Bahamas Junkanoo Roots
It is said that the rooted origins of Junkanoo can be traced back to West Africa. John Canoe, A West African tribal chief demanded and insisted that he and his people be afforded the right to celebrate after being brought to the West Indies pre and post slavery.
Junkanoo as Bahamians call it originated in the Bahamas sometime around the 17th century as a masquerade.
The slaves would mask their faces with a flour paste during Junkanoo, sometime later the flour paste masks would be replaced by masks attached to a stick. Musical instruments consisted of hand made goatskin drums,bugles, horns and anything that could give rythm or used to improvise, like the conch shell. During the late 1920's when the sponging business was a thriving industry, the Junkanooers would shift to fully covering themselves in sea sponges.
Between the years of 1941-1945 during WWII, Junkanoo was cancelled while the war went on. The Tourist travel had decreased during this time as well. Wasn't until 1947 that Junkanoo was finally revived again in the Bahamas.
As the years pass and times changed so did the costumes and musical instruments.
Musical instruments: Goatskin,bongo,bass,tummtumm drums etc. Horns,whistles,cowbells,flutes,pipes,and even trumpets to name a few.
Junkanoo has been transformed into an annual cultural competition, as there are Junkanoo groups that compete for best costumes, best banner, best music, etc. When you think of Junkanoo, Junkanoo is beautiful vibrantly colored hand made costumes and master pieces of each individual, energizing rythmic music.
