All About Carnival

There are thousands of carnivals that take place throughout the world, some borne out of tradition, some are responses to oppression, some are about tourism and supporting local charities, but most of all they are about celebrating life! There is not one definition of Carnival. Many different forms and versions of Carnival exist throughout the world. 

This section of our website will be evolving as we jointly create and share carnival resources, history and values. 

Modern day carnival has its origins across the world. Europeans in the Caribbean brought their pre lent festival to various Caribbean islands and it was the Africans and Indians who added the music, costume and dance after British enslavement was abolished. Caribbean people then brought it to the UK in the 1960s.

Carnival focuses around three terms; Music, Movement and Mas. However there are hundreds of words and phrases used in Carnival to describe it’s rich heritage of sounds, costumes, styles and people. We have created a Carnival Glossary to capture as many terms and phrases as we can. Please let us know if we have missed anything out by emailing us at info@carnivalarts.org.uk.

Download our Carnival Glossary here