Antilliaans carnaval: moderniteit en ritueel

Samenvatting

Antillean Carnival: Modernity and Ritual. Describes the history of the carnival on the formerly Dutch Antillean islands of Aruba and Curacao. On both islands, the carnival tradition is linked to customs brought by immigrants attracted by work in the oil industry in the early 1900s, but each island has followed a culturally specific path. Curacao was characterized by racial structures that led to the formation of a class structure based on apartheid, and its carnival initially was an elitist (white) affair that only during the decolonization and deindustrialization of the 1970s became a popular celebration. On Aruba, a more liberal class structure permitted the lower classes to perform street celebrations that eventually included all social strata in a full-fledged carnival. Carnival thus became a symbol of national/cultural identity and a key ritual on Aruba and Curacao, and is now an important part of Antillean identity in the Netherlands. 4 Photographs, 52 References. Adapted from the source document.