Carnival Glossary

Big Barna – woman with a large behind. (Thanks, Buck!)
Callaloo – traditional Caribbean soup whose main ingredients are typically okra and callaloo (a leafy green vegetable similar to spinach).
Calypso – Afro-Caribbean music with lyrics that are often improvised and politically or humorously motivated.  
Ciguatera – a food-borne illness that can be very serious if you weren't raised in the Caribbean. It's caused by eating fish whose flesh is contaminated with the toxin ciguatoxin. Suspect fish include barracuda, king fish and some reef fish, like parrot fish.
Coronation – crowning of the winners of the Miss St. John and Princess Pageants at the Food Fair.
J'ouvert – a contraction of the French term jour ouvert, meaning “day open” or “morning,” j'ouvert is a celebration that begins around 4am. During j'ouvert (pronounced “joovay”), revelers dance behind trucks on which local steelpan and other bands play.
Festival village – the celebratory center of Festival that is erected in the customs parking lot and is named this year in honor of Mrs. Cleamena Hodge-Duncan. Vendors set up food stalls, and a stage is erected for live musical performances.
Mas – short for masquerade, a part of festival that involves putting on elaborate costumes and makeup, usually seen during the parade.  
Miss St. John – also called the Festival Queen, a title sought by four female competitors in the Miss St. John Selection Pageant.
Mocko jumbie – stilt-walkers and dancers that are featured in the parade. Mythically mocko jumbies are protective village spirits that can foresee evil because of their incredible height.
Mutton – a traditional dish made with lamb, but sometimes also goat.
Paté – a savory pastry similar to an empanada, fried dough stuffed with vegetables, saltfish or ground chicken or beef.
Pot fish – any extra fish that gets picked up in a fishing pot (e.g., parrot fish, trigger fish, nurse sharks etc.) Unless you are from the Caribbean, DO NOT EAT! Pot fish are the most common carriers of ciguatera (see above).
Quadrille – a traditional dance performed by four couples in a square formation.
Salt fish – fish that has been salted and dried. Be sure to ask what kind of fish it is, as it is sometimes made with pot fish.
Soca – a combination of soul (so) and calypso (ca) a lively form of dance music, originally from Trinidad.
St. John Princess – a title sought by three young female competitors in the St. John Princess Selection Pageant.   
Steelpan – pitched percussion instrument made from a steel drum, multiples of which make up steelpan bands like the Love City Pan Dragons.  
Troupe – name for the various performing groups that participate in the Festival Parade on the 4th of July.
Whelks – large marine gastropods similar to conch that are often served in a stew or with aromatic “dirty rice.”

June 2009