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For the Baha Men album, see Junkanoo (album).
Junkanoo is a street parade with music, which occurs in many towns across The Bahamas every Boxing Day (December 26), New Year's Dayand more recently in the summer on the island of Grand Bahama. The largest Junkanoo parade happens in Nassau, the capital. Junkanoo was celebrated in various parts of the Americas, and variants of the word's orthography may be found in each place - Jonkonnu or John Canoe in Jamaica; John Kuner in North Carolina; and John Canoe in Belize. In The Bahamas, newspaper accounts of Junkanoo in Nassau between 1849 and 1950 referred to the parade alternately as the Christmas Masquerade, Christmas Carnival, and John Canoe. By the mid-1950's the terms John Canoe and Junkanoo were used interchangeably, and by 1970 Junkanoo became the parade's standard nomenclature. Junkanoo groups "rush" from midnight until shortly after dawn, to the music of cowbells, in costumes made from cardboard covered in tiny shreds of colourful crepe paper, competing for cash prizes. Modern Bahamian Junkanoo is a parade: a showcase for Bahamian goombay music and new Junkanoo costumes. It is also an event during which unorganized groups of Bahamians celebrate, perhaps unintentionally, themselves, their freedom and, for some, their past. It is the most visible and continually experimental artistic realm of Bahamian culture. Parades in Nassau are judged in various catergories; A (or Major) Category, the B Category, Individual costume, and fun groups. The A catergory groups involved in the Nassau Junkanoo include The Saxons, The Valley Boys, The Music Makers, Roots, One Family and The Prodigal Sons (New). Groups of the past included Barbabas and The Tribe, The Vikings and Chippie and the Boys. In the B category groups include One Love Soldiers, Clico Colours, Fancy Dancers, Fox Hill Congos, and Conquerors for Christ. Fun groups include The Pigs and Sting. A Junkanoo parade is featured in sequences of the James Bond film Thunderball that occur in Nassau. The celebration was staged specifically for the movie since it was filmed at the wrong time of year, but local residents were enthusiastic, creating elaborate floats and costumes and involving hundreds of people. The parade was also featured in After the Sunset and Jaws The Revenge. Junkanoo is also a fruit-flavored soda produced by Pepsi-Co and is only available in The Bahamas, and also a modernized style of music sung by Bahamian band Baha Men.
[edit] HistoryJunkanoo is a Bahamian cultural expression, which has been derived from our ancestry. It encompasses parades that are held here in the Bahamas twice a year, the 1st in January and 26th of December. In theses parades, we showcase this part of our culture in three forms: Music, Art and Dance. There is a huge controversy about the origin of Junkanoo, as many historians have offered explanations for the origins and beginning of this festival. The most accepted on is that the word “Junkanoo” comes from the name John Canoe, who was an African prince and slave trader operating on the Gold Coast in the seventeenth (17th) century. He was said to have outwitted the English and subsequently gained control of Fort Brandenbury. Therefore, the Dutch and English alike feared him. However, to the slaves, he was a hero and was worshipped and idolized by them. Those slaves who were brought here to the Bahamas kept up this distinct form of worship. In the pre-Emancipation era, the slaves were allowed three (3) days off during the year: 1st January, 25th December and 26th December. On the 1st January and the 26th December, they were allowed to perform their Junkanoo festival. The 26th December was the day for exchanging gifts and visiting friends. After Emancipation however, the festival continued, and individual characters such as Neptune and Amphitrite portrayed John Canoe. In the 1920’s, the Bahamas Development Board commercialized Junkanoo, as the festival was held on Bay Street for the first time. Prizes were offered and the parade became more competitive, thus eventually becoming the main tourist attraction for the Bahamas. In 1938, December 26th was declared a public holiday and given the name “Boxing Day”, which was synonymous with the boxing and exchanging of gifts that would normally occur on this day. The Junkanoo parades continued up to 1942, when they were suspended after the Burma Road Riots. They were again revived in 1947. In the 1950’s the parade became more organized, as categories were introduced and groups were formed to represent different districts. The first evidence of this organization was witnessed in 1954 when a group led by David Kemp, Maureen Duvalier and Bruce Beneby entered the parade as “the Mexicans”. Other persons responsible