Rishan Neely

Junkanoo in The Bahamas has evolved from a simple celebration of the three-day enslaved

people had on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, into the elaborate parade you see today. In

the early days of Junkanoo, the free slaves used whatever materials they could find, from

newspapers, sponges, and flour pap, to make costumes to adorn themselves. Since then, it

evolved into a parade of themes where groups decide on what themes they will depict year after

year, using multitudes of materials, crepe paper, feathers, wires, and cardboard to create

structures and elaborate shapes.

Additionally, the musicianship of Junkanoo has evolved from horns to more modern instruments,

the early Bahamians used conch shells or simple horns, and now you have a mixture of brass

instruments. A new addition recently added to Bay Street is the Dungalick, which creates

different percussion sounds. The percussion family helps carries sound across Bays Street,

invigorating those in the stands and sidewalks to move and sing along with their favorite group.

Another significant difference is that Junkanoo is now a competition between groups, so groups

compete for Boxing Day and New Year's titles for financial gain. The competition between

groups creates camaraderie in Bahamian society, connecting everyone through their love of

music and culture. Junkanoo can be improved and revolutionized in many ways to create a more

cohesive production. One aspect is recycling the costumes after the parade. They are scattered

throughout Bay Street on corners and curbs, indicating they have served their purpose after the

show on Bay Street. Another way Junknaoo can be improved is to eliminate significant gaps

between the groups. Some groups performing on Bay Street are enormous; something to consider

is allocating a certain number of participants for each group within their respective category.