Junkanoo...

Here is a link to an interactive webpage to hear the music they play at Junkanoo, (pronounced just as it sounds Junk-a-new), they also play it on the radios all the time ( http://www.junkanoo.com/ ). Be sure and click on the "view Intro" for the interactive part...great thing for kids! No expression is more indigenously and genuinely unique to Bahamian culture than Junkanoo. I also cut and paste some history behind the celebration for all you history buffs! And in case you're wondering, I can't take credit for taking these pics...but I did do a little internet research to give you something visually appealing to look at.



Junkanoo is a music and dance form that originated in The Bahamas during the days of slavery. It is perhaps the closest link to its African heritage and remains remarkably unchanged over the years. Junkanoo is a festive Bahamian parade complete with colourful costumes, goatskin drums, clanging cowbells, whistles and horns. The parade progresses in a slow, rhythmic dance called "rushing". Traditionally, the festival is held in the early hours of Boxing Day (26 December) and on New Year’s Day, winding up at sunrise. Like Carnival, the paraders form themselves into groups of varying sizes and rush to the Junkanoo beat. The groups are judged on costume theme and performance in a keen competition which captures the spirit of the islanders at the very special time of the year. Just what the word Junkanoo means or where it comes from is a matter for debate.

There are many tales told and speculations about the origin of the festival. The most commonly accepted conjecture is that Junkanoo war derived from an African chief who was captured, brought to the Bahamas as a slave and given the name John Canoe. But despite his captivity he demanded the right to celebrate with his people in traditional African style. He was granted the right to do so twice a year, on the mornings of Christmas Eve and Boxing Day before the day’s work began. Another theory is that the name comes, by way of New Orleans, from the French word "inconnu" meaning unknown or strange since the participants wear masks. It is said that Junkanoo remains remarkably unchanged in form to this present day.