Chanté mas

Both people lived in the West Indies during the slavery period, and so, Carnival celebration in Dominica arose as a result of the influence both ethnic groups.

However, the slaves were soon brought back into a state of slavery without the chains, as they were made dependent on the white planters, and felt forced to work on the plantations.

However, visits by special magistrates to the Caribbean during that period proved that they were, hypothetically speaking, still slaves, because of how the planters treated them.

It is celebrated by blowing conch shells or horns, beating lapo kabwit (goat skin) drums, iron, cowbell, and shaking the ckak chak (a maracas) while singing folk songs known as chanté mas.

As in such West African instances, it was the woman who led the song while the other dancers and onlookers gave the refrain or lavway.

The chanté mas (masquerade song) tradition is based around pre-calypso Carnival music performed in a responsorial style by partygoers.

The Dominican Carnival masquerade lasted for two days of parading through the streets, with a singer dancing backwards in front of the drummer on a tanbou lélé.

The chanté mas tradition started to become dominated by imported calypso and steel pan music in the early 1960s.