Folk Dances and Acts

Jumping Clowns

The Clowns are part of our folk culture that finds expression at Christmas time in a festival that has been celebrated for hundreds of years. The Clown troupe is a somewhat unique phenomena in the English speaking Caribbean and is thought to be a legacy of the renowned French Governor Lonvillier de Poincy, a gentleman who ruled French interests in the Caribbean in the 17th Century and who resided in his Chateau in the hills overlooking Basseterre. It was there he held court and the magnificence of his hospitality and the entertainment he provided were celebrated by visitors to the island.

The characteristic costume of the European court jester is transformed in the Clown into a beautiful flowing suit, bellowing as the several dancers execute a series of intricate movements.

Performed mostly by the male descendants of African slaves who make up vast majority of the population of the island, each clown groups were usually made up of 40 to 50 players.

The sinuous and harmonious body movement of the dancers blend with the String Band rhythms, the musical accompaniment for this particular troupe and the elegance and grace as the dancers as they serpentine behind and between each other is a spectacle to behold.

Masquerade

The Masquerade is the King of Nevisian folklore. It is easily the most identifiable of Nevisian folk traditions. Most Nevisians can tell you more about the Masquerade than any other folk expression. The Masquerade represents the struggles of the Nevisian people from West Africa, through the Middle Passage and the turbulent period of slavery and colonialism, into an independent people now facing the future with pride, boldness and confidence.

It is a magnificent work of art created and perfected by the people of Nevis over a period of at least 300 years. The Masquerade is a cultural treasure portrayed in all its aesthetic glory on the streets and stages of Nevis, the rest of the Caribbean and North America and speaks of a people proud oftheir unique customs and traditions.

The style of the Masquerade costume was perfected over a long period of time by the slaves who came to Nevis during the eighteenth century from the Yoruba-speaking Oyo Empire of West Africa and represents the ritual symbolism of Yoruba worship. The costume has its roots in the cultural and religious beliefs of the slaves and therefore represents one of the few remnants which has withstood the vicious attacks on African culture by the colonial masters.

The Masquerades perform six different dances - Quadrille, Fine, Jig, Wild Mas, Waltz and Boillola.

During the End-of-Crop and Christmas celebrations the African slaves imitated the paired dancing of the European clique. The African slaves mocked paired dancing because they were not accustomed to it, since traditionally in their homeland men danced by themselves and women danced by themselves.

The planters enjoyed watching the performances and eventually brought them into their drawing rooms to entertain them on Sunday afternoons. Hence modern day spectators witnessing these performances would notice that the performers are always smiling or giggling as they execute the dance as a sign of mimicry of their former masters.

In Nevis, in the early 1900s, 20s and 30s the Cake Walk Dancers performed alongside the Clown troupe. In Charlestown the Cake Walk Dancers performed on the polished/stained wooden floors of the aristocrats and their families and friends while the clowns danced on the outside in the streets for the 'common' people. The Clowns also protected the Cake Walk Dancers as they travelled from place to place, keeping the crowds at bay with their long cracking whips.

Sometime in the 1940s the Clowns came into their own as a separate troupe performing a set pattern of jumping, shuffling and dancing to the music of the String Band and sometimes the Big Drum. Meanwhile the Cake Dancers continued to perform their dances indoors on public stages as well as family homes, to the various beats of the string band.

Traditionally, the males wore white long-sleeved shirts and white dress pants, with white gloves, red bow ties and red sashes as accessories. Females wore white top, single color with short puffed sleeves decorated with fancy laces around the neck. multi-colored layered pleated ankle-length skirts, with white gloves and matching head ties and hand fans.

Cake Walk

Johnnie Walker

The Johnnie Walker Folklore, was an extinct, Nevisian folk form which combined the spoken word with folk music and dance – performed exclusively at Christmas time. It was fashioned off the medieval British Strolling Bands which became very popular during the Industrial Revolution in Britain in the first half of the nineteenth century.

These were street performers which strolled from house to house at Christmas time providing entertainment with their Mummers Plays. Other derivatives from the British Mummers were the Mummies, Clowns, Bazzard Boys etc. These British traditions were brought to the Caribbean during the slavery and post slavery eras and as they did with the Cake Walk and Quadrille folk dances, African descendants copied and blended them with their own experiences to create their own folk forms.

