February 13th, 2023
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture
Hon. Mario Bowleg
Thompson Blvd.
P.O Box N-3913
Nassau, N.P;
Bahamas
RE: Thanking You For Your Participation In Junkanoo
Dear Sir ,
I want to commend you for your generosity towards the funding of this tradition and
tireless efforts as our minister. We appreciate your participation and advertisement of this iconic
parade that has been around for over 200 years. Though, in its inception ;Junkanoo was just a
spontaneous Street parade slaves attended, it has played a big role in Bahamian culture.
Junkanoo, which has been a part of our culture since the late 18th century, is one of the many
cultures that have been continuously progressing from the costumes that were once made of
bottles and paper , to the homemade instruments such as conch shells and horns that have been
replaced by modern day instruments. Junkanoo is a parade that celebrates freedom and brings out
the colors in Bahamians. However, it is sometimes sad to see that in it's evolution Junkanoo
has lost the element of family but, with time comes changes, like seasons.
What is Junkanoo? Junkanoo is a Street Festival in which organized groups spend half the
year preparing costumes to perform. It was a festival used to express yourself and story.
Junkanoo in the 17th and 18th century was first experienced as a masquerade ball. It was an
event in which slaves covered their faces with flower paste and danced the night away. Its name
is said to be derived from West African slave John Canoe. Another theory is that it comes from
the French L'inconnu (meaning the unknown) referencing the masks worn by paraders. It is
widely believed that it evolved in the days of slavery and it began during the 16th and 17th
centuries. John Canoe is said to have pushed to celebrate with his people, eventually succeeding
and giving birth to now renowned cultural Festival Junkanoo. Christmas eventually became the
biggest celebration in the Bahamas and became a major cultural attraction and the 18th century
when bahamian slaves were allowed to celebrate their African Heritage and express their
learning for freedom the dancers and rhythms it made them forget that they were slaves. As
Junkanoo slowly progressed flour paste was replaced by wire masks and makeshift instruments
became modernized and household instruments for no longer needed. Many people also insist
the junk in Junkanoo refers to the cans and discarded materials first used to create instruments
and costumes of the first celebrations of the 18th century.
In the 1920s sponging Industries made up a crucial part of the Bahamian economy.
Consequently another trend was made in which junkanooers covered themselves in sea sponge due to
the southern popularity of big sponging businesses in the Bahamas. But as time progressed to the 1930s
the sponging industry dwindled. Instead of sponges, materials such as multicolored crepe paper and
newspapers became the main materials used for Junkanoo costumes. This led to the colorful costumes
that are present nowadays.
During the 1950s and '60s Junkanoo evolved drastically as for decades females involved
in Junkanoo were looked down upon and discriminated against by Society. But in 1954 that all
changed after coming to East Bay Street on December 28th 1954 Maureen Duvalier, David Kemp
and Bruce Beneby with a group of 35 persons came with the first properly constituted group an
the first properly fringed costumes to rush on Bay Street. Many females can now be seen
participating in this Festival as of lately and in all positions of the festival. Government has also
made an effort to introduce Junkanoo into the curriculum to give children and young ladies a
chance to participate in the cultural Festival which is referred to as Junior Junkanoo. Many
groups were formed around this time such as valleyboys, Vikings Etc. By Christmas they were
introducing the Hibiscus made with cardboard, the first 3D (three-dimensional) costumes in
Junkanoo history with the theme "Hibiscus : Tribune to Bahamian Beauty".
Though my suggestion on how we can improve Junkanoo may prove to be insufficient I
would still like to share my ideas. To commence, I suggest we should have government work
towards International advertisement to assist in persuading tourist to participate in the family
festival. In addition more money should be allocated in our budget to ensure the longevity of
Junkanoo in the Bahamas. It is important for our government to support and participate in this
cultural celebration so that it may remain our Bahamian National Festival. Government should be
more strict towards the penalties of neglecting the rules. I think points should be taken off for
being late, not registering on time Etc.
