Kollektivt uppror

Karneval i franska Västindien

Abstract

In Christian tradition a carnival is held before lent. This essay describes the contemporary carnival in Martinique in the French West Indies. The Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday are called "fatty" and celebrated with different festivities. In the municipalities three queens are elected before the carnival; a young girl as mini-queen, a teenager as queen of the carnival and an elderly woman as queen mother. A king of the carnival named Vaval is constructed in a caricatured shape of a man. The first parade is dedicated to the queens, the second to Vaval and in this parade the queens are succeeded by Manawa's, men in female dresses. On the first day of the carnival, fat Monday, the most important participants in the parade are bridal couples and their train, with men as brides and bridesmaids and women as bridegrooms and best men. On the second day, fat Tuesday, red devils dominate the parades, and finally the carnival ends on Ash Wednesday with white female devils and the incineration of Vaval. During the carnival the traditions of different positions in heteronormative hegemony are elaborate. Finally the order of gender is strengthened until the next carnival.