Scores of bikini-clad women took to the streets of Brooklyn in elaborate dresses to mark the annual West Indian Day Parade.
Revellers added a splash of colour with feathers, body paint and incredible costumes just hours after the more sombre Caribbean J’Ouvert Festival, which saw marchers donning devil horns, metal chains and doused in motor oil to portray the struggles of the past.
Participants in the march, which kicked off at 11am, paraded their colourful costumes and feather headdresses against the backdrop of steel-pan and calypso bands.
A group of people dressed in purple stand in the street during the festival. One woman, pictured right, can be seen carrying a Jamaican flag and another, pictured in the center wearing an elaborate bikini, holds a drink
Massively elaborate costumes were the theme for the afternoon after the early-morning costumes took on a darker theme
A woman with a decorated face of crystals poses for the camera in front of her elaborate pink-feathered costume for the festival
A group of colorfully dressed women march through the streets of Brooklyn clad in feathers for the West Indian Day Parade
A woman in blue strikes a pose for the camera as thousands of other revellers gather on the streets of New York in the US
Participants in the march, which kicked off at 11am, paraded their colourful costumes and feather headdresses against the backdrop of steel-pan and calypso bands
A woman with gold bracelets, multi-colored beads, a gold headpiece and matching bag and a neon bikini strikes a pose for the camera
There had been talk of canceling this J’Ouvert Festival party, which started at 6am, because of past violence.
Instead, officials tightened security and moved the starting time two hours later with officers patting down revelers, vendors and residents hours before that.
Some people complained of long delays getting into the festival area. Others refused to let the hassles get in the way of a good time.
One woman dancing with her arms outstretched as an officer runs a hand-held metal detector over her.
A participant in the West Indian Day Parade marches down Eastern Parkway in celebration of the Caribbean Carnival on September 4, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City
A woman laced in purple at the festival which kicked off in the early hours of Monday morning with tens of thousands of revelers donned in devil horns, metal chains and doused in motor oil to portray the struggles of the past.
Two women in elaborate dresses pose up. The festival of J’ouvert, which dates back to the emancipation of slaves in the early 19th century, is celebrated across the Caribbean and in Caribbean communities all over the world
Huge dresses measuring more than 10-foot in height make their way down the street in Brooklyn, New York, as a woman in a snake costume flashes a glance at the camera
A woman laughs in her feather costume at the festival where earlier tens of thousands of costumed, paint-slathered revelers gathered on the streets in Brooklyn in the early hours of Monday for an annual festival honoring their slave forefathers
Two women in tiny bikinis take part in the festival. Some believe the J’ouvert traditions may also be in remembrance of the civil disturbances in Port of Spain, Trinidad, when the people smeared themselves with oil or paint to avoid being recognized
Jab Molassie dates back to sugar plantation days when recently freed slaves would daub themselves in molasses, a thick black sugar by-product, as a Jab, or devil, costume for J’ouvert. But here is a woman’s elaborate take on the festival
Earlier on Monday, tens of thousands of costumed, paint-slathered revelers gathered on the streets in Brooklyn in the early hours of Monday for an annual festival honoring their slave forefathers.
The festival of J’ouvert, which dates back to the emancipation of slaves in the early 19th century, is celebrated across the Caribbean and in Caribbean communities all over the world.
Revelers donned devil horns, body paint and even oil at the event which kicked off at 6am this morning.
It is the start of a carnival that includes the separate New York Caribbean Carnival Parade later Monday featuring ‘pretty mas,’ or masquerade.
But while the masquerade is full of revelers in giant feathery costumes riding on bright floats, J’ouvert marks a darker point in history.
Many of its costumes, called ‘ole mas,’ are a nod to the original celebrations that began in Trinidad in the mid-1800s when slaves were emancipated.
J’ouvert’s costumes are called ‘ole mas’ and are a nod to the original celebrations that began in Trinidad in the mid-1800s when slaves were emancipated
One couple appear to be chained at the neck, in remembrance to the festival’s roots during the emancipation of slaves
Devils symbolize slave masters, such as this reveler who donned horns and ‘blood’ as well as a baby’s pacifier
Revelers don colorful costumes, a nod to Caribbean culture, history and emancipation as they take part in the street carnival
J’ouvert, which draws tens of thousands of costumed celebrants, has been plagued by violence in recent years resulting in new intensive security measures
Today’s event saw increased security measures, but that didn’t prevent revelers from having fun
Some people dress in rags and don helmets with giant horns. Others cover themselves in black paint, grease or motor oil in a very traditional ‘mas’ costumes, such as a Jab Molassie – meaning molasses devil.
Jab Molassie dates back to sugar plantation days when recently freed slaves would daub themselves in molasses, a thick black sugar by-product, as a Jab, or devil, costume for J’ouvert.
The jab represented both the devil and the former slave masters, and would also often incorporate metal restraints and shackles in the costume.
Some believe the J’ouvert traditions may also be in remembrance of the civil disturbances in Port of Spain, Trinidad, when the people smeared themselves with oil or paint to avoid being recognized.
Some of the participants covered their bodies in motor oil, and wore the devil horns to represent slave masters
The J’ouvert costumes come in many guises. Some people wear rags or pajamas because slaves had no proper clothes. Some don sailor costumes to mimic the U.S. Navy after World War II; they puff talcum powder into the air as both a nod to African rites and to the skin color of the sailors
The event began in New York in the 1920s in Harlem, when Caribbean people first started migrating to the city
The parade was accompanied by people playing the steel drums, a traditional instrument of the Caribbean
Now, New York is home to the largest Caribbean community off the islands. And the J’ouvert festival is a reflection of the celebration of its culture
The festival It took a hiatus during the war years, and moved to Brooklyn where it has become bigger and bigger
In the Caribbean, the celebration happens before Lent in the winter, but in Brooklyn it was moved to the end of August because the weather was better
Other traditional costumes see revelers dress as devils who symbolize slave masters; or dressing as political figures to mock them. People wear rags or pajamas because slaves had no proper clothes.
Some don sailor costumes to mimic the U.S. Navy after World War II; they puff talcum powder into the air as both a nod to African rites and to the skin color of the sailors.
‘J’ouvert is pain and pleasure together. It is pain for being enslaved, and it is the pleasure of being free, and these elements exist together in the mas,’ said Roland Guy, 74, a longtime player who often dresses in drag for the occasion. One year he was ‘Kate and the Prince.’
J’ouvert, meaning daybreak from the French words ‘jour’ and ‘ouvert’, has taken place in the pre-dawn darkness of Labor Day in New York for almost a century.
But its origins are even older. Carnival was introduced to the Caribbean by French settlers in the late 18th century where slaves were not allowed to take mart in the elaborate masquerade balls. So slaves would hold their own mini events in the backyards, mocking their masters’ ostentatious behavior, and weaving in their own traditions.
When slavery was banned, the former slaves held their own J’ouvert street parties as an expression of their newfound freedom.
One reveler covers her face with a Trinidad scarf and sunglasses during the parade as she walks alongside cops on the parade route
J’ouvert is the start of a carnival that includes the separate New York Caribbean Carnival Parade later Monday featuring ‘pretty mas,’ or masquerade, revelers in giant feathery costumes riding on bright floats
A woman dances over two men. Another reveler puffs talcum powder into the air as both a nod to African rites and to the skin color of the sailors in the U.S. Navy after World War II
A man painted totally in blue appears to have missed the ‘no alcohol’ memo as he carries a bottle of Campari
Another revelers rings a bell, while his friend in blue takes a drink at the early morning parade
But’s also a collective moment of letting off steam.
The event began in New York in the 1920s in Harlem, when Caribbean people first started migrating to the city. Now, New York is home to the largest Caribbean community off the islands. It took a hiatus during the war years, and moved to Brooklyn.
In the Caribbean, the celebration happens before Lent in the winter, but in Brooklyn it was moved to the end of August because the weather was better.
‘People were getting sick! They were dancing and sweating through their costumes and ending up with pneumonia, so when we came to Brooklyn, we moved it to the summer,’ said Martin Douglas, 69, the president of the United States Steel Band Association and the leader of the Crossfire Steel Orchestra.
A reveler shows off his muscles by doing push ups in the street in front of his friends
The sun rises over the early morning participants who braved the chilly morning in skimpy costumes for the event
Marchers of J’Ouvert parade marched down Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, New York on Monday September 4
Thousands of people participate to this street party to kick off Caribbean festival. One group dressed all in white marched down Brooklyn’s streets for the festival
A woman offers a light to a ‘knight’ in chain mail headgear and sunglasses at the early morning event
A woman covered in gold, from the glitter to the sunglasses and jewelry, makes an appearance at J’ouvert
Steel pan players practice for months for the event, as do performers who dance along with them. Groups are judged for their mas section and their music
Revelers are searched by police officers during a Caribbean street carnival called J’ouvert on September 4, in New York City
Steel pan players practice for months for the event, as do performers who dance along with them. Groups are judged for their mas section and their music.
‘It’s really quite a special thing to come hear this music here in Brooklyn,’ said Ray Allen, a music professor at Brooklyn College and author of the forthcoming book ‘Jump Up! Caribbean Carnival Music in New York.’
At other celebrations in London, and even in Trinidad, the steel drums are drowned out by thumping sound systems.
Shootings near the march route have long been a concern, but the violence got renewed attention in 2015, when the aide to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo was killed by a stray bullet.
Last year, 17-year-old Tyreke Borel was shot and killed and a 72-year-old woman was grazed in the arm. Soon after, a 22-year-old woman, Tiarah Poyau, was shot in the head just a block away and also died.
This year, revelers had to enter the route along 12 designated entry points and pass through metal detector. No alcohol or backpacks were allowed. Thousands of additional officers were on patrol and policed party areas outside the barriers.
Participants say while the event may not have the nostalgic touch, they’re pleased it will go on.
‘It is a part of our cultural heritage,’ said Guy. ‘It is a way to link our past with our present and future and to remind ourselves of who we are.’