IYARIC

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2022): Disruption and Surveillance
Articles

Answering the Blue Devil Call: Performing a repertoire of Resistance, Disruption, and Inspiration

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  • Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
York University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25071/2816-8275.5

Published 2022-09-30

How to Cite

Wood, N. (2022). Answering the Blue Devil Call: Performing a repertoire of Resistance, Disruption, and Inspiration. IYARIC, 1(1), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.25071/2816-8275.5

Abstract

This paper explores performance, disruption, and the decolonial forces of the Caribbean Carnival and the Blue Devil masquerade. The Blue Devil performance can be linked to African cultural traditions (Dabiri, 2019) which emerged within the pre and post emancipation Trinidad Carnival and the Jab Jab or Molasses devil masquerade (Mas). Both Carnival and Devil Mas symbolize resistance, ritual and rebellion as practiced by enslaved Africans and their descendants (Hill, 1972; Liverpool, 2001; Bakhtin, 1968). In this paper I discuss the performance of the Blue Devil in resisting and disrupting historical and contemporary forces of oppression. I tie the 'erotic' energy of Blue Devil to decolonial and abolition practices of imagining, creating, and inspiring strategies to change the world.

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