Port Maria carry on despite lack of support

Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer

FOLLY ESTATES, Portland:IT WASN'T Christmas Eve, nor was it 'August Night', but the Port Maria Jonkonnu from St Mary had some patrons scampering all over Folly Estates during the Portland Jerk Festival on Sunday, July 1.

According to the National Library of Jamaica, John Canoe or Jonkonnu has a very long tradition of folk festival, incorporating both African and European forms.

The masqueraders, led by Clifford 'Calypso Jack' Walters, after performing onstage, paraded around the grounds, stopping at intervals to pose for photographs, and to dance and 'bruk out' with some patrons. Their presence enhanced the festive atmosphere of the event dubbed, 'The biggest food festival in the Caribbean'.

But beneath the grotesque masks lies a corresponding level of discontent. The Port Maria Jonkonnus are not happy with the poor level of support they are getting, especially in this the 50th year of Jamaica's Independence.

Calypso Jack said his group would love to participate in the Jamaica 50 grand gala, but he hasn't been contacted. Last year, he said someone from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) spoke with him about funds for costume, but nothing came out of that conversation. "That was it, everything fade out," Calypso Jack said.

"The minister of culture should take up more interest and cooperate with the JCDC. For 50 years, I am promoting the Port Maria Jonkonnu Group ... keeping up the culture, and up to now ... we nuh get no help ... to go around Jamaica and spread the culture," an unhappy Calypso Jack said.

Invariably the group members have to dig into their own pockets to offset transport, costume and refreshment costs. Begging patrons money is another way of getting by.

The tone of his voice and the look on his face betrayed some amount of hurt when Calypso Jack said, "Right now, the culture of Jonkonnu for 50 years with Clifford Walters in the parish of St Mary, the Port Maria Jonkonnu Group get no help, no help whatsoever. We have to dance Jonkonnu and beg, and what likkle wi get, wi tek it and buy a likkle uniform and ting ... We need some people who would recognise the culture and would help us."

Jonkonnu parades, that brand of revelry that started on the plantations during the days of slavery in Jamaica, predate emancipation and independence and, by extension, carnival in the Western Hemisphere. They consist of people dressed up in costumes depicting various characters and themes, dancing in a peculiar way to live music played by the masqueraders themselves.

influenced by European custom

Ivy Baxter, in The Arts of an Island, says, "It seems that John Canoe celebrations changed, fairly early, from being a purely African slave pastime at Christmas, to one influenced by European custom." At one stage of the evolution of Jonkonnus, in some places, Europeans and well-to-do mulattoes took over, controlled, and participated in the revelry.

According to Baxter, "The name John Canoe is taken, some people think, from the name of the principal character in these festivities or from the fact that he used to carry a boat (canoe) on his head. Yet, some people believe it comes from 'inconnu', the French word for unknown. However, Professor Frederic Cassidy, in Jamaica Talk, said Johnkunnu means witch doctor in the African Ewe language. The word is also spelt Jonkunnu and Jonkanno by some people.

Over the years, Jonkonnu has been suppressed many times for various reasons. Baxter said, "the authorities became fearful about the effects upon children of the menacing qualities of certain characters in these activities" and that "John Canoe was discouraged, probably, because it was being taken over by the slaves themselves, and was leading to a situation where large groups of people could assemble to parade the streets ... , which masters considered could lead to rebellion."

Writing in 1970, Baxter also said "John Canoe parades are now vestigial in the island." Forty-two years later, it seems John Canoe is moribund, with interest and performances waning fast. Yet, Calypso Jack is not letting go of whatever is left of it. He has been masquerading since 1962, by which time most of the elderly revellers in St Mary had died. He said he was the youngest, and had taken over the group. "I am now 72, and I am still going on," he told The Gleaner.

But, Calypso Jack is also aware that at his age any card can be played, and that when the time comes, for whatever reason, for the end of his masquerade on earth, he has to yield. "I am training them to carry on the tradition," he said, making reference to his son, and grandson Alando Malcolm. It's very important to carry on the tradition, he said, "because it's an African culture."

Twelve-year-old Alando, of Port Maria Primary School, seems to be well on his way with the baton as he literally kicked up a storm with his horse character on Sunday. His role he said, was to dance, lift and turn it (the horse), and he sure did. He said when his grandfather and uncle pass away, he will take it (the leadership) over. And to young people who might be interested in John Canoe masquerading, Alando said, " Tell them to come, visit me, and I will show them how."

rural@gleanerjm.com