Another suggestion is to discontinue Carnival. Carnival is a public celebration that is
known for nudity excessive Indulgence of alcohol Etc. Though Carnival can be a pleasurable
celebration for adults , it does not play a big role in Bahamian culture. Because of the fact
Carnival does not have a formidable place in Bahamian culture it consequently disrupts Junkanoo.
Carnival is not an indigenous period to the Bahamas therefore issuing a removal will not be
harmful. Carnival also continues to have a negative effect on junkanoo and takes away from the
attendance as young people who should be attending Junkanoo are driven towards the vulgarity
of the street parade. It also has a negative Financial effect because many people people
purchase these carnival costumes outside of the country whereas Junkanoo costumes are 100%
made in the Bahamas. Therefore the money remains in the country, this should be discontinued
before it causes irrevocable damage to our indigenous culture. Carnival is not an indigenous
period to the Bahamas takes away from the attendance of Junkanoo and does not contribute to
the Bahamas in any way shape or form. It also takes away from the sponsors that should be
sponsoring Junkanoo and instead sponsor Carnival so it limits the amount of funding going to
Junkanoo.
My third suggestion to increase participation in Junkanoo, is to reintroduce the family
element. We can do this by Implementing a family category which will allow groups of families to
register to participate in the family part of Junkanoo. Where each group is limited to 50 persons
and is given the same amount of material to create Masterpiece costumes. However, each group
will be allowed to create their own music and provide their own instruments. I feel that these
rules will afford each group the same opportunity and it will also bring out the creativity in
each group which will undoubtedly make this part of Junkanoo a lot more fun and interacting
for the family. This can also be implemented for tourists as an attraction on a different scale at a
cost through the ministry of Tourism.
To Conclude, Junkanoo is a tradition that should be preserved. Sadly, we aren’t doing a
good job preserving it. I believe the execution of my suggestions will help drastically as allowing
the government to advertise outside of the country will bring in more tourists and help the
tourism industry. Removing Carnival will allow Junkanoo to flourish and have more attendance.
While allowing the family to participate will help in building the bond and allow teamwork to be
present. By doing all three of these suggestions we can preserve the practice of Junkanoo for
future generations and many more years to come we will also bring back Junkanoo's original
meaning was, which was freedom, family and fun. Some more suggestions to help with the
revival of Junkanoo are making Junkanoo a week long cultural festival for more Bahamians and
international guests to get in touch with our nation's history. An extensive year round
International advertisement. Implement community secondary Junior Junkanoo from the ages of
5 to 12. I hope that by removing some of the competitive traditions we can lower the bad
blood between groups so that less people can leave without their Spirit of Junkanoo being
shattered. AMMC and NAGB are important institutions that carry out many remarkable feats.
Without them many of the forts and Bahamian arts we see today would have deteriorated.
Many people fail to realize the importance of Corporations like these simply because they are
overlooked. AMMC is very important to preserving our Forts and the history that came with it
such as Fort Charlotte, Fort Charlotte was established through Lord Dunmore and has been
amazingly preserved over the years, there are many theories of how Charlotte got it's name
such as it being named after the Kings black wife Sapphire Charlotte. NAGB isn't lacking in it's
importance as well, because of its promotion of Bahamian artists the Bahamian economy has
grown; they are a corporation which condone sharing and educating people on our history and
culture through art. They have many famous arts and crafts they have preserved for almost
decades, even our ancestral languages from our ancestral languages to our many many forts
such as Fort Fincastle, Fort Monique and Fort Charlotte. These corporations have a massive
effect on preserving, documenting and restoring historical artifacts in the Bahamas. This is why we
must support these institutions as there are very few number and count greatly. Once again I
thank you for funding and participating in this National Festival. I hope you continue to sponsor
this tradition and I hope you take my suggestions and to consideration, thank you.
