New Year's Junkanoo

Nassau's Bay Street lights up each year for Junkanoo - an adrenalin rush of colours, costumes and floats driven by the beat of the goatskin drum. This is a festival unique for its raw Afro-Caribbean flavour.

Spectators line Bay Street from about 2am until 8am. A mounting clamour of bells, whistles and goombay drums throbs forward to the rhythm of the music until dawn streaks across the sky, revealing revellers in extraordinary costumes.

Secret Junkanoo "shacks" all over the island are the venues for the creation of these costumes, made of thousands of tiny pieces of coloured paper. Competition to win is always fierce. The groups who compete in the Junkanoo have crazy names such as the Vikings, the Music Makers and the Z-Bandits. The winners are announced on the local radio and television stations and there is a cash prize for the winning group.

Plan early for a good vantage point. Upstairs locations on Bay Street are prime viewing venues. Although it is possible to stand and watch the parade, it is highly recommended to purchase seating space in advance, as there are over 50,000 spectators and standing space is limited. You can purchase your tickets a few weeks before the event online at www.tajiz.com.

No-one is quite certain where the custom of Junkanoo actually came from. Some maintain it derives from the French phrase gens inconnus meaning "unknown people". Others believe it is a corruption of the West African word "Jananin Canno". Canno is the Quojas tribe's God and a caretaker of its people, while Janani are the spirits of the Quojas tribe who are traditionally seen as patrons or defenders of the tribe.

Related Information

Website: Junkanoo Website