NCBA
should be done in order to determine of what importance is the junior carnival
to pan trinbago as ncba has been found to make provisions for the panorama
finals, therefore inconveniencing the junior masqueraders as they are rushed
across the stage.
 Further study into the incorporation of the junior mas into the curriculum to
facilitate the growth of junior mas bands in the schools should be done as it
has been noted that developing school bands is of paramount importance.
 Further study into the impact of playing mas on children should be done in an
ability to assess how beneficial playing mas really is on children in Trinidad in a
general sense.
 The impact of race and social status in the Kiddies Carnival.

75. Thank You
 In all things one must give God thanks and this feat is no exception.
 To Dr. Hollis Liverpool, a true legend to whom I had the honour of being his student, I am forever
indebted to him for his wisdom, guidance as well as your patience with me during this past year.
 My supervisor, Dr. Kim Johnson’s wisdom and understanding know no bounds and for this I am
grateful.
 Special thanks to Mr. David Lopez and The National Carnival Bands Association for being willing to
offer assistance in whatever way possible.
 Special thanks to all survey respondents, bandleaders, administrative staff and children who took out
of their time to aid a student and fellow mas practitioner desperate for answers.
 Special mention must be made to Mrs. Vindra Amar, Mr. Stephen Derek, Mrs. Rosalind Gabriel, Mr.
Canute Spencer, Mrs. Ruth Mendez as well as Mr. Roy Augustus for extending words of wisdom that
extended far beyond the set interview questions. The information was greatly appreciated.
 The late Dr. Reginald Griffith for his strength, knowledge, and “stick-to-itiveness” even during his time
of ailment a lot is owed to him.

76. Dedication
Dedicated to my mother
Morgana Beach who has
sparked my love for the
Carnival.

77. MAMA ‘DIS IS MAS