Nov 3, 2017 · All players in Jamaican John Canoe wear masks. This is a novel kind of mask, made of very fine mesh-wire, with features painted onto it in color. This enables the wearer to breathe during the strenuous exertions.

Theories include that it is named after a folk hero named John Canoe or that it is derived from the French term gens inconnus (unknown people), as the revelers wear masks. [12]

The mask has a central place in African religions, and it may be that JohnCanoe, a masquerade form, and myal, a possession-healing form of religion, were closely allied in their early forms in Jamaica, as they are allied in the two powerful male secret societies of …

Dec 22, 2014 · The most striking of the revellers were the masquerades some of whom would dress up in European-influenced costumes. As time went on,the parade was led by John Canoe or Jonkanoo, the most flamboyant of the masquerades. His purpose was to ridicule, awe and scare spectators. He would wear extravagant costumes as he led a parade of dancers and ...

Nov 10, 2019 · Jankunu, also known as John Canoe in English, is the HABINAHAN WANARAGUA