Tiara McKinney
I stood on the darkened streets, huddled in a crowd with other eager watchers: mothers hugging their children, little children chatting with friends, and older people blurting out cheers in anticipation. My heart sped up as I prepared for the performance of the night. The only light on this darkened strip came from the street lights above, and soon enough the source for the people’s excitement appeared: a group wearing colorful, bedazzled costumes with feathers flying in the breeze. The dancers rolled a huge Junkanoo float and the music players lingered behind, waiting for their signal to play. In a few seconds, music rang through the streets, dancers swayed their hips to the rhythm and proudly showed off dance moves that they had worked on for the past few months. All of the performers wore perfect costumes that were covered with fringed crepe paper and jewels that glimmered in the dark. My nostrils filled with the smell of chicken, fried fish, and other fried delicacies from the nearby food stands while my heart simultaneously jumped with every hit of the goatskin drums and every sh-ka-sh-ka of the cowbells. The music players nodded their heads in approval with every sound that their instruments made, while the crowd erupted into yells of approval. This is Junkanoo!
Almost every person from The Bahamas can tell you that they have either performed in Junkanoo or watched at least one show. Junkanoo is an integral part of Bahamian culture, just how Mardi Gras is integral to the U.S South and carnival is integral to Trinidad and other Caribbean countries. Junkanoo is a parade/celebration that typically takes place during the Christmas holidays. At a typical Junkanoo parade, there are Junkanoo groups which comprise of dancers, costume designers, music players, and other people who work together to create a performance. There are multiple groups who perform and what onlookers see is nothing short of a masterpiece. Each Junkanoo group spends time on costumes that are typically made of cardboard and decorated with crepe paper and other jewels. The dancers show off choreographed dances to go along with the live music from instruments such as the goat-skin drums, cowbells, and whistles. The music builds off of a Bahamian genre of music called Rake and Scrape, and there are banners/floats made of cardboard and other materials to complement the themes.
Although the true history of Junkanoo remains unknown, a popularized legend says that Junkanoo was founded by a West African tribal leader, John Canoe, during the time of slavery in the West Indies when he demanded the right to celebrate with other slaves. Junkanoo is said to be based on the West African festival, John Canoe festival and began as a masquerade in the seventeenth century Bahamas. Slaves who celebrated Junkanoo wore masks made of flour paste until the flour paste masks were replaced with wire masks on a stick. Although Junkanoo almost disappeared after the abolition of slavery, it made a resurgence in the 1900s to aid in attracting tourists to The Bahamas and since then has become important to Bahamian culture.
Now, Junkanoo is usually held as a competition. Such competitions take place at different levels including elementary and secondary school levels. However, the most popular Junkanoo celebration is a contest that takes place during the Christmas holidays. In this publicized parade, nationally known Junkanoo groups, the most popular being the Saxons and the Valley Boys, perform after months of preparation on Bay Street in Nassau, The Bahamas. In addition to this large festival that takes place in the city, Nassau, other islands have smaller Junkanoo parades to celebrate.
Junkanoo is one of the things that makes Bahamian culture unique and differentiates The Bahamas from any other country. Junkanoo portrays the ingenuity and creativity of Bahamians while also telling a story of Bahamian and West Indian history. It is imperative that any person visiting The Bahamas takes time out to see a festival, as it will be an experience to remember.
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