Visual Culture: Ten Traditional Mas Characters You’ll Find At Trinidad Carnival

February 8, 2016


DAME LORRAINE
Trinidad-Carnival-39

Originally played by men, Dame Lorraine mas has become a pretty portrayal of the thick madame. Fancy french gowns with parasols and stuffed bottoms and busts reminiscent of the once-bastardized Hottentot Venus, there is another side of the mas that is no longer seen. Historically, it was a time when the slaves mocked their owners and their various deformities or personality traits so the characters played a tad more to the vulgar rather than the classy demure portrayals seen today. Other Dame Lorraine masquerades included Gros Patat (big vagina), Gros Tete’ (Big Head) and Gros Coco (Big Balls)