Parang

Parang is a popular folk music originating from Trinidad and Tobago, it was brought to Trinidad by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish, and African heritage, something which is strongly reflected in the music itself. The word is derived from two Spanish words: parranda, meaning "a spree or fête", and parar meaning "to stop".

In the past, it was traditional for parang serenaders to pay nocturnal visits to the homes of family and friends, where part of the fun was waking the inhabitants of the household from their beds. Today, parang is especially vibrant in Trinidad and Tobago communities such as Paramin, Lopinot, and Arima.

A new form of parang, soca parang, has emerged. Soca parang is a combination of soca and parang.

Performance

In Trinidad, traditional parang music is largely performed around Christmas time, when singers and instrumentalists (collectively known as the parranderos) travel from house to house in the community, often joined by friends and neighbours family etc. using whatever instruments are at hand. Popular parang instruments include the cuatro (a small, four-string guitar) and maracas (locally known as chac-chacs). Other instruments often used are violin, guitar, claves (locally known as toc-toc), box bass (an indigenous instrument), tambourine, mandolin, bandol, caja (a percussive box instrument), and marimbola (an Afro-Venezuelan instrument). In exchange for the entertainment, parranderos are traditionally given food and drink: pastelle, sorrel, rum and "Ponche Crema" (a form of alcoholic eggnog).

Parang (disambiguation)

Parang can refer to

Parang (knife)

Parang is a collective term for swords, big knives and machetes hailing from all over the Malay archipelago. Typical vegetation in South East Asia is more woody than in South America and the parang is therefore optimized for a stronger chopping action with a heavier blade and a "sweet spot" further forward of the handle; the blade is also beveled more obtusely to prevent it from binding in the cut. This is the same rationale and (in practical terms) the same design as the Indonesian golok and very similar to the Filipino bolo. A parang blade is usually 10–24 inches (25–61 cm) long; a blade that is 10 inches and shorter is called a pisau (knife) and a blade 24 inches and longer is called a pedang (sword). A parang has a mass up to 2 lb and the edge of a parang usually uses a convex grind. The Parang has three different edges: the front is very sharp and used for skinning, the middle is wider and used for chopping, and the back end (near the handle) is very fine and used for carving. A parang handle is normally made out of wood or horn, with a wide end to prevent slips in wet conditions. The tang of parangs usually are of rat tail tang design, and full tang designs are also available.