Junkanoo 'The Call Of The Drum'

JUNKANOO THE CALL OF THE DRUM

By Arlene Nash Ferguson | Photography by Antoine Thompson

It is the soul, not the ears, that first alerts the body. Borne on the air it comes: a sound that pours into your skin, surrounds your senses, mesmerizes your soul. It is a message that overwhelms the inner places of your being. You instinctively respond to the throbbing beat of a goatskin drum from somewhere deep in your subconscious. This is Junkanoo.

For over two hundred years, the Bahamian spirit has instinctively answered that call of the drum. Out of Africa this spirit came, transported across the high seas in the filthy holds of slave ships, nestled in sobbing breasts to strengthen and buoy up the weakened spirit at the ebb of its lowest tide. And in the raw wind of day-to-day slavery, it anchored humanity and heritage, and proclaimed the indomitable spirit of the Bahamian people. Down through the centuries it survived, proudly passed from one generation to the next, this defiant assertion of personhood and unconquered soul. Today this spirit lives on, paraded each year in majesty and music in spectacular parades that occur on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day in New Providence, and from January through March in the Family Islands.

The journey from the secret night ceremonies on the plantations of yesteryear to today’s magnificent spectacle proudly showcased in prominent places, unites an intriguing mix of old traditions and modern day realities. Today’s costumes reflect today’s world. The earlier costuming materials: sponge, newspaper, rags and plants, have given way to the present’s I

incredible brightly coloured structures of cardboard and crepe paper, yet still finished in the old tradition of layering. And the inner spirit of the festival remains unchanged, celebrated in the music. Despite the introduction of brass sections and other instruments, the spirit and attitude of its African ancestry is alive in the traditional goatskin drums and cowbells, the staggered entry of instruments at the beginning (the rollover), and the call and response patterns of the whistles and horns.

Today’s Junkanoo groups in New Providence retain their community bases, but attract members from all over the island, in their quest to win the annual parades. In addition to older groups like the Valley Boys, Saxons and Music Makers, the ‘A’ Division (201 + members) now includes Roots, One Family, Genesis and the Prodigal Sons. Groups in the ‘B’ Division (50 – 201 members) are the Body of Christ, Chipping Knights, Colours Entertainment, Conquerors for Christ, Fancy Dancers, Mystical Bombers, Original

Congos, Redland Soldiers, The New Vikings, The Ultimate Force and the Z-Bandits. There is also a vibrant Individual Division.

Still, for many, the Scrap (fun) groups continue to embody the true essence of the spontaneity and celebration of past eras.

In 1973, the Ministry of Tourism assumed responsibility for the parades from the Citizen’s Masquerade Committee (formed in 1947), and appointed the National Junkanoo Committee to oversee parade management. The N.J.C. was transferred to the Ministry of Youth Sports and Community Affairs [later Culture] in 1983. In 2004, The Bahamas Government challenged the Junkanoo community in New Providence to assume control of its own parades, and the Junkanoo Corporation New Providence Ltd. was born.

The Ministry of Youth Sports & Culture in conjunction with the National Junkanoo Committee continues to manage the Junior Junkanoo parade in New Providence along with the junior and senior parades in the Family Islands. These take place from January to March in Abaco, Acklins, South, Central and North Andros, Bimini, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, Inagua and Mayaguana.

As Bahamians continue to develop a greater appreciation for their national identity and things uniquely Bahamian, there has been a gradual change in the public perception of Junkanoo. Viewed with suspicion and regarded as infra dig by many in the past, Junkanoo is now recognized as the premier cultural expression of our nation, worthy of serious attention. It is the subject of ‘Junkanoo 242’, a weekly radio show devoted exclusively to the promotion of Junkanoo, and it has received attention from fine artists, musicians, film makers, and the like. It has also been the subject of several academic works by noted Bahamian scholars, and has been taken around the world by groups such as the Junkanoo Commandos and Colours Entertainment. New Providence today boasts two Junkanoo museums: Junkanoo World, run by Quentin ‘Barabbas’ and Maureen Woodside, and the Educulture Junkanoo Museum run by Silbert and Arlene Ferguson. In Grand Bahama, there is the Junkanoo Museum of The Bahamas.

Once confined to the temporal space of the Christmas season, Junkanoo performances now take place year-round, in hotels, restaurants, and at funerals and other events. In New Providence, Junkanoo is a fixture at the Labour Day Parade, the Emancipation Day celebrations in Fox Hill, and The Independence People’s Love and Unity Rush, created by the Junkanoo Development Association in 2000. The Ministry of Tourism’s Junkanoo Summer Festival is the cultural highlight of the summer in many of our islands.

Junkanoo captures the heart and imagination of the people of The Bahamas. It is a magnificent gift given to us at Christmastime, wrapped in all the splendour of whirling colour, unparalleled artistry and the magic of compelling rhythms. This gift-wrap has so enthralled us that we are only now beginning to realize that the true gift is inside, beyond the parades. For Junkanoos, the parades are simply the finale of the shack experience that now engages the greater part of their year. The real gift of Junkanoo is to understand this, and utilize the spirit that causes our young people to be so motivated and committed, that they will go to incredible lengths to achieve excellence. What is the compulsion that drives young Bahamians to spend countless man hours in crude buildings, demonstrating dedication, patience, and teamwork, while producing incredible works of art? Surely this forces us to recognize

that the spirit of Junkanoo, the call of the drum, can be harnessed further to effect positive change in our society.

Let us go into our own back yards, then, to awaken this spirit that can transform our communities, not only by giving our young people a deeper sense of self, accomplishment and fulfillment, but also by devising strategies that will translate into economic opportunities for all. Then the brilliant creativity that is manifested in Junkanoo will be unleashed for the benefit of the entire community.

And as many of our children are challenged by traditional methods of instruction, let us also look for indigenous tools and models to bring into our classrooms via creative methodology. Junkanoo is but one example of Bahamian culture that can fare well in an expanded way in the curriculum— as a unit of inquiry that integrates a variety of disciplines, including Language Arts, Mathematics, the Sciences, Social Studies, and Life Skills. The Junior Junkanoo Parade then becomes the practical application of a Bahamian or Junkanoo Studies Program.

And so as it has done in every era, the drum still calls us to better our lives, reaffirming our uniqueness as a people and encouraging us to use the lessons of the past to shape the future.

Let us ever heed the call of the drum. UA