When I was first told J’ouvert in Trinidad started at 1 am and lasted until after dawn, overlapping with Carnival’s 8 am start, I immediately said, “hell no, I need my sleep!” But of all the events we took part in during Trinidad’s carnival celebrations, this was my favorite!!
Surviving J’ouvert in Trinidad
Generally, you should try and buy tickets to play with a band, as early as possible. Because like any popular event, the ticket prices increase as the event rolls in closer. We weren’t this organized. We were umming and erring about whether to play until two days before hand. Lucky for us, a friend of a friend was able to hook us up with Clay tickets!
Along with the ticket, we were given a T-shirt, drinking cup, and a few other goodies with the promise of unlimited drinks available. We were also told to only wear items that could be thrown in the trash afterwards. Unfortunately, we need everything in our suitcases and certainly did not have ‘old’ shoes available. So, with limited choices, we decided to wear our jandals (or, as Trinidadians would say – ‘slippers’)!
We had good intentions of going to bed by 6pm the night before, but who were we kidding! It was still light outside, and we had a lot of things to organize before our two days of partying would begin. Waking to our alarms at 2 am, we quickly discovered that most Trinidad was already in the streets!
After being awake for less than 30 minutes, it was time to get into the groove and start sipping a rum and coke. Then it wasn’t long before people covered in clay from head to toe began passing through the crowd – and that clay was freezing! So, deciding it was better to protect ourselves than be covered by a prankster passing by, we found the mud truck and began J’ouvert! From that moment on, we were the pranksters pointing at clean people, telling them to get amongst it and get covered in clay. I also learned why no one else was wearing jandals!! As soon as the clay found its way between my jandal and foot, it was impossible to walk in a straight line, let alone ‘chip down deh road’!!
Later as the sun started to rise, the paint powder was introduced! Pinks, purples, yellows – there were clouds everywhere, and I was very quick to learn to keep my mouth closed and shut my eyes when flying in my direction.
By the time 8am rolled around, I was covered from head to toe in clay, paint powder and chocolate sauce! I was stoked when a passer-by from another band started pouring chocolate sauce in my mouth, but their intentions were not that innocent, and I was soon wearing a lot more than I swallowed!
Typically everyone would get hosed down when they reach the final destination of Clay, but I was busting for the loo and not prepared to squat in broad daylight as many Trini girls do. So we headed back to our accommodation and made a fantastic mess of the shower before heading to bed for a quick power nap before heading out for Carnival!
Some facts about J’ouvert
Cost: From my research, most J’ouvert bands generally cost about $98 US
When: It takes place on the morning that Carnival begins. For us, it was Monday 16th February 2015
Tip: Have some sleep before going, hang a cup around your neck, and be ready to get dirty and have fun!
Note: The pink paint was the hardest to scrub off! It left Moss with pink eyes for the rest of the day and after many washes, my hair is still pink!
Translating the Trinidad lingo
Who would have thought there could be so many new words to learn! Yes, every country has its unique names for things, but in Trinidad, they might as well not be speaking English, especially with their strong accent! Slippers instead of jandals was easy enough to understand, but then the rest must have been created by someone who was VERY hungry. Drinks and nibbles would typically spring to mind if someone said chip, wine and lime!
Here are the definitions from Wikipedia
- Chip – a walking shuffle step done to slower soca tunes
- Wine – a seductive form of dance involving circular or semi-circular movement of the hips especially. It can be done alone, with a partner, or with many partners.
- Lime/Liming – a party or any get-together/to hang out, or (more recently) to date someone