Original Fancy Sailor

The Fancy Sailor holds a cherished place in the rich tapestry of Trinidad Carnival, tracing its origins to the fusion of European and African traditions that characterized the early festivities. Emerging from the vibrant masquerade balls of European colonizers and influenced by the cultural practices of African slaves, the Fancy Sailor evolved into a captivating Carnival character known for

The original fancy sailor portrayals were realistic imitations of the sailors' persona and dress quotcomplete with rolling gait, smoking pipe and a lady on the arm.quot Laughlin and Kerrigan The evolution of the sailor was nurtured by Belmont born George 'Diamond Jimquot Harding, the early pioneer of Sailor Mas in Trinidad and Tobago.

In the olden days, fancy sailor players carried their elaborate headwear without support. He said one of the earliest fancy sailor bands was in 1953 with a portrayal of quotcrabsquot. He recalled a band had costumes based on quotclocks and watchesquot, Christmas, and Cito Valesquez did quotflowers and fruitsquot.

Clive's composition, Fancy Sailor, tells its own sonic story about Clive's life and the history of jazz in Trinidad. With its incredibly long, intricate and chromatic melodic line, the piece immediately challenges Trinbagonian musical aesthetics which generally focus on simpler diatonic and shorter melodies.

The Fancy Sailor was an off-shoot of the King Sailor. The Fancy Sailor costume consists of papier-mch headpieces, decorated and painted to look like birds, animals or plants. The sailor outfit is decorated with ribbons, medals, braiding, swansdown and other embellishments to match the headpieces.

The Fancy Sailor costume consists of papier-mch headpieces, decorated and painted to look like birds, animals or plants. The sailor outfit is decorated with ribbons, medals, braiding, swansdown and other embellishments to match the headpieces.

The Fancy Sailor was an off-shoot of the King Sailor. The fancy sailor costume consists of papier-mch headpieces, decorated and painted to look like bird, animals or plants. The sailor outfit is decorated with ribbons, medals, braiding, swansdown and other embellishments to match the headpieces.

The original carnival character costume was made out of rice bags and covered in the leaves of the plantain tree. 19 The mask, like most character masks was made out of some sort of papier-mch. 19 Now, most cow costumes consist of a cream-coloured loose shirt with tight pants that have gold accents. 19 The full papier-mch mask was also replaced by a hat or headband with cow horns

The Fancy Sailor Costume 2007 Traditional sailor mas dates back to the late 19th century, when British and American warships paid regular visits to Trinidad, and crewmen on shore leave were a common sight in Port of Spain. Later, around the time of the Second World War, its popularity was boosted by the large American naval presence. The original mas was a realistic portrayal of these sailors

The Fancy Sailor was an off-shoot of the King Sailor. The fancy sailor costume consists of papier-mch headpieces, decorated and painted to look like birds, animals or plants. The sailor outfit is decorated with ribbons, medals, braiding, swans down and other embellishments to match the headpieces.