Madame Bosee, the Old Woman and the Shoe

From generation to generation....16 year old Jude Charleau portraying the Dame Lorraine "Madame Bosee, the Old Woman and the Shoe" today at the savannah for Junior Individuals, Boys 11-17. His mother Tracey Sankar-charleau and her sister Nadia Sankar played this Mas with their mother June Sankar. Tracey's daughter Nathaniel and another of her sons Joshua have also played this Mas.
Jude made the amazing shoe that you see on his back. Stunning details.
While the Dame Lorraine is played extensively by women today, it is a mas originally played by men. Jude made his own costume and the attention to detail was striking. What you can't see in this photo is that he had an exquisite shoe on his back. Will share a view of that in another post.
"At the start of the 19th century, Trinidad’s upper-class ladies dressed for masquerade balls in voluminous flowing gowns. Decked with exquisite jewellery, they danced elegantly through the night — observed through the windows by their slaves and servants. Naturally, these aristocratic ladies and their refined airs were prime targets for mockery when the freed slaves held their own Carnival celebrations, and thus evolved the burlesque character of the Dame Lorraine.
Copying the ladies’ fine gowns with whatever materials they could find — assorted rags, makeshift fans and hats, shiny objects imitating jewels — the masqueraders mocked the pretensions of respectable society. Over time, the Dame Lorraine mas became more elaborate. Heavily padded breasts and posterior reinforced the parody, and a large “pregnant” belly hinted at less than immaculate morals. Fine wire mesh masks, with eyes and mouth painted in, lent the masquerader the safety of anonymity. In Port of Spain’s backyards, the Dame Lorraine evolved into a theatrical event, enacted at midnight on Carnival Sunday for an eager audience. Imitating the stately scenes at the old plantation balls, a “butler” introduced arriving couples, who then performed exaggerated versions of formal dances, accompanied by small cuatro bands.
...Beneath the masks were cross-dressing men, many of whom happened to be the descendants of the very French planters they were mocking." Dylan Kerrigan, Creatures of the Mas, Caribbean Beat, Jan/Feb 2005
#damelorraine #traditionalmas #carnivalheritage #carnivaltraditions