Martinique is a predominantly Christian island where traditions are strongly respected. So, if you visit the island at any time of year, you'll find yourself in an atmosphere of madness that will leave you with unforgettable memories. A small hindrance to the permanent folklore is the period of Lent.
What is Lent?
In Martinique, Lent has two related definitions. The first refers to the climatic seasons. This is the dry season in Martinique, from late December to April. Rainfall is scarce and the climate is much drier. It's also a period marked by episodes of drought, particularly in the south of the island. The more mountainous north is spared. You can see that clouds are less frequent and fewer in number in the azure sky almost every day. It's also high tourist season, with holidaymakers fleeing the cold winters in temperate zones.
The second definition, which will be of more interest to us here, relates to the religious and traditional sphere. The French word "carême" (Lent in English) comes from the Latin word quadragesima, meaning "fortieth". Lent is the period of fasting and penitential prayer undertaken by Christians, particularly Catholics, between Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the Friday before Easter. This 40-day period refers to the forty days Jesus spent praying in the Judean desert, and underwent what the Bible calls the "Temptation of Christ". The Devil is said to have tried to divert him from his fasting by offering to turn stones into bread, which Jesus refused to the very end.
The origins of Lent as we know it today date back to the 4th century. In the 3rd century, there was a week of ritual fasting before Easter, but it was in the 4th century that Lent was instituted for the period before Easter and extended to 40 days instead of a single week.
Lent opens with Ash Wednesday mass. The priests bless the faithful, who draw a cross on their foreheads. This is known as the imposition of ashes. They leave this cross on their foreheads even if they have to go to their place of work or study.
The imposition of ashes was initiated by Pope Gregory I The Great (540-604), who was the first to draw a cross on the foreheads of the faithful who came to repent of their sins. He then recited the Bible verse (Genesis 3 - v.19): "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return". It was between the 8th and 10th centuries that this practice became definitively established. The ashes placed on believers' foreheads came from palm branches burnt during Palm Sunday mass the previous year, the week before Easter.
Lent is a time of detachment from all that is carnal, from material possessions, and of drawing closer to the spiritual and to God. For the faithful, it's an opportunity to do penance, repent of their sins, and ask God's forgiveness for having turned away from him the rest of the time. This is coupled with a period of food restriction.
In the early days of colonization, among the local aristocracy, sumptuous meals based on fatty meats (beef, sheep, poultry) or fatty foods (dairy products, cream, cheese, butter), or starchy foods (unleavened bread) were banned, and only fruit and vegetables were allowed. Slaves were subject to the same diet, although they were allowed to eat fish, shellfish and cod.
Gradually, meat returned to the master's plate every day except Friday. Meat was out of the question on Fridays, the day Jesus died on the Cross. From then on, Friday became a day of extreme purity, when Catholics applied more restraint in imitation of the sacrifice in the desert.
What's Lent like in Martinique today?
The Lenten tradition is still widely respected on the island but in a much less visible and more personal way. As Catholicism is still the majority religion on the island, many respect these traditions. Moments of prayer, repentance, and confession are more frequent at this time of year. Some confess to going to church more often.
It should be noted that while all Catholic countries practice the Lenten fast from Ash Wednesday onwards, Martinique has obtained a dispensation to postpone the mass at the start of Lent to the Friday of the same week. As carnival ends late on Wednesday night, it was unthinkable to go to church for an Ash Wednesday mass and then dress up to attend the carnival, which is hardly stingy with chaste words and practices.
For the children of Catholics who have attended catechism classes throughout the year, this is the beginning of preparation for baptism, which will take place on Easter Day. The catechumens, as they are called, are then accompanied in their process of physical and spiritual purification.
Meat is not part of the plate on Fridays; instead, shellfish, cod and fish are preferred. Some families continue this tradition of no meat on Fridays, even outside the Lenten period. Cod and local vegetables are often on the menu. More fervent, some people continue to perpetuate the total absence of meat throughout Lent.
Ostentatious celebrations are banned during this period, especially on Fridays. This restriction is gradually disappearing.
In the past, nightclubs, dance halls and other music-related establishments were simply closed for the entire period. This gave them time to refurbish and carry out the necessary work before a grand opening at Easter.
Playing a musical instrument was not allowed, except for those who had an imperative to do so, or for prayer purposes. The sound of drums, frequently heard at night, gave way to absolute calm. Of course, singing or playing an instrument was permitted within a religious context. To this day, religious concert organizers continue to choose this period for their programming, hoping to attract a wider audience who are deprived of worldly music.
The other important feature of Lent is personal deprivation against all forms of sin. It is forbidden to swear, to indulge in any pleasure that does not conform to the sacrifice of Jesus, and to practice sexual abstinence, even for married people. For the latter, if today this remains a very intimate question, we can on the other hand look back to before contraception. Was there a drop in births 8-9-10 months after Lent? No data on births on the island show a sharp or even marked drop in the birth rate in November, December and January, depending on whether Lent began in February or March.
Therefore we can logically interpret that the absence of sexual practice was not widely respected.
Insults, conflicts and reprisals were banned by the Church. Since these were personal decisions, and depending on the individual's degree of practice, it is impossible to quantify compliance with this restriction. However, throughout the previous century, a person uttering insults in a loud voice could be virulently rebuked with the justification that it was the Lenten season. Lent is a time to show oneself at one's best, in the image of Christ abandoning himself to prayer in the Judean desert.
While Guadeloupe traditionally has a break day called "mi-carême" (mid-Lent), Martinique does not.
Last but not least, Lent is also the time when crab hunting is open. Crab boats are out and about, and crabs of a certain size are caught for the traditional Easter meal, matoutou.
After these forty days, the island returns to its musical and festive mood, as it does throughout the year.
