Carnival is not unique to Trinidad and Tobago. In fact, it has been noted that TT’s “Greatest Show on Earth” has been evolving over centuries, and is older than Christianity itself.

Italy, the United Kingdom and France are countries that have long since had their own versions of bacchanalia and the revelry that are such a prominent part of TT’s Carnival.

And according to author and calypso historian Rudolph Ottley, the advent of Christianity did not affect the holding of Carnival. In fact, Ottley said early popes had much to do with it.

Speaking during a presentation of the Role of East Port-of-Spain in the Development of Carnival at the National Museum, Port-of-Spain, recently, Ottley highlighted the varied Carnival celebrations – African Carnival in East Port-of-Spain and white Carnival in St Ann’s and St Clair.

The white residents drove around savannah and side streets in their decorated trucks, never on the road, Ottley pointed out during his presentation. The fact that the white society was isolated and the non-white majority ignored seemed to facilitate the Africans in their own planning, organisation and conduct of Carnival, he noted.

The boundaries that defined the area for the Africans’ Carnival were Charlotte Street North to Observatory Street; Charlotte Street East to Picadilly Street and St Joseph Road and south to South Quay.

The Africans soon took over Carnival, however, celebrating it as an expression of their newly- won freedom after the French lost their dominance in society.

Ottley said the Africans were allowed to do as they pleased as long as they did not interfere, hinder or obstruct the white Carnival.

“So you were allowed to stay behind the bridge, play your mas ... once you interfered with St Ann’s, St Clair Carnival, then that was a different story. Carnival, from its inception in Trinidad and Tobago, seems to have had a very divided path, segmented as it was, so when a band leader says they don’t want to go beyond Picadilly Street, it’s nothing new,” he said.

Ottley said the power of the Africans lay not only in the dynamics and vigour of their cultural traditions, but also in their numbers where, in 1838, there were 16,167 freed Africans against 3,620 whites.

African settlement increased in East Port-of-Spain after 1838 as they searched for work and tried to sell their wares, and with this came the problem of urbanisation. The Africans’ Carnival thus became one of rivalry between competing groups for turfs, giving way to much of the violence that arose after 1860.

Contributions by East Port-of-Spain included mas, calypso, calypso tents, tamboo bamboo, steelpan and food (pelau).The barrack yards, of which there were several, played an important role in all these components, as many were formed in these poverty stricken areas which were dominated by the freed Africans.

Under section 134 , sub-section 2 of the Public Health Ordinance, a barrack yard was defined as “any building or collection of buildings divided into rooms occupied singly or in sets by persons of the poorer classes, and to which there are a common barrack-yard and common conveniences”.

Author CLR James also described the barrack yard as “a narrow gateway leading into a fairly big yard, on either side of which run low long buildings, consisting of anything from four to 18 rooms, each about 12 feet square ... in one corner of the yard is the hopelessly inadequate water closet, unmistakable to the nose if not the eye; sometimes there is a structure with the title of bathroom; a courtesy title, for he or she who would wash in it with decent privacy must cover the person as if bathing in a lido; the kitchen happily presents no difficulty: there is never one and each barrack-yarder cooks before her door”.

Ottley said perhaps the most common form of escape for the poorer class was Carnival, where thousands participated annually, “drowning their sad spirits and hatred of the barrack yard life in the music and dances of their traditions”.

“Even as they danced and sang, however, they showed by their behaviour a resentment of white and upper class values, and a hatred for the quality of life in the barrack yard,” he said.

The barrack yards which existed during that era were the Jules on Duke Street, Hell Yard on Charlotte Street, Red Dragon on George Street, Indian on Nelson Street (mainly families of East Indian descent lived there, hence the name), Jackass barracks on St Joseph Road and La Cou Harpe on Observatory Street, which was described as the “barrack yard of all barrack yards”.

The barrack yards were congregation sites of sorts, out of which emerged stick fighting bands, and where the prostitutes were often found in residence.

Dr Hollis Liverpool, veteran calypsonian and historian, who was present during the presentation, told the Sunday Newsday that prostitutes were looked upon as something degrading, but they were the ones who actually assisted the calypsonians.

“The prostitutes were in the yards, like the jacket men – they were the elite class who came for prostitutes – and the prostitutes, while getting their money, they protected the calypsonians and made sure they were paid, and made sure they got plenty money too. The prostitutes befriended the calypsonians and gave them nice outfits so they could appear in the yard,” Liverpool said.

He added, “So sometimes people look at prostitutes as something degrading, but they actually assisted the calypsonians to make a dollar. When the Americans came into the country, prostitutes were the ones who would fend for the calypsonians.“They were all part of the process, that’s why we would find them in the panyard and they were flag wavers. The flag women were prostitutes. The first flag wavers were prostitutes. Prostitution was a big contribution to Carnival.”

Bertie Bertram Thomas, known to most people in East Port-of-Spain as Bob, has lived his entire life on Nelson Street, and knows about life in the barrack yards with their colourful characters.

“When I was a little boy I used to play pan and that time it was more pan around the neck.

There were a few prostitutes around in the yards on Duncan Street and Nelson Street. There were prostitutes around, but as a little boy, when the big ones catch you hanging around they would run you and say they don’t want you around,” Thomas recalled fondly to Sunday Newsday.

“We couldn’t get involved. But the bigger guys, they were involved with these people, but most of the bands had people of that nature. I don’t like to call their names because as I got older they would talk to me good, some of them died and all.

“A lot of the barracks had prostitutes, but I couldn’t go round that place, my mother would have killed me. In the barracks was a friendly life with the tenants and Carnival was always a part of that life.”

Taking a short walk around the community, Thomas noted that the apartment building where he lived and surrounding apartments all used to be part of the barrack yards. One original building still stood on Faure Street, a squat, stone structure that must have many interesting tales to tell.

Thomas told of tales where many of the warring steelpan bands would erupt into fights over the flag women.

During his presentation, Ottley said as with all cultures, there were going to be some changes, since no one wanted to remain stagnant. However, he noted that the challenge was how the people dealt with these changes.

“As a population we have to recognise that the culture is growing, is changing and give it time to settle down again, but the culture will not disappear,” he assured.

Ottley said some people had a very superficial appreciation of the Carnival, but Carnival was not about costumes only, but it was about history and protest.

“It is about fighting for something because that is what Carnival came out of, fighting for self and for your right. It is not about celebration as much, celebration is part of it, but it’s for a cause. The celebration comes after the achievement. A lot of people don’t see it as merely celebration. That is where I think the work should be done,” he said.

He said it was about ensuring that people recognised that Carnival was about protest about something.

“It’s about fighting the system, it’s about saying there’s another way. You celebrate whilst you are protesting. When they fought with captain Baker, they made their point that he can’t stop the Carnival and you know what, they had a good time doing it. So there is the celebration, but it has to be for a reason. There’s a purpose for Carnival. It was celebrating their harvest and their freedom.

You are now free to do as you want. Once you stayed behind your bridge there was not a problem. The problems came in when you stepped over your boundaries,” Ottley said.

Today people from all walks of life, from throughout the country, converge in the heart of Port-of-Spain on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, where they embrace each other as they celebrate The Greatest Show on Earth.