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Steelpans
The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument by Prime Minister Patrick Manning. This helped turn the steelpan into a source of national pride and cultural identity, recognized both locally and internationally. In 2023, the United Nations General Assembly declared August 11 as World Steelpan Day. The following year, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago officially recognised the steelpan as the country's national instrument. Description The modern pan is a chromatically pitched percussion instrument made from 200-litre industrial drums. ''Drum'' refers to the steel drum containers from which the pans are made; the steel drum is more correctly called a ''steel pan'' or ''pan'' as it falls into the idiophone family of instruments, and so is not a drum (which is a membranop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gong
A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and are circular and flat or bowl-like in shape, and can come in various sizes. They are typically struck with a mallet. They can be played alone, giving a characteristic "crashing" sound, or played as part of a tuned set that produce bell-like sounds. The earliest possible depictions of gongs is from the details on the surface of the Ngọc Lũ I Dong son drum, bronze drum () from the Dong Son culture of northern Vietnam. It depicts what looks like seven-gong ensembles along with other instruments (including cymbals/bells and the bronze drums themselves). The oldest undisputed historical mention of gongs can be found in sixth century AD Chinese records, which mentioned it as a foreign instrument that came from a country between Tibet and Bur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Carnival
Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typically involves public party, celebrations, including events such as parades, public street party, street parties and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity.Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1984. ''Rabelais and his world''. Translated by H. Iswolsky. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Original edition, ''Tvorchestvo Fransua Rable i narodnaia kul'tura srednevekov'ia i Renessansa'', 1965. Participants often indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods that will be forgone during upcoming Lent. Traditionally, butter, milk, and other animal products were not consumed "excessively", r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Maraca
A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of divination, an oracle of the Brazilian Tupinamba people, found also with other Indigenous ethnic groups, such as the Guarani, Orinoco and in Florida. Rattles made from ''Lagenaria'' gourds are being shaken by the natural grip, while the round '' Crescentia'' calabash fruits are fitted to a handle. Human hair is sometimes fastened on the top, and a slit is cut in it to represent a mouth, through which their shamans (''payes'') made it utter its responses. A few pebbles are inserted to make it rattle and it is crowned with the red feathers of the ( scarlet ibis). It was used at their dances and to heal the sick. Andean curanderos (healers) use maracas in their healing rites. Modern maraca balls are also made of leather, wood or plastic. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Liturgical Year
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may be used in connection with different seasons of the liturgical year. The dates of the festivals vary somewhat among the different churches, although the sequence and logic is largely the same. Liturgical cycle The liturgical cycle divides the year into a series of seasons, each with their own mood, theological emphases, and modes of prayer, which can be signified by different ways of decorating churches, colours of paraments and vestments for clergy, scriptural readings, themes for preaching and even different traditions and practices often observed personally or in the home. In churches that follow the liturgical year, the scripture passages for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.Gerald O'Collins, O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites#Churches, ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and Eparchy, eparchies List of Catholic dioceses (structured view), around the world, each overseen by one or more Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the Papal supremacy, chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
José María Chacón
Don José María Chacón (1 January 1749 – 1 January 1833) was the last Spanish Governor of Trinidad, serving from 1783 to 1797. He was responsible for signing the Cedula of Population in 1783, leading to extensive French immigration to Trinidad. Chacón founded the city of San Fernando in 1784. The governor Chacón devoted much of his time to developing the island. He compelled the province's Cabildo (governing council) of San Jose de Oruňa to move to Port of Spain and he limited its powers to the municipality. The settlement of French Catholics on the island, led to a rapid increase in the town's population and its geographical extension westwards. In 1797 Chacón surrendered Trinidad to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Blackface
Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a global perspective that includes European culture and Western colonialism. Blackface became a global phenomenon as an outgrowth of theatrical practices of racial misrepresentation, racial impersonation popular throughout Britain and its colonial empire, where it was integral to the development of imperial racial politics. Scholars with this wider view may date the practice of blackface to as early as Medieval Europe's mystery plays when bitumen and coal were used to darken the skin of white performers portraying demons, devils, and damned souls. Still others date the practice to English Renaissance theatre, English Renaissance theater, in works such as William Shakespeare's ''Othello''. However, some scholars see blackface as a specific pract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Trinidad And Tobago Carnival
The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural events such as "band launch" fetes running in the lead up to the street parade on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Traditionally, the festival is associated with calypso music, developed by Afro-Trinidadians in 17th century Trinidad; however, Soca music has begun to replace calypso as the more popular musical genre for Carnival. Costume (sometimes called " mas"), stick-fighting, limbo, and steelpan competitions are important components of the festival. Carnival, as it is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago, has spread to many other Caribbean islands as well as several cities worldwide. These celebrations include Toronto's Caribana, Miami's Miami Carnival, Houston Carifest, London's Notting Hill Carnival, as well as New York City's Labor Da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Street Fair
A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood. The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey information. Some include carnival rides and parades. Many have live music and dance demonstrations. Fairs typically range no more than a few blocks long, although some fairs, such as the 9th Avenue International Food Festival in New York City and the Solano Stroll in Northern California, extend more than a mile. A fair only one block long is commonly called a block party. Variety Street fairs vary greatly in character, even within one city. Annual street fairs in Seattle, Washington, for example, include the University District, Seattle, Washington, University District Street Fair that feature the work of craftspeople and require that the person who make the goods that are for sale must be present in their own booths. The Fremont, Seattle, Wash ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean. With an area of , it is also the fifth-largest in the Caribbean. Name The original name for the island in the Arawakan languages was which meant "Land of the Hummingbird". Christopher Columbus renamed it ('The Island of the Trinity'), fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage. This has since been shortened to ''Trinidad''. Indo-Trinidadians called the island चीनीदत्त , 𑂒𑂲𑂢𑂲𑂠𑂞𑂹𑂞 , , ''Chinidat'' or ''Chinidad'' in Trinidadian Hindustani which translated to the land of sugar. The usage of the term goes back to the 19th century when recruiters from India would call the island ''Chinidat'' as a way of luring workers into indentureship. On Tuesday, 31 Jul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Drums In Communication
Developed and used by cultures living in forested areas, drums served as an early form of long-distance communication, and were used during ceremonial and religious functions. Types Talking drum One is the Talking drum. While the tone and articulation of this type of hourglass-shaped instrument can be finely controlled, it cannot be heard at distances beyond a gathering or market-place, and it is primarily used in ceremonial settings. Ceremonial functions could include dance, rituals, story-telling and communication of points of order. Some of the groups of variations of the talking drum among West African ethnic groups: *Tama ( Wolof of Senegal) *Gan gan, Dun Dun ( Yoruba of Nigeria and eastern Benin) *Dondo ( Akan of central Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire) *Lunna ( Dagomba of northern Ghana; Mossi of Burkina Faso) *Kalangu ( Hausa of northern Nigeria, Niger, northern Ghana, Benin and Cameroon) *Doodo ( Songhai and Zarma of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger) In the 20th century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
