Dame Lorraine

At the start of the 19th century, Trinidad’s upper-class ladies dressed for masquerade balls in voluminous flowing gowns. Naturally, the freed slaves copied the lady's fine gowns with whatever materials they could find such as assorted rags, makeshift fans and hats, and shiny objects imitating jewels mocking the pretensions of respectable society. Over time Dame Lorraine mas became more elaborate with heavily padded breasts and posterior reinforcing the parody. In  Port of Spain’s backyards, the Dame Lorraine evolved into a theatrical event.

The origins of Dame Lorraine can be traced to a period of 

history when there were French settlers and two particularly well-known characters were Ma Gwo Bunda (Madame Big Bottom), and (Ma Gros Tete)  Madame Big Breasts were popular at the time. The Dame Lorraine never performed as a band on the streets during Carnival Tuesday, but rather at private events throughout the city. The significance of the character and others from her era served as emblems of slave resistance against the previous French colonists. Instead of trying to imitate or show respect for their masters, the enslaved used their creativity, inventiveness, and artistic abilities to create their entertainment, which mostly consisted of expressing their true feelings about themselves and their way of life. What we eventually came to know as Old Mas characters began as statements of resistance.