for bringing organization to the parade include such illustrious names as Sweet Richard, Johnny Kemp and the Chipman family. In 1960, the pioneering Valley Boys was the first group to have Junkanoo participants parade in lines. Consequently, the 1960’s saw the advent of other famous groups such as the Saxons (1963) and the Vikings, which is said by many to be the oldest Junkanoo group. The Music Makers, credited by many to have pioneered the up-tempo beat, came on the local scene in 1976. Today, we have four (4) major Junkanoo groups that compete earnestly every year for the grand prize. The “Valley Boys” and the “Saxons Superstars” are considered to be the two senior groups. We now have “Roots”, which was formed in 1991, after most of it’s members left the Valley Boys. There is also the “One Family” Junkanoo group, which was formed and organized in 1993 after most of it’s members left the Saxons Superstars. Other prominent senior groups, which have fallen on hard times of late, attributable to the serious lack of sponsorship and certain internal leadership problems, include the “Music Makers” and “Vikings” which merged in 1991 to give birth to the formation of the “Musical Kings” The upstart “Fox Hill Congos”, formed in 1986 and comprised mainly of residents of the Fox Hill area in the eastern district of New Providence island, have also experienced the identical growing pains associated with the budding Junkanoo groups. The community of Fox Hill played an important role in the final emancipation of slavery in the Bahamas in 1838, as it is widely believed that the joyous news of this proclamation was received almost a week late, as evidenced by Fox Hill Day being celebrated on an annual basis even today, on the Tuesday Following Emancipation Day which is the first Monday in August. In addition to these major Junkanoo groups, we have smaller ones with such outlandish names as Most Qualified, Fancy Dancers, Redland Soldiers and the P.I.G.S (Power, Integrity, guts and Strength), just to name a few. Even though these smaller groups seemingly have little or no chance when going up against the more formidable veteran groups, it still does not detract from that Junkanoo fever exuded by every reveler who has paraded down Bay Street come December 26th and January 1st each year. Our unique, authentic, real Bahamian Junkanoo parade normally begins with a shotgun start at 2 a.m., on both Boxing Day (26th December) and New Year’s Day (1st January), and continues until approximately 9 a.m when the results of the parade are publicly announced in world-famous Rawson Square. After all, winning is no everything. To anyone who is either an active participant or spectator in this unique street parade, just being there and rocking to the sounds of the Junkanoo drummers, cowbellers and dancers, completely exonerates one form getting up and going to Bay Street at 2 a.m. in the morning. [edit] CostumesBefore the slaves were brought here to the Bahamas, the costumes that they normally wore and used in Africa, were fashioned from mud from the ground. They also used paint to paint their faces and bodies. Here in the Bahamas, the slaves would gather any type of material that they could find in order to make their costumes. In fact, the materials mainly used were shrubs, leaves, stones, bottles and paper. They generally made their masks from these materials. It should be noted that after Emancipation, the slaves continued with their Junkanoo parades using these same materials, with most costumes portraying Neptune and Amphitrite. However, the 1930’s saw the introduction of sponge costumes, as sponging was our number industry at thetime. During the 1950’s, the costumes were made from cloth and fringed tissue paper. In the 1960’s, the Valley Boys abandoned the shirt and trousers costumes and introduced shoulder pieces andskirts, made out of cardboard and fringed crepe paper. The Vikings Junkanoo group started to use chicken coop wire, which allowed for some movement of the costume. But these first generation large costumes had to leaned against a wall,as they were unable to stand by themselves. In fact, Peter “Gold” Turnquest was the first person to construct a frame that allowed the costume to stand by itself. In 1966 the ruses governing theJunkanoo parade dictated that all participants must be costumed, in order totake part in the parade on Bay Street. Construction techniques evolved to such adegree, that during the 1970’s the very large costumes were now being built fromcardboard and fringed crepe paper. Today, we construct our costumesfrom six (6) major materials, Cardboard, Crepe Paper, Aluminum Rods, Tie Wire, Contact Cement, and Glue. When constructing a costume, the first thing we do is build a frame using the aluminum rods. The design for the costume