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In the quiet streets of Belmont, Port-of-Spain, a community once thrived with rhythms and chants that connected its people to West African spiritual traditions. Andrew Thomas Carr (1902–1976), a Trinidadian folklorist and cultural archivist, dedicated his life to preserving these traditions—particularly those of the Rada community, an ethnic group linguistically linked to the Ewe-Fon peoples of Dahomey (modern-day Benin). Through his recordings and writings, Carr ensured that the sacred songs and drumming of the Rada would not fade into obscurity. Carr’s work began in the 1950s, when he made two 16-inch lacquer disc recordings of Rada ceremonies, including a song to Dangbwe, the serpent deity. These recordings were later published in his 1953 article, “A Rada Community in Trinidad,” in Caribbean Quarterly. The discs, now housed at Indiana University’s Carr Rada Community Collections, remain one of the few surviving audio records of these rituals. In 1954, Carr and British sociologist Andrew Pearse documented an entire night-long Rada ceremony on open-reel tape—a treasure trove later analysed by ethnomusicologist Alan P. Merriam in his 1956 book, Songs of a Rada Community in Trinidad. Beyond his scholarly contributions, Carr was a pillar of Trinidad’s cultural and natural history sectors. A longtime employee of the Trinidad Building & Loan Association, he co-founded the Trinidad and Tobago Ethnographic Society, the Trinidad Art Society, the Zoological Society, and the Carnival Development Committee. His passion for folklore even earned him a Fulbright scholarship in 1953 to study at Northwestern University, where he collaborated with anthropologist Melville Herskovits. Carr’s legacy endures not only in his recordings but also in his daughter’s 2010 biography, He Served His Fellow Man, which chronicles his life and work. The Rada community’s spiritual practices, once vibrant in Trinidad, have since diminished. Carr’s recordings offer a rare window into a world where drumming, chanting, and devotion to deities like Dangbwe shaped daily life. Today, these audio archives serve as both historical documents and living testaments to Trinidad’s multicultural heritage—a reminder of how one man’s dedication could immortalise a fading tradition. Fun Fact: The Rada’s connection to serpent deities like Dangbwe reflects broader Yoruba and Fon spiritual influences in Trinidad, brought by enslaved Africans who adapted their beliefs to the Caribbean context. Carr’s work helps trace these deep-rooted cultural threads.
In the quiet streets of Belmont, Port-of-Spain, a community once thrived with rhythms and chants that connected its people to West African spiritual traditions. Andrew Thomas Carr (1902–1976), a Trinidadian folklorist and cultural archivist, dedicated his life to preserving these traditions—particularly those of the Rada community, an ethnic group linguistically linked to the Ewe-Fon peoples of Dahomey (modern-day Benin). Through his recordings and writings, Carr ensured that the sacred songs and drumming of the Rada would not fade into obscurity.
Carr’s work began in the 1950s, when he made two 16-inch lacquer disc recordings of Rada ceremonies, including a song to Dangbwe, the serpent deity. These recordings were later published in his 1953 article, “A Rada Community in Trinidad,” in Caribbean Quarterly. The discs, now housed at Indiana University’s Carr Rada Community Collections, remain one of the few surviving audio records of these rituals. In 1954, Carr and British sociologist Andrew Pearse documented an entire night-long Rada ceremony on open-reel tape—a treasure trove later analysed by ethnomusicologist Alan P. Merriam in his 1956 book, Songs of a Rada Community in Trinidad.
Beyond his scholarly contributions, Carr was a pillar of Trinidad’s cultural and natural history sectors. A longtime employee of the Trinidad Building & Loan Association, he co-founded the Trinidad and Tobago Ethnographic Society, the Trinidad Art Society, the Zoological Society, and the Carnival Development Committee. His passion for folklore even earned him a Fulbright scholarship in 1953 to study at Northwestern University, where he collaborated with anthropologist Melville Herskovits. Carr’s legacy endures not only in his recordings but also in his daughter’s 2010 biography, He Served His Fellow Man, which chronicles his life and work.
The Rada community’s spiritual practices, once vibrant in Trinidad, have since diminished. Carr’s recordings offer a rare window into a world where drumming, chanting, and devotion to deities like Dangbwe shaped daily life. Today, these audio archives serve as both historical documents and living testaments to Trinidad’s multicultural heritage—a reminder of how one man’s dedication could immortalise a fading tradition.
Fun Fact: The Rada’s connection to serpent deities like Dangbwe reflects broader Yoruba and Fon spiritual influences in Trinidad, brought by enslaved Africans who adapted their beliefs to the Caribbean context. Carr’s work helps trace these deep-rooted cultural threads.
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