For the first time since the inception of the Carnival Sunday Patois (Kwéyòl) Mass in 1994, a Trinidadian priest, Fr Dexter Brereton, CSSp officiated at the Mass thus bringing a new perspective.

From a Trinidadian perspective, with a Trinidad point of view, the Patois Mass has been moved into a new realm from which there is no turning back.

According to Fr Dexter, "all peoples of the earth have something to bring to the table of life. Each cultural group has its own gifts and geniuses. In every people there can be seen a ray of light that is from God."

Fr Dexter explained that if we continue to associate patois with being "country bookie", we will see it only as a "keep back. Instead we should use the word of God to confront this negative reality.

The people of the Caribbean are light of the world and salt of the earth. "A person rooted in culture" says Fr Dexter, "is a person of power."

It is possible to claim your heritage and still be rooted in Christ because to be rooted in culture is part of being rooted in Christ. So propagate the word in your own culture. "Refuse to be discouraged by the voices around you which deny your existence in your culture."

This writer believes that the heritage of Patois (Kwéyòl) is a commingling of Caribbean people from Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St Vincent, Grenada, Haiti, Dominica, Cayenne who came with the coming the the Cedula.

In 1773 (the year of Cedula) Trinidad 's population was 1,000. By 1798 it had risen to 18, 627, 10,000 of whom were patois-speaking slaves.

Later the Trinidad-born working class spoke patois and it was adopted as a means of communication not only by members of the Spanish-speaking community, but also by immigrants, notably Chinese and Indians each bringing their own evolution of words. Thus making the Trinidad patois unique.

(Ref - JT Thomas, Theory and Practice of Creole Grammar in Trinidad and Tobago ).