is then drawn outby hand onto the corrugated cardboard. The excess cardboard is subsequently removed form the frame by cutting it off with shears or paper cutter. Tire wires are then pushed throughout thegrooves of the cardboard to achieve the distinctive form and shape of theselocal artistic masterpieces. Contactcement is liberally applied to the cardboard pieces to stick and hold them together. The cardboard pieces are then attached to the frame by tie wires. The cardboard structure is afterwards painted with white paint to camouflage the drab brown hue of the corrugated cardboardpieces and strips. The next step invokes the real passion of the Bahamian junkanooer, even though it is a very demanding and time-consuming process. The half complete costume now has to be fringed with crepe paper, which is mostly imported from Vienna, Austira. The edges of the crepe paper are fringed with a pinkling shears or barber machine, and cut into horizontal half-inch stips. The strips of crepe paper are then painstakingly applied to the cardboard one stripa at a time with Elmer’s glue. We estimate that the average costume requires approximately three (3,000) to five(5,000) thousand strips of this multi-coloured crepe paper for competition andentry into the Junkanoo Parade. Years ago, the faces and hands of the bigger and more colorful costumes were fashioned from the ubiquitous cardboard. Nowadays, our avid and artistic junkanooers carve them outof Styrofoam, and airbrush or utilize water paint on the costume faces and hands. We have also implemented the useof ethofoam, which is generally used for carving and making circularobjects. The final touches to one ofthese radiant costumes calls for it’s decoration with glitter, stone , studs anddecorative beads. From time to time, asmall amount of cloth is also incorporated in the construction of a mid-size orlarge costume. The individual costumes wornby a dancer, drummer or cowbeller are likewise made from the same basic materials. Tradition calls for the absolute minimal use of cloth to makecostumes, as this is reflected in the Junkanoo Committee’s rule that allows for a maximum of four (4) paraders to be attired in this materials. However, there is a category in the parade that allows for individual costumes or pieces that are not part of an organized, official Junkanoo group to be placed on wheels. These bigger individual costumes are judged and awarded separate prizesfrom those that belong to the organized Junkanoogroup. [edit] Music & DanceThe music that is called Junkanoo is very primitive, but at the same time very infectious. The basic musical instruments are made right in the Bahamas, and consist of the drums, cowbells, horns, whistles, scrapers and brass. Drums The first drums were made from wooden barrels with cured goat or sheep skin stretched an nailed over on end of the barrel. The other end id left open. The drum is carried under on arm and supported by a thick strap, which runs over the opposite shoulder of the drummer, who plays or beats it with his bare hands. Today, goat or sheep skin are still used to make the drums, but they are generally made from metallic oil barrels. In the instance, the skin is ether tightly nailed or screwed onto the metal barrel. We are also making bigger drums fashioned from bigger oil barrels or the middle parts of old washing machines. These huge drums are affectionately referred to as B-52’s or Rocket Launchers. A new drum that has been recently incorporated into the Junkanoo rhythm is the Tum-Tum, which is actually a set drum made from fiberglass and plastic. These skins from these higher pitched drums are more likely to break, and are therefore used by the lead drummers to play the lead rhythms for the Junkanoo group. A local folk hero by the name of John Chipman is widely known and credited for making goat skin and sheep skin drums. It is estimated that he alone makes some four (4,000) thousand drums a year alone. Most of the skins used in the construction of these drums either come from Long Island, and the Ragged Islands in The Bahamas, or Jamaica, West Indies. Cowbells These noisy flat slider clapper bells are mostly made from galvanized tin or cast iron. They normally range in size from six (6) to fourteen (14) inches long and are usually played in pairs. They are joined at the end by a cord or chain, with one held being individually held in each hand, and shaken or struck together. Nowadays, most Junkanoo revelers use what is affectionately called the “Meghorn” cowbell. They are essentially made in the same manner, except they are joined together, in the sense that we now have two (2), three (3) or even five (5) bells per hand. We know of two men in particular who earn a living from making cowbells, namely Mr. Donzel Huyler and Mr. Meghorn. Mr. Huyler is locally known to be a pioneering force in cowbell making, whilst Mr. Meghorn introduced the “Meghorn” bell some years ago. Horns Modern day Junkanoo has seen the introduction of various types of horns over the years. Today we use four (4) basic types of horn to accompany the rhythmic and infectious strain that we all call Junkanoo. The first in the line is the traditional conch shell, which is taken from the local seafood delicacy, a mollusc scientifically known as strombus gigas. We also utilize foghorns they are normally installed on boats, in addition to bicycle horns taken from the bicycle. The foghorn and bicycle horn are usually doubled or tripled for a louder sound effect. There is the bronze bugle used in the old armies, that carries the melody in this delicious sound and sight spectacle known both here and abroad as Junkanoo. Scrapers It was during the 1930’s that these instruments became an integral part of the Junkanoo parade, and added a unique twist to the broad cacophony of sounds emanating from Bay Street every Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Examples of these rudimentary instruments were washboards and spoons, jawbones of animals, sticks, bottles, nails, saws and screwdrivers. Nor of these instruments are used any longer in our modern day Junkanoo parade. Brass Instruments The year 1976 ushered in a new era in local Junkanoo. The group known as the Music Makers under the leadership of the youthful Sammy Thompson put together a brass section and made it a part of their musical backline. The brass section of the group was led by Isaiah Taylor, who is presently the leader of the Bahamas number one band, the world famous Bahamen. The integration of brass with the tradition a sounds of Junkanoo was not too well received at first, but today, most major Junkanoo groups can boast of having a brass section to accompany the traditional goatskin drum, cowbells, horns and whistles. Members of our Royal Bahamas Police Force Band, the youth marching bands and even members of various church bands comprise the majority of the well received brass section o most groups. Even our corporate citizens have caught onto the act, as Commonwealth Brewery, local brewers of Kalik and Heineken beer, Guinness and Vitamalt, sponsors the annual Best Music Award for both the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Junkanoo parade. Before our African ancestors came to The Bahamas some two and a half centuries ago, the dance was led by an African whose name is recorded as Yokonomo or Jankomo. His original version of this hypnotic, gyrating, pelvic shaking dance, was simply accomplished by taking on step forward and two steps backwards. Through the ensuing years, the Junkanoo dance was a free spirited, free style dance where Junkanooers did whatever they wanted to do. However, it was during the 1950’s that Richard “Sweet Richard” Dean ushered in a new era in the development of Junkanoo dance choreography, with the introduction of the “Shuffle”. Likewise, when Percy “Vola” Francis came to the forefront of local Junkanoo as leader of the “Saxons Superstars” in the 1960’s he brought with him his own version of the dance affectionately known as the “Vola Shuffle”, which has continued to be the most famous dance to this day. In the 1980’s Junkanoo dance choreography took on a new look. For a time, many of the local stage choreographers would take the steps showcased on the street Junkanoo parade and incorporate them into their productions on stage. Now the time had come for these plagiarized steps from the stage to make their way to the real Junkanoo stage, which is the world-renowned Bay Street. The year was 1988. The venerable Paul Knowles, who was then co-leader of the Valley Boys Junkanoo group, required the services of the Carolyn Vogt Dance Company to come up with the choreographed routines for the parade. Their fancy steps and routines brought tremendous success to the already seasoned Valley boys, as they became almost unbeatable. The other major groups soon realized the advantage to be gained from having their own routines, and now hire the services of choreographers and dancers for the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades. As the Junkanoo music and dance is distinctly African in nature, most modern day Junkanoo dance choreographers try to make their routines as ethnic as possible. At the present time, individual prizes for the best dance category are not given, but hopefully this anomaly will soon be alleviated in the not too distant future. Such a prize would undoubtedly serve as a tremendous incentive for both groups and individuals to come up with even more fanciful moves and steps to add the enjoyable parades. [edit] See also
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