Editing Carnival (section)

====French Guiana====
{{Main|Carnival in French Guiana}}

The Carnival of [[French Guiana]] has roots in [[Creole peoples|Creole]] culture. Everyone participates – mainland French, Brazilians (Guiana has a frontier with Brazil), and Chinese as well as Creoles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=French Guiana - Colonialism, Multiculturalism, Autonomy {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/French-Guiana/Government-and-society |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Its duration is variable, determined by movable religious festivals: Carnival begins at [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]] and ends on Ash Wednesday, and so typically lasts through most of January and February. During this period, from Friday evening until Monday morning the entire country throbs to the rhythm of masked balls and street parades.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-03 |title=Carnival {{!}} Definition, Festival, Traditions, Countries, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Carnival-pre-Lent-festival |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Friday afternoons are for eating ''galette des rois'' (the cake of kings) and drinking champagne. The cake may be flavoured with [[frangipani]], [[guava]], or [[coconut]].{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

On Sunday afternoons, major parades fill the streets of [[Cayenne]], [[Kourou]], and Saint-Laurent du Maroni. Competing groups prepare for months. Dressed to follow the year's agreed theme, they march with Carnival floats, drums, and brass bands.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Brazilian groups are appreciated for their elaborate feathered and sequined costumes. However, they are not eligible for competition since the costumes do not change over time.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Mythical characters appear regularly in the parades:{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}
* ''Karolin'' − a small person dressed in a [[magpie]] tail and [[top hat]], riding on a [[shrew]];
* ''Les Nèg'marrons'' − groups of men dressed in red [[loincloth]]s, bearing ripe tomatoes in their mouths while their bodies are smeared with grease or [[molasses]]. They deliberately try to come in contact with spectators, soiling their clothes;
* ''Les makoumés'' − [[cross-dressing]] men (out of the Carnival context, ''makoumé'' is a pejorative term for a [[homosexual]]);
* ''Soussouris'' (the bat) − a character dressed in a winged [[leotard]] from head to foot, usually black in colour. Traditionally malevolent, this character is liable to chase spectators and "sting" them.

[[File:Toulou.jpg|thumb|right|Four touloulous]]
A uniquely Creole tradition are the ''touloulous''. These women wear decorative gowns, gloves, masks, and headdresses that cover them completely, making them unrecognisable, even to the colour of their skin. On Friday and Saturday nights of Carnival, touloulou balls are held in so-called "universities", large dance halls that open only at Carnival time. Touloulous get in free, and are even given [[condom]]s in the interest of the sexual health of the community. Men attend the balls, but they pay admittance and are not disguised. The touloulous pick their dance partners, who may not refuse. The setup is designed to make it easy for a woman to create a temporary liaison with a man in total anonymity. Undisguised women are not welcomed. By tradition, if such a woman gets up to dance, the orchestra stops playing. Alcohol is served at bars – the disguised women whisper to the men "touloulou thirsty", at which a round of drinks is expected, to be drunk through a straw protect their anonymity.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

In more modern times, Guyanais men have attempted to turn the tables by staging ''soirées tololo'', in which it is the men who, in disguise, seek partners from undisguised women bystanders.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

The final four days of Carnival follow a rigid schedule, and no work is done:{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}
* Sunday − The Grand Parade, in which the groups compete.
* Monday − Marriage burlesque, with men dressed as brides and women as grooms.
* Tuesday − Red Devil Day in which everyone wears red or black.
* (Ash) Wednesday − Dress is black and white only, for the grand ceremony of burning the effigy of Vaval, King Carnival.