Jonkonnu, aka John Canoe, is a well-known African diaspora holiday tradition, celebrated in the Caribbean.
North Carolina is one of the rare places in North America with records of Jonkonnu.
At plantations like Somerset Place Historic Site
(@somersetplaceshs) and Historic Stagville, enslaved people gathered to drum, dance, and parade during Jonkonnu. often celebrated around Christmas. The Rag Man, dressed in colorful fringe with animal furs and horns, led the way.
In North Carolina, enslaved people and their descendants actively celebrated Jonkonnu through the 1800s. However, by the early 1900s, the tradition faded as Jim Crow laws took hold.
Today, the spirit of Jonkonnu lives on. Historic Stagville (@historicstagville) hosts an annual event featuring music and dance that honors this African diaspora masquerade tradition.
via @ncculture (repost), slides 3 + 5 via @rootinnajumieka
Douglas Chambers, professor of African studies at the University of Southern Mississippi, suggests a possible Igbo origin from the Igbo yam deity Njoku Ji, referencing festivities in time for the New Yam Festival. Chambers also suggests a link with the Igbo okonko masking tradition of southern Igboland, which features horned maskers and other masked characters, similar to junkanoo masks.
Source















