Tamanahahaha: Junkanoo

The other day I went to the church for a meeting and ended up waiting outside with another member and his kids for an hour or so. They call it "Bahamian Time." Fortunately, he was really fun to talk to and gave me some good information. I asked him about the upcoming Junkanoo festival that we were planning to attend on Saturday. He said that it's a parade that runs downtown with people who have created these amazing costumes and dance to the Bahamian Beat. "As they start playing a ways off, your feet start tapping the ground. Then as they get closer, you find that your legs start stomping and your head starts bobbing. Pretty soon, your whole body is just dancing to the music. Then as they pass right in front of you, you can feel the drums beating in your chest and you just can't help moving right along with everyone else," said Brother Cash. The best part was that he acted the whole thing out and had his kids rolling with laughter.

Sure enough, it was exactly like he said. Even though it started later than we thought it would, and we had to leave early, we loved every second of it. Keido's favorite parts were the dancers, the band, and the little boys next to us fighting with their blow up noise makers. When there was a break in the parade, Keido took off running after the little boys who had gone to a grassy area. They were probably 6 or 7, but he just stood right in the middle of what they were doing. When they went somewhere else, he followed right along. He definitely wants to be one of the big boys.

I guess way-back-when people used to take "Junk" and make it "New" for their costumes, hence the name "Junkanoo." Since then it seems to have evolved into a competition where people use nicer materials to make their costumes. I was still pretty floored at what they came up with using paper and feathers. Some of the costumes weighed at least a couple hundred pounds and I felt bad for the people who had to wear/carry them. I also wanted to take the dancers home and have them do morning Zumba classes for me. Bahamian girls got MOVES.

Anyways, here are a bunch of pictures of what the parade was like. It was one of those multi-cultural experiences that I will always cherish. I just wish Keido was old enough to remember it. Maybe one day if he hears that "Bahamian Beat" again, he will feel right at home:)