Jonkonnu in Jamaica Essay Example

cultural streams flowed together in Jamaica celebrations gave rise to Jonkonnu. In Jamaica, Jonkonnu is the oldest recorded traditional dance form. A combination of European and African forms combined in some aspects and identifiably different in others with further addition of creole elements. Its essential features are costumes masking, a special fife, drum music, dance and mime. There are two types of Jonkonnu in Jamaica and these are “Fancy Jonkonnu” and “Roots Jonkonnu”. Mordecai called the two “distinctly African” Jonkonnu groups and “Masquerade actor groups” derived from English olk theatre.

These actor groups recited dramatic excerpts, many from English plays such as Shakespeare and enacted many types of mime. (Mordecai 159-160). An examination of Jonkonuu‘s evolution led to the discovery of several characters. The traditional set of Jonkonnu characters includes Belly-woman, Policeman, Devil, Horsehead, Pitchy- Patchy, Cowhead and House-head to name a few. The character Belly woman, a pregnant woman is primarily played by a male. The antics and ability to make her belly move to the rhythm of the music is designed to amuse the audience.

The character Policeman, represents legal authority and wears a uniform that consists of a black hat with a red band. He has a red cloth hanging from the crown of the head down to the neck. The character Devil is usually clothed in black, wears a cowbell attached to his backside and carries a trident. His headdress is made of cardboard in the shape of a cone and bears mirrors throughout. This character seeks to remind society of the need to resist the influence of this malevolent force. The character Horesehead is usually presented with a mule’s skull fitted with

an artificial jaw which is attached to a pole.

The skull is painted and eyes are added to give a real life experience. It is believed that this character represents the overseer of the plantation era who usually appeared mounted on a horse and clutching a whip. The character Pitchy Patchy is perhaps the most popular Jonkonnu figure. He is dressed in shredded strips of cloth bearing bright colours. He appears in a square hat or a feathered cap adorned with tinsel and mirrors. Cheryl Ryman described this character as “a ghost from the past” becoming all things to all people, ever changing, ever constant.

He runs into the crowd of spectators sometimes confronting them with a loud growl. According to oral tradition, Pitchy Patchy’s costume is the same type that was used by the Maroons as camouflage during warfare. Pitchy Patchy turns cartwheels and large movements in circular patterns. The character Cowhead consists of a cloth tied tightly around the head and half a coconut shell is worn on the head to which real cow horns are attached. A wire mesh mask on which facial features are painted covers the face.

Cowhead charges into spectators to keep them back, waving his head from side to side, displaying the notion of power surrounding tales of horned animals transmitted by the African ancestors. In the African tradition horned figures symbolized strength and power of important individuals in society who display superior physical, supernatural and political attributes. Horned figures have also been known to be associated with funerals, warriors, initiation and circumcision ceremonies and secret societies. The character House-head is of the past wore a frightful mask and carried on

his head a huge, elaborate house filled with puppets.

The specific nature of the house carried by this figure attests to the origins of Jonkonnu. The house was a replica of the architecture of the Great Houses found in the pre-emancipation era. There were symbolic of power, privilege and oppression. Characters interact with each other and both African and European instruments such as the gumbay drum and fife are utilized. To understand the evolution of Jonkonnu in Jamaica, there are three stages to consider. Stage one is called the pre-Set Girl era which is prior to the year 1785.

This was marked by the interaction between a variety of African people and their adaption to an alien environment with limited input from or influence by the ruling class. Stage two is called the Set Girl era. Here both the African and European elements are evident. In 1770s, the “set girls”, a European feature was added and European influence was greatly felt. Stage three is the post emancipation period. This era was marked by social upheaval experienced by the Black population as they move from slave to free and there was increased pressure for Euro –centric aspirations.

For many of the new citizens, viable participation and mobility in society involved a movement towards European ideal. The mask is central to African dance and it is said that once the masquerade begins dancing, he enters the life force of rhythm and the god or ancestral spirit possesses him. In Africa, the mask and masquerade are often linked to secret societies and to communication with and the embodiment of the ancestors and deities. Mervyn Alleyne wrote that Jonkonnu masquerade form and

“Myal” a possession healing form of religion were closely allied in their early forms in Jamaica.

There were allied in the two most powerful male secret societies of West Africa called the Poro and Egungun. In these societies, the masks conveyed a supernatural authority. It is in this respect, of the masks, music and dance, that the possibility of an actual relationship between Jonkonnu and Mayal are associated. Masquerade was the first type of dance to be recorded as being performed by the slave population. According to Beryl Allen, Christmas was a very special holiday for slaves who received four to five days holiday, special gifts of food and drink and new clothes.

The slaves celebrated and performed for their masters by marching in procession accompanied by musicians who played drums, fife, the banjo and other instruments such as scrapers, conch shells and cow horns. They dressed in clown like costumes depicting West Africa characters and would dance in the streets, entering homes and requesting money however as the cost of costume materials increased and people became less generous in their gifts to the players, fewer Jonkonnu players appeared at Christmas.

In conclusion, the custom of Jonkonnu dates from the days of slavery and at one period, the bands were large and elaborate. Over the years the custom has died out and Jonkonnu today is but a shadow of its former self. Oliver Senior suggested that Jonkonnu reached its zenith at the height of the plantation era when European slave masters actively encouraged it by promoting the festival on the estates. He wrote that “after emancipation (1838), Jonkonnu suffered decline as the churches combined to stamp out pagan

amusements and rituals”.

In 1841, there were riots when the Mayor of Kingston banned the Jonkonnu parades resulting in clashes with Police and the bands. In the first half of the twentieth century bands were seen less and less frequently in the streets but remained alive in the deep countryside. Although Jamaica is credited with the longest running tradition of Jonkonnu, the tradition is dying. Today the Jonkonnu bands only appear as entertainment at cultural events and in the rural parts of the island.