The Burrokeet & Soumary

Drama
 Burrokeet
Burroquito is the Spanish word for small
donkey, from which burrokeet is derived
and this traditional 'Donkey Mas', still
popular with younger masqueraders
today. The burrokeet probably dates back
to the late 18th century , when Trinidad
was a Spanish colony . Donkey
characters are documented in Spanish
carnivals as long ago as the middle ages
and the burrokeet still shows many signs
of this heritage.
The Burrokeet costume
The costume is meant to give the illusion of someone riding a donkey. The
masquerader wears around his hips a frame made of wire or bamboo covered with
cloth or papier mache with a donkey's head to the front and a tail to the rear and an
elaborately decorated cloth hanging on all sides , to cover the masquerader's legs .The
rider himself wears a satin shirt and Andalucian straw hat . To the accompaniment of
cuatros , guitars and maracas, the dance of the burrokeet imitates the behaviour of a
frolicking donkey and is call the burriquite
Soumary
The soumary was brought to Trinidad by East Indian indentured
immigrants in the late 19th century and its appearance has been
documented at festivals held at small sugar cane village in the early 20th
century . Historian Burton Sankeralli explains that the soumary comes
from " the Leela of the Hindu goddess Durga …. referred to as the
Harichand dance. Like the burrokeet ,the soumary costume is
constructed around a bamboo frame worn on the hips by the rider who
dances to the drumming of tassas and Hindi folk songs . The soumary is
also frequently seen in Guyana.