The Johnnie Walker character was created during the heyday of Nevisian folklore following World War II when it was common for folk plays to be fashioned from popular characters of the day. This character was of course copied from the black label on the Johnnie Walker Whisky bottle.

At every home, musicians and players were offered food and drink in addition to the money they were paid for the performance. It was considered an insult to the hosts if said niceties were refused. Performers therefore had to be monitored by the Leader to ensure that they didn’t consume too much alcohol at any particular home, since they were expected to perform throughout the day and into the evening some times until Boxing Day.

Millionaires and Japanese Girls

In the Clown troupes were millionaires wore complete white out- fits coats, trousers, and tie, even to their shoes and bow ties. The Japanese girls, in their turn, wore rather short skirts above the knee, full-length stockings and posed tiny umbrellas, which they placed aside to dance the various ballroom figures with their millionaire partners.

Whenever the troupe arrived at the estate plantation houses or 'great' houses, the owner or managers had their drawing rooms cleared of furniture for the millionaires and Japanese girls. After executing popular dance steps, then, like the one-step, two-step, waltz, and the 'shake-you-right-foot', the players were usually feasted.

They often had a sumptuous meal in which the main relish was from the Christmas pork preparation, and was washed down with the favourite Yuletide drink sorrel and rum. At the end of this, all the clowns would then present their 'Heave-ho' and 'Goo-dung' dances while spectators scampered to avoid their frenzied whip- wielding antics.

The Clown troupe, along with Millionaires and Japanese Girls, is a somewhat unique phenomena in the English speaking Caribbean and is thought to be a legacy of the renowned French Governor Lonvillier de Poincy, a gentleman who ruled French interests in the Caribbean in the 17th Century and who resided in his Chateau in the hills overlooking Basseterre. It was there he held court and the magnificence of his hospitality and the entertainment he provided were celebrated by visitors to the island.

Bazzard Boys

The Bazzard Boys consisted of groups of young teenage boys dressed in women’s clothing and ragged men’s jackets performing with make shift percussion instruments, from Christmas Eve night to the day break on Christmas Day. Then, from around mid morning on Christmas Day adult males came out immaculately attired performing from house to house and village to village, to the sounds of well organised bands of stringed and percussion instrument players with commentary and huge crowds following them around. A typical accompanying band can consist of one to three guitar players, one to two ukelele players, one banjo player, one baha player, one guiro player and one triangle player.

Sweet Lemon

The play "Sweet Lemon" depicts a humorous and lively wedding ceremony. Joseph Alexander seeks to marry Agu, but Agu's father and others raise objections, citing Agu's perceived faults. Despite the objections, the priest conducts the ceremony, but Agu protests against the ring, preferring a different kind. The scene is filled with music and lively dialogue, showcasing the cultural elements of the wedding ceremony with a comedic twist

Red Cross

In 1939 when Nevis was still a British colony two local artists created a play called "Red Cross." Their play brings together popular songs, dance routines, and a fragmented story of warfare involving soldiers, sailors, and Red Cross nurses. At the center of this story the British flag is thrown to the ground and a young boy who attempts to recover it loses his life. His action is celebrated as "heroic" by both sides and his body, elevated to the shoulders of the dancing troupe, is taken to the nearest city for honorable burial. The text--reconstructed from interviews with three original performers is both a criticism of British authority and a cry for "heroic" leadership during this historical period.

Giant Despair

Giant Despair is an 18th century folklore play based on John Banyan’s Pilgrim Progress. It comprises of about fourteen characters whose dramatic scenes are based on a journey from the City of Destruction to Mount Zion. And as darkness approached Christian finds himself separated from his companion but is encouraged by the beautiful damsel, Discretion.

The characters in this play adorn themselves in colourful costumes with long breeches, shirt, and decked with bell, ribbons and mirrors. They carry in their hand a Tomahawk which they casually swing as they perform with emphasis and splendour.

The Giant, the most furious of the characters is usually tall in statue and wears a long red gown and a large belt made from cattle skin. In his hand he carries a long club, which he swings violently to traumatize his opponents and usually sends the audience wild.

The Queen, who is usually a very handsome boy, would dress himself in a short lace bridal dress with beautiful white and silver crown as his headdress.

