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Frommer's Guide
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FEATURES AND EVENTS
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Held Annually: Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year's Day
Locale: Freeport and Nassau, the Bahamas
Nearest Airport:
Nassau (NAS)
General Information:
Bahamas Tourist Office, tel. 212-758-2777
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Venture down to Bay Street in Nassau during the early morning hours of Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) until New Year's Day to behold the explosion of color and rhythm that has taken hold. Indeed, Christmas celebrations in the Bahamas wouldn't be complete without the madness of masked
Junkanoo bands rushing in the streets.
Along the parade routes, you'll see mysterious costumes made of crepe paper and cardboard, bobbing and bounding to the Bahamian beat. Cowbells, goombay drums, whistles, and hardwood sticks augment the steel-drum bands that give the event its infectious appeal.
The origin of the word Junkanoo is obscure. Some say it comes from the French l'inconnu, meaning the unknown, a reference to the masks worn by the paraders, or junk enoo, the Scottish settlers' reference to the parades, as if to say they were "junk enough." Others say the name comes from "John Canoe," an African chief who demanded the right to celebrate even after he was brought to the West Indies as a slave.
It is believed that the festival began during the 16th and 17th centuries. Slaves here were given a special holiday during Christmas and could leave the plantations to celebrate with African dance, music, and costumes. After emancipation, they continued this tradition, and Junkanoo evolved into a more organized parade with sophisticated, intricate costumes, music, and prizes. •
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Inside Scoop |
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The Bahamas are not one but many destinations. Between Grand Bahama and Great Inagua are 23 inhabited islands and thousands of unpopulated islets and cays (pronounced "keys"). Cosmopolitan Nassau, once ruled by pirates, is a world away from desert-like Inagua. On some islands, villages seem lifted from the Massachusetts coast and set down amongst palms and iridescent sands. These beautiful islands lie only 50 miles off the Florida coast--closer than any destination in the Caribbean.
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