The Dance Form Jonkunnu

National Identity & the Arts

Journal Entry #3

Kyle McLaughlin

JONKUNNU

Jonkunnu is Jamaica’s 1^st traditional and longest dance form of African descent still being practiced in Jamaica           up to this day. This dance form is a both a Masquerade form and Myal. This dance form is a buildup of music, dance, mime and symbols. Originally this was mainly practiced at Christmas season when the slaves had break on Boxing Day, they were forced to perform this art form as entertainment for their plantation owners and other associates of the plantation

This dance form went through three phases or stages in Jamaica. The first was the early years of introduction and adaptation known as the pre-Set Girl era from the 1650’s- 1770’s, at this time the only characters were of their African background the Cowhead and Horsehead. The next era was followed in the 1770's by the addition of a European feature, the set girls. Set Girl era was of European influence when they began to have different classes/ categories of workers on the plantation. These new races influenced the characters and life and status on the plantation and cultures started to mix again so the new characters added were the Jack-in-the-green, Set girl, sailor boy, devil house Jonkunnu and actor boy. The third stage came after emancipation and it was this masquerade which shows the British influence most clearly. This era was influenced by the breaking up of slavery and the entering of freedom, but  by this time we had already been programmed to look at life as white was superior and blacks were inferior so at this time blacks emulated the life they should be living or the dream life is that of the whites so the Jonkunuu at this time was adapting to the different races and  influences in society where there were a few tribes from Africa that had people coming to Jamaica in search of work too, who brought back a sense of our African culture back in the Jonkunnu and the introduction of the characters pitchy patchy, belly woman, beggar Indian chief, and policeman.

To me Jonkunnu definitely played a big role in the early forming and shaping of our Jamaican identity for it was the first means of actual socialization of the slaves from all these different tribes together, they got to mix culture and adapt and learn from and together from the first stage through to the second stage where there where different eauropean influences more culture mixing but more culture shocks also and acceptance and rejection but understanding eventually up until the final stage where there were free black men and free white men all working and being paid and at this time there was still high levels of segregation, but it only really boosted the lower classes to gain ambition and rise up! And I think its that what makes us jamaicans so determined and to conquer whatever it is that we achieve to do in this world and we will always excel for we defeated slavery on our own been colonized more than once and now we are styl here making impact on the greater world.