December is Jankunu season in Belize!
Jankunu (also John Canoe, Junkanoo, or Wanaragua in Garifuna) is a type of masquerade dance performed across the Caribbean region. The most common explanation for the costuming and movements of Jankunu is that it’s a mockery of European colonialists/slaveowners; the body movements are jerky and bouncy, mocking the uncoordinated dancing of white Europeans!
The costume worn by a Belizean Jankunu dancer consists of a wire mask painted with a pink/white face, an elaborate headdress, white shirt, black pants, gloves and tennis shoes. The ribbons criss-crossing the dancers’ chests recall British military dress. Traditionally, every bit of skin on a dancer is covered—in this video, you can see that the dancers aren’t strictly adhering to this rule. Across the Caribbean, you’ll see many variations in dress—the mask and headdress are the most consistent elements of a Jankunu costume.
In Belize, Jankunu is performed during the Christmas season in Creole and Garifuna communities; in Garifuna communities, of course, dancing is accompanied by Garifuna drums and singing.
Garifuna drumming for Wanaragua is fascinating. While there is a basic “Jankunu” rhythm for the garaones (Garifuna drums), the rhythms played by the lead drummer (on primero) are dictated by the dancer’s movements. The primero player watches the feet of the Jankunu dancer like a hawk, anticipating every hop, jump, twist and tremble. What he plays on his drum aurally mimics the movements of the dancer.
According to Hopkinites, for many years Wanaragua had all but disappeared in Hopkins, and nearby Dangriga was considered the center of Jankunu in Belize. Within the past several years, however, Jankunu has been revived in Hopkins, and a new generation of Garifuna boys are learning and performing this important art—which you can see in the video. The drummers here—Warren and Ronald—are in their mid-twenties, and the dancers range from 10-14 years old.
I took this video around 9am on Christmas morning. These boys spent all of Christmas day dancing, singing, and drumming their way from one end of the village to the next, with my place being one of their first stops. Traditionally, Wanaragua performers are “paid” for their performances with food and drink; I paid the boys with two bags of homemade Christmas cookies. What a festive—and thoroughly Belizean—way to spend Christmas morning!!
