Abstract
In this work, I journey into the memory archive of carnival, propelled by my own love of the culture, and the curiosity conjured up by storytellers like my ancestors who made and who resisted. I explore the ways that Caribbean people have been involved in acts of resistance. What is it to resist? What are the technologies and outcomes of resistance? Through two forms of expression that I categorize broadly as subversive rage and joy, I discuss the history of Trinidad carnival that frames and shapes the modern carnival. I argue that carnival is an ancestral festival: it draws linkages from West African traditions, incorporates elements of the contemporary social and political space, and intentionally places Africans in the archive. Importantly, carnival provides a mechanism for resistance and escape through performance and rhetoric of rebellion, alongside acts of beautiful joy. The strategies and innovation of carnivalists signal to those terrorized by slavery and colonialism, as well as to their oppressors, that Black people exist in the future. Black people have always known this, and <em>mas</em> is a signifier to remind future generations.
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