What happened to Jonkonnu? - Cultural figures bemoan decline of ‘a part of our history’
Published:Sunday | December 20, 2020 | 12:20 AM
The celebration of Christmas in Jamaica is said to date back to the 17th century during enslavement. Plantation work would cease from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day and it was a time of great jubilation for the enslaved. Celebration among the population would be marked by huge all-night dances, with costumed masqueraders and drumming.
These celebrations became known as Jonkonnu, one of Jamaica’s oldest holiday traditions. But although the practice is still retained in some rural areas, Jonkonnu celebrations are not as prevalent as they once were. In fact, today’s Christmas festivities have become so commercialised that the season has become more known for European carols, Christmas lights, decorations and Santa Claus.
Describing Jonkonnu as a rich part of Jamaica’s historic legacy, some key cultural figures expressed sadness at its diminishing presence on the local entertainment scene. They recalled memories from their childhood when although somewhat terrified, one would get excited about seeing the Jonkonnu band passing through the community.
“I remember when Jonkonnu was in its heyday, that was the big game in town at Christmastime and so it’s painful to watch, and [I] have noticed its decline over the years because I remember how scared, but absolutely excited we were as children to see the Jonkonnu band,” said author Cheryl Ryman.
“Today though, there are so many other forces competing for the attention of this generation that it has got harder to fit in Jonkonnu, and so I understand why there has been a loss of interest.”
Ryman, who has wrote countless pieces on Jonkonnu and its importance, expressed that although in the eyes of some Jamaicans, the Jonkonnu tradition has “done its time”, it is worth preserving.
“This is something that has been passed down from generation to generation and is a direct link to our ancestral heritage. Jonkonnu gives a whole history of Jamaica’s ascent. If you go through Jonkonnu and explore all the traditional forms that were broken off from it and still exists in pockets, you will see that it is at the core of our heritage. It was the first recorded traditional form with some 70/80 different characters that if we could resuscitate even half of them, we could adequately tell our history through Jonkonnu. So it’s not just another traditional folk form. It is a history book of our culture that is absolutely worth retaining,” she said.
DYING TRADITION
Renowned choreographer and founder and artistic director of L’Acadco: A United Caribbean Dance Force, Dr L’Antoinette Stines, shared similar sentiments as she also reminisced on the days Jonkonnu was in its prime. There was an undeniable disappointment in her voice as she spoke about the slow death the tradition has been facing in a modernised Jamaica.
“Jonkonnu for me, personally as a child, was a little frightening, but it wasn’t a [bad kind of ] frightening it was an [exciting kind of] frightening because you want to see them. I think that for Jonkonnu to be brought back to that place, something has to be done to thrust focus on it again. When you think of Japan, China, India, you see ancient practices happening until today and with great respect, traditions that are thousands of years old and you will see people get up everyday and take pride in carrying on these rituals. We are a likkle Jamaica and we must stop show off. We must stop trying to be European and stop trying to think that a part of globalisation means forgetting who you are because who we are is what makes us stand out and part of our history is Jonkonnu,” she said.
“I feel very strongly about this because we need to retain what is ours. Jonkonnu is very important to the history of Jamaica, relative to the celebration of our freedom, our emancipation. When as a people, we forget about what our ancestors fought for and the methods they used to get freedom and the things used to celebrate it, we become a people that will not know where we’re going.”
Both Ryman and Stines posited that a big part of cultural retention is exposing the next generation to traditions worth continuing. They expressed that in order for Jonkonnu to be revived, new interest must be sparked and explained that the only way the latter will happen is through exposure.
“The interest in the community and the families that would carry on Jonkonnu has waned. The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) was a kind of galvanizing force that would bring Jonkonnu in schools. They used to have something called Mento Yaad and it was their offering where you would see all the traditional folk forms of Jamaica including Jonkonnu and that was the opportunity for the younger generation who would not have been exposed to it in their homes and have it come down their roads, they would have had that an opportunity at Mento Yaad,” said Ryman.
“And that brings me to the point of patronage and support because it takes money to bring the groups in, to feed them and help to support them in making the costumes. There was also a passion about Jonkonnu and that has diminished significantly. It’s passion that will impact one’s ability to produce and so we need to have someone passionate about carrying on this tradition that will generate the funds necessary to keep it going. That combination is key in the retention of this celebration.”
“I think a lot of people in this country are historically empty vessels. When it comes to the history of their country and the cultural legacy, they are empty and they are OK with it because they want to know hip-hop, etc. But then there is another set of people that would love to know. There is a generation coming forward that if the history is presented to them, they’d embrace it,” Stines continued.
“I mean look at it, if we were to teach Jonkonnu in schools, we’d have to teach dance, we’d have to teach riddim, we’d have to teach costume design, what each character represents and I think it would be wonderful to see how many young people would be interested in carrying on this tradition from just that.”