The physical musical movements and the performances from these dramatic actors accompanied by the rhythm of the Big Drum would totally mesmerize any audience.

Moko Jumbies

Stilt walker or Moko-Jumbies as they are called locally, have been passed on from African mythology, particularly in the Ghana area. It is believed that this custom made its way to our shores through the slave who were brought here.

The name Moko, though its origin is not clear, is said to be the name of the God of Vengeance while on the other hand it is believed that the word MOKO is a corruption of the word MACAW. The macaw is a very tall palm tree covered with thorns and it is felt that the Moco-Jumbies may be trying to resemble it, especially so, since their head piece is symbolic of the heart of the macaw plant when it is in bloom.

(a possible reference to an African god) and "jumbi", a West Indian term for a ghost or spirit that may have been derived from the Kongo language word zumbi. The Moko Jumbies are thought to originate from West African tradition brought to the Caribbean.

Many theories have surrounded this dance and although we may never know which is true, one cannot deny that seeing a person, dancing without fear on stilts, six to eight foot tall, provides much amusement and thrill to its onlookers.

In his pointed hat and skirts, the Moco Jumbie, is a mediator between the living and their ancestors and his height gives him the power to overlook the community and see both the present and the future.

The "Chagredanies Mock Jumbies" hails from Sandy Point, which is no surprise sine most of the Moco-Jumbies have all come out of this area for as far back as one can remember.

Maypole/Blue Ribbon/Plait de Ribbon

Our earliest recollection of the Maypole or "Plait de Ribbon" tells us that the artform came out of the village of Conaree in St. Kitts. It is a European retention which has its origin in Medieval England and was done to celebrate the May-Day Spring fertility festival on the first day of May.

The significance of this lies in the fact that spring is associated with the season of renewal and the freshness of new life emerging from the dead of Winter. And so these ceremonies were done to appease Mother Nature with the hope that she would reciprocate with a beautiful harvest.

Additionally, the tall wooden pole is said to be a representation of a sacred tree. In the case of Europe the oak tree is sacred and spiritual while among people of African descent the silk cotton tree is believed to be a harbinger of ancestral spirits. I have also subscribed to the view that the tall pole represents the phallic symbol and fertility.

The circular nature and structure of the dance speaks to an inherent element of the power and dynamics of the circle in the culture of people of African descent. This ritual circling, according to American Historian Robert Faris Thompson is based on the fact that the circular procession is one of the key principles of a spiritual geometry brought to the Americas from Africa. It is no surprise therefore that people of African descent gravitated to this artform and transformed it into something of their own featuring dance forms from simple dance steps of the Cakewalk dance to the more complex sensual pelvic-oriented movements harking back to the fertility dances of West Africa.

A typical maypole dance would normally feature groups of about 10-16 dancers sometimes comprising all females or mixed groups. The presentation usually starts with each dancer taking hold of one of the several strips of mult-coloured ribbons suspended from the top of the pole. As the stringband music strikes up they begin to dance in a circle plaiting the pole into the basic traditional chain wrapping pattern.

The plaiting continues away from the pole intertwining into the exquisite basket weave. Once the entire plaiting of the pole is completed the dancers unravel the ribbons by dancing in the opposite direction.

Cowboys and Indians

'Cowboys and Indians' belongs to the traditional Christmas folk plays. However, unlike other plays in the genre the plots and characters come from American popular culture of the 20th century. Its survival is largely the result of the memory and talent of Mr. Samuel Hanley, retired Nevisian Rancher and once owner of as many as 100 heads of cattle, who resides in Chicken Stone, Gingerland. Mr. Hanley has stored in his memory as many as twenty plays belonging to the 'Cowboy and Indians genre: he learned them as a boy in the early 1940's when he trailed along behind a troupe of older men as they practiced for their Christmas performances; and once he heard the lines and songs, they became part of his phenomenal memory.

Hanley's affection for 'Cowboys and Indians' is also a result of his residence in El Paso, Texas where he was taken as a boy at eight. During the four years he spent in the home of Texans he saw 'Cowboys and Indians' in the American movies which were widely popular in the first half of the century. And he read comic books with similar stories and character.

Source: Nevis Cultural Development Foundation

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