What to Know About the History of Junkanoo, One of the Caribbean’s Biggest Holiday Celebrations

The holidays are upon us. And this Dec. 26th and Jan. 1, as some celebrate Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, Bahamians across the world will partake in one of the biggest holiday celebrations in the Caribbean: Junkanoo. For decades, Junkanooers have put themselves on display as they “rush” down Bay Street and Shirley Street in Nassau, New Providence. Performances are made up of choreographed and unchoreographed, or “free,” dancers; large colorful costumes; banner floats; and music played on goat-skin drums, cowbells, whistles, and brass instruments. Junkanoo groups compete for the coveted “overall winner” spot every parade.

For centuries, Junkanoo has been an important form of celebration and protest for people of African descent. The history of Junkanoo shows how marginalized communities’ cultural celebrations have survived in the face of their oppression.

Junkanoo celebrations have been held—and are still held—across the British Caribbean and Southern United States, from the Cayman Islands to South Carolina. In Bermuda, it is known as Goombay or Gumbay. In the Bahamas, the tradition dates back to when enslavers gave their slaves a day off during the holidays as reprieve. Enslaved people often used this time for celebration and subtle protest, creating the foundation for Junkanoo as both a fete honoring the African diaspora and a form of resistance.

With a long history in the Caribbean and origins in West Africa—possibly stemming from the Ahanta, the Igbo, or the Yoruba—Junkanoo has long been a unique display of African culture and spirituality. Participants dress in masks and costumes, often made from crepe paper and cardboard, meant to hark back to the original costumes once made from sponges and newspapers—items readily available to them that society also often discarded. In their colorful garb, participants move to the sounds of drums and loud music meant to both honor the ancestors and scare away lingering spirits.

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Evidence suggests that the earliest Junkanoo celebrations, recorded in the Bahamas in the 1820s, were tolerated even though colonial officials feared slave celebrations could lead to a revolt. After British slavery was abolished, in 1834, the colonial government continued to permit Junkanoo. As liberated Africans were rescued from non-British slave ships and brought to the Bahamas, they brought their traditions with them. Junkanoo became a space for Afro-Bahamians and liberated Africans to come together and partake in African cultural practices.

In the post-emancipation period, as Black Bahamians still faced oppression and limited opportunities, Junkanoo became a way for Afro-descended people to celebrate African cultural heritage and protest inequality in the colony. In 1849, Afro-Bahamians were reported stilt walking, which represented a manifestation of a West African spirit protector, and it was referred to as “John Canoe,” a reference to an Akan warrior. While there may have been conflation between stilt-walking and rushing, it’s clear how time and time again, Junkanoo provided a space for the Black population to connect with each other, embracing their roots and blending African traditions with an emerging Black Bahamian culture. It also created an opportunity for Black bodies to take up space in areas that were generally reserved for White people.

And yet, Junkanoo also gained popularity as a spectacle for white people. In 1888, a white lawyer, L.D. Powles, observed that Black residents of what was then still a British colony loved processions and never missed a chance for one. At Christmas time, they hosted “bands of music” and “firecrackers everywhere.” Powles believed these would have been banned if white men in the area hadn’t liked it. But they did. And so, the colonial government continued to permit the Junkanoo processions despite its apprehension.

The colonial government’s fear of ungovernable Black people still lingered, however. In 1913, a newspaper reported that “grotesque masqueraders” moved along Bay Street for New Years with such “energy and vigour” that would be better used working their jobs. Bay Street was, and remains, the business district of downtown Nassau. In partaking in the event, Junkanooers broke the practice of racial segregation by rushing into town at night, which disturbed government officials.

During the 1920s and early 1930s, the Bahamas underwent major economic upheaval that affected how the government came to view Junkanoo. Bahamians could not migrate to Florida for work any longer. A series of natural disasters in the outer islands coupled with the economic boom from U.S. prohibition smuggling led many Outer Islanders to move to New Providence for work. The overcrowding spurred more crime and unrest in the capital, making Black gatherings frowned upon.

In 1938, Junkanoo was assigned specifically to Boxing Day instead of Christmas morning, since the religious community criticized the fact that it coincided with Christmas Day. While in 1939, the Nassau Guardian called Junkanooers “truculent,” or aggressive. The newspaper believed Junkanoo was “overdone” and had become a nuisance to motorists. Since Junkanoo took place from the dark of night to the early hours of the morning, it often impeded people’s ability to get to work on time. It disrupted everyday life. This was, of course, the very point for those who rushed.

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Attacks on Junkanoo increased during these years, and the colonial government banned all street parading, including Junkanoo, from 1942 to 1947. This followed what became known as the 1942 Burma Road Riot, a two-day riot in which Black Bahamian laborers protested in response to unequal pay in the building of two British military air bases in New Providence. Bahamian laborers were paid half of what White workers from the United States were earning, even as they did identical work.

Despite the official prohibition, Junkanooers continued to rush during the holiday season. In 1942, the Nassau Guardian reported that “a hundred or more people paraded” through the streets. In 1943, Junkanooers tapped passing cars with large sticks, and, in 1944, they rang cowbells and created “noise.” For these participants, Junkanoo was an outlet to protest and come together as a community.

Government officials began to see Junkanoo as a way to boost the Bahamas’s growing tourism industry. During the early 20th century, as posh clubs and facilities were created to cater to outsiders, the Bahamas gained a reputation as a tourist destination and international tax haven. Many members of the Bahamas’ Parliament were investors and developers of these clubs and facilities. At the insistence of tourism promoters, Junkanoo was officially brought back to Bay Street in 1948. It would, however, be regulated by the newly created Citizens Masquerade Committee to prevent “disorderly” behavior.

Over the years, Bahamians have expanded the meanings of Junkanoo as well, making it a more inclusive space. In the 1950s, a woman named Maureen Duvalier became the first female Junkanoo dancer. Duvalier helped form a Junkanoo group who were the first to rush the streets with uniformed costumes.

Today, as thousands across the Americas celebrate the holidays, historic Junkanoo offers us an important opportunity to remember how cultural forms of celebration have long since been a form of active resistance. While modern-day Junkanoo appears to be a fun-loving mix of tradition and tourist fete, its colorful vibrancy has deep origins premised in Black liberation. Junkanoo has been a space to connect and assert identity in the face of oppression. In it, we find the very spirit of Black community and resilience in the Bahamas and beyond.

Sasha C. Wells is a graduate student in history at Florida International University specializing in Caribbean History.

Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.