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2004-06-05
Junkanoo CaribbeanToGo.com Staff Writer
The Junkanoo, a national festival and the largest cultural event in the Bahamas encompassing art, music, and dance, is held on December 26 and January 1 each year in the Bahamas.

Although there are differing opinions on the origin of Junkanoo, the most widely accepted belief is that it originated in the 17th century when slaves were given a holiday at Christmas time, which they celebrated with dance, music, and exchanging gifts with family and friends. The festival name is believed to have been derived from an African tribal chief and slave trader, named John Canoe, who gained control of Fort Brandenbury and demanded the right to celebrate this unique celebration with his people.

December 26, 1938 (Boxing Day) was declared a public holiday in the Bahamas. Since then, parades and festivals are held on every December 26, January 1, and Independence day, July 10 The parades start at 2:00 am and go till approximately 9:00 am, with results of the judging of costumes, dancers, and music announced at Rawson Square at the conclusion of the parade.

Over the years Junkanoo has evolved. Troupes such as the Valley Boys, Saxons, Superstars, Music Makers, and Vikings.now compete for thousands of dollars in prize money. After choosing a theme, costumes and music, the troupe choreographs a short step or meringue dance that they perform as they sing along the parade route, encouraging parade goers to join in.

Simple costumes and masks originally made from shrubs, leaves, stones, and paper have evolved today to large elaborate costumes made from cardboard, crepe paper, aluminum rods, wire, paint, Styrofoam, glitter, studs, and beads. The parade committees regulate the use of cloth for costumes and allow a maximum of 4 individual costumes in each troupe to be made with cloth.

Music is a large part of the celebration and typically consists of goatskin drums, cowbells, horns, whistles, scrapers, and brass instruments. The drums are made of a wooden barrel, an oil barrel, or even a washing machine drum, with goat or sheep skin stretched and nailed over the end of the barrel. The tum-tum, a fiberglass and plastic drum set produces a higher pitched sound and is commonly used too.

Revelers and members of the troupe, called Bellers, use cowbells that are made from tin or iron and range in size from 6–14 inches. The cowbells are held one in each hand and shaken or struck together to produce a noisy bell sound. There are variations of the cowbells which consist of bells that are anywhere from 2-5 bells attached together to be rung in each hand. There are four basic horns used by the musicians in the parade: The conch shell, foghorn, bicycle horns and bugles. The conch shell (which makes a horn-like sound when blown), the foghorn (the type usually found on boats), bicycle horns and the bugle all add to the rhythmic sound.

Scrapers, a washboard and spoon, stick and bottle, and saws were once common in the early part of the century but only occasionally included today. In the mid seventies brass instruments were introduced and have become an integral part of the musical troupe.

Initially, the parade troupe performed a free style dance with no planned choreographed steps. Eventually in the 50’s the Shuffle and Vola Shuffle was introduced and by the late 80’s choreographed dances became a part of many of the groups themes. Today most groups choreograph their dances although they try to keep the dance as ethnic as possible. Over the years it has inspired more creative and complicated dance routines for the enjoyment of the parade goers.

If you miss the opportunity to see these celebrations, the Junkanoo Expo located in Nassau gives visitors a chance to get a taste of the Junkanoo festival and is definitely worth a visit.

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