Trinidad and Tobago Carnival comprises several dynamic and spiritual cultural traditions, with many layers of the modern festival serving as a living, breathing reminder of the strength and resistance of our ancestors.

Stickfighting, also known as Kalinda, is an integral part of the Carnival celebrations, with the ritual dating as far back as the 1700s. Enslaved Africans would gather in what is known to be a gayelle, or a cordoned-off outdoor arena, engaging in the dance-like martial art, with both opponents armed with a ‘bois’ (the French word for stick) as their sole fighting weapon.

Today, the bois utilized by stick fighters is about 4 feet in length with a one-inch diameter and is often spiritually prepared for its owner to head into the ring. There is also an area known as the ‘blood hole’ designated for badly wounded fighters to nurse their wounds.

The fight typically gets its start by one batonniere throwing his stick inside the centre of the gayelle, to which his opponent jumps in and waves his stick, signalling their accepting the call to fight.

While there are only two stick fighters in the gayelle during a fight, the ritual is heavily rooted in community; crowds surround the gayelle and add to the overall energy of the experience.

A lead singer, known as a chantwell, energetically charges the space with call and response high energy sounds, often in patois, known as lavways and backed by a chorus of women and accompanied by African drums. The chantwell is widely known as the predecessor to the calypsonian.

The art of stickfighting is without a doubt rooted in violence, though there is depth and significance beyond the fighting. Traditionally, bois men and women were revered as defenders of the community and were feared by plantation owners for their prowess and fearlessness. So intense were earlier fights that it sometimes resulted in death of opponents. In the modern iteration of the ritual, one of the main rules that govern stickfighting today is this: a fighter does not approach another fighter when the opponent is not armed with their bois. Fighting is also reserved for within the gayelle- whichever party draws blood first is declared the winner.

So intimidated by the artform were the plantation owners that the ritual was banned in 1880, in response to the Canboulay Riots.

Fifty-seven years later, in 1937 stickfighting was re-introduced in the form of controlled competitions and remains one of the unique cultural gems on the Carnival event roster.

This year, a heated preliminary round of the National Stickfighting Competition was held on Friday, January 26th at the Sangre Grande Recreation Ground on Ojoe Road.

Twelve contenders have advanced to the semi-finals of this year’s competition. They are:

-Jason Allemaney
-Anthony Cooper
-Kevin Cooper
-Lebbeaus De Leon
-Donald Lewis
-Ronald Lewis
-Anderson Marcano
-Terrance Marcano
-Oneil Odle
-Mark Quashie
-Evon Ralph
-Wendell Wright

The National Stick Fighting Semi-Finals takes place on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex at 7 pm. Tickets are $75.

The finals of the competition takes place on February 7th.

Your Caribbean Guide recommends you include these in your line-up of must-attend events this Carnival- you won’t be disappointed!