WANARAGUA DANCE—JONCUNU DANCE I Myrtle Palacio December 2020 The term Joncunu comes in many other forms, such as, Junkanoo, Jonkonnnu, Jonkanu, Jankunu. The dance is West African in origin deriving from African slaves and is a traditional festival form still practiced in what was the British West Indies—in The Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis etc. It is a satirical dance where dancers by the attire including the mask, mock and ridicule the colonial slave masters dancing to a fast tempo. In the Garifuna language the dance is called Wanaragua. It is alive with the Garifuna people or Garinagu (plural) of the Central American region—Belize, Guatemala, Honduras; as remnants of the African heritage first introduced in St. Vincent. Each country has different styles of dress, dance, music as determined by other cultural and regional influences. In Belize, there are popular songs for the Johncunu with lyrics in Creole. It is the outcome of assimilation between two groups, Garifuna and Creole. This occurred in the early 1900s when they worked together at the mahogany camps in the north of the country. The lyrics of two popular are as follows: What a pretty wire waist gal Sunday maanin ay Warrin aye What a pretty wire waist gal Sunday maanin ay Warrin aye Ah wire waist gal Sunday maanin aye Warrin aye Ah wire waist Sunday maanin aye Warrin aye Translation: Wat a pretty wired waist girl on this Sunday morning Warrin Oh a wired waist girl on this Sunday morning Banquater Banquater Wililiamo, Ay weh ya ide Banquarter Translation: Banquater William Oh where is the Banquarter In Belize the dress traditionally included a head dress or crown, white trousers and jackets with black stockings, a mask resembling the face of the colonial master and white gloves. The effect is that the dancer is swathed in such a way as to hide the skin. The jacket is draped with ribbons of pink or green reflecting the season, whether Christmas, New Year or Diarey (Dia del Rey) on January 6; and at times also black to show respect for a deceased member. A colourfully decorated headdress with feathers, flowers and mirrors to demonstrate vanity, is placed on the dancer’s head, swathed with colourful head ties. It is a done by male dancers who jump in various styles to the beat of traditionally two drums, the secunda and the primero. The manager is called Banquater and dances with a sword, holding the sword upwards by its tip. The dance, dancer and mask are all termed Wanaragua in the Garifuna language.
In earlier days there were two camps each starting from the southern and northern ends of Dangriga Town in the morning and would dance from one home to the other all day. Around 6:00 p.m. both camps meet in front of the home of TV Ramos for a show down....it was all about expertise in the steps and the communication between the drummer and the dancer via the style of the dancer‌the aseihani.....and ladaroun Alto.