Junkanoo, also known as Jonkonnu or John Canoe, is a festival that began during the time of slavery in the British American colonies. Today, it is most commonly celebrated in the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Belize. It was also practiced in North Carolina and Miami in the past, where many people from the West Indies lived after slavery ended. Although the way Junkanoo is performed and spelled varies today, it always includes elements like wearing costumes, drumming, dancing, and parading.

In many places, Junkanoo is celebrated during the week of Christmas, especially in Jamaica. In the Bahamas, the festival was originally called Junkanoo and has been celebrated since the 1700s. It is now held throughout the year there. In Belize, Junkanoo music is very popular, and people often argue about the results of competitions. In Florida, Junkanoo parades happen in Miami in June and in Key West in October. These areas have large communities of Black people, many of whom have ancestors from the Caribbean.

Origins

The festival is thought to have started in the Bahamas, but evidence suggests Junkanoo began in Jamaica and spread across the Caribbean by the 18th century. Although it has the same origin, celebrations have changed in different places over time and became somewhat different.

This tradition is one of the oldest dance celebrations in Jamaica. It is also a cultural dance of the Garifuna people in Belize and other islands, and it is performed in the Bahamas during their independence day and other historical holidays.

Historically, Junkanoo parades happened among Black people in southeastern North Carolina and can be traced back to Jamaica. The tradition included mocking slave owners in costumes, but it became less popular after slavery ended. The last known Junkanoo celebration in the United States took place in Wilmington, North Carolina, in the late 1880s.

Dances are planned to match the rhythm of goatskin drums and cowbells.

Etymology

The origin of the word "junkanoo" is not agreed upon. Some people think it comes from the name of a famous person called John Canoe. Others believe it is based on the French phrase "gens inconnus," which means "unknown people," because people who take part in the celebration wear masks. Different spellings of the word include "jonkonnu," "jankunu," and "jonkunnu."

History

The festival may have started many years ago when people who were enslaved or their families in Jamaica celebrated holidays given around Christmas time. They used dance, music (like drumming), and colorful costumes. These costumes and drumming in Jamaica are similar to West African mask dances, mixed with European traditions.

Evidence shows the festival in Jamaica likely came from the Akan people of West Africa. Similar traditions can be found in three other groups from West Africa:

• The annual New Yam Festival of the Mmo secret society among the Igbo people
• The Egungun masquerades of the Yoruba people
• The Homowo yam festival of the Ga people

The tradition continued in places like Jamaica after enslaved people were freed. In The Bahamas, Junkanoo became a formal parade with detailed costumes, themed music, and official prizes in different categories.

Douglas Chambers, a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, suggests the festival may have roots in the Igbo people’s New Yam Festival, linked to their yam god, Njoku Ji. He also connects it to the Igbo okonko tradition, which includes horned masks and other characters, similar to Junkanoo masks.

Similarities with the Yoruba Egungun festivals have also been noted. However, the Akan origin is more likely because Fancy Dress Festivals in Ghana’s Central and Western Regions happen during the same time as Christmas (December 25 to January 1). Additionally, John Canoe was a real Ahanta chief and Akan warrior hero in Ghana before 1720, the same year the John Canoe festival began in the Caribbean. Jeroen Dewulf explained that the name might relate to the Akan god Nyankompong, known in English records as John Company.

Edward Long, an 18th-century Jamaican enslaver and historian, wrote that enslaved Akan people created the John Canoe festival in Jamaica and the Caribbean to honor a man named John Canoe. Canoe was a soldier who fought for the Germans but later helped his Ahanta people by joining forces with the Asante, Nzema, and Wassa groups to defeat the Germans and Europeans. News of his victory reached Jamaica, and he was celebrated starting with Christmas in 1708. Twenty years later, his group was defeated by the Fante people, with help from the British.

Ahanta and other Asante Kotoko captives were taken to Jamaica as prisoners of war. The festival includes designs from Akan battles, such as war masks and dance styles. The detailed masks and clothing in the festival look like Akan battledress with charms, called Batakari.

Description

Junkanoo has been celebrated in colonies including Jamaica (as Jankunu, Jonkonnu, or Jonkunnu), The Bahamas (as Junkanoo), and North Carolina.

Historian Stephen Nissenbaum described how the festival was performed in North Carolina during the 1800s.

Characters

Junkanoo is a traditional celebration featuring a group of costumed performers known as masqueraders. The characters include:

• The King and Queen — important figures representing European royalty. They wear detailed costumes made of shiny materials and wear crowns.
• Pitchy Patchy — a key character in Jamaican Jonkonnu. His role is to guide the performers and crowd using a cattle whip. He wears a suit made of bright, torn pieces of fabric.
• Belly Woman — a funny character with a large belly, symbolizing fertility and abundance. This role is usually played by a man dressed as a pregnant woman.
• Horse Head — a performer wearing a costume shaped like a horse’s head or skull.
• Cow Head — a performer wearing a costume with a cow’s head, long horns, and sometimes standing on stilts.
• The Red Indians / Wild Apache Indians — characters representing Native Americans or Amerindians. They wear beads, mirrors, and feathers.
• The Devil — a character symbolizing evil. He wears a scary costume with a pitchfork and tail.
• The Red-Set Girls — dancers who support the other characters. They wear bright, colorful dresses.
• House Head — a performer carrying a costume shaped like a house or building on their head. This represents hope for a better future.
• The Bride and Groom — performers dressed as a bride and groom.
• Jack in the Green — a performer covered in green leaves and plants.
• Policeman — a performer dressed in a police uniform.
• Warrior — a performer dressed as a warrior, sometimes holding a wooden sword painted silver.

Popular culture

The Junkanoo parade has appeared in several movies, including the James Bond film Thunderball (which was wrongly described as a local Mardi Gras-type festival), After the Sunset, and Jaws The Revenge. It also appeared in the season one episode, Calderone's Return (Part II), of the 1984 television series Miami Vice, which took place on the fictional island of St. Andrews.

A song called "Junkanoo Holiday (Fallin'-Flyin')" was written by Kenny Loggins and is on his 1979 album Keep The Fire. This song comes right after the hit song "This Is It" on the album. "This Is It" ends with a fade that moves directly into "Junkanoo Holiday (Fallin'-Flyin')", without a full break between the two songs.

In the thirteenth episode of the television show Top Chef: All-Stars, titled "Fit for a King," the contestants danced at a Junkanoo parade, learned about its history, and competed to create the best dish for the Junkanoo King.

The return of Junkanoo after the pandemic was briefly discussed in the two-part episodes 189 and 190 of the podcast Best Friends, hosted by Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata, which covered their trip to The Bahamas.

Gallery

• Rush for Peace Event in Freeport, Bahamas, 2011
• Costume without a participant after the parade
• Junkanoo Costume
• Junkanoo Costume
• Junkanoo Festival in Nassau, 2005
• Junkanoo Musician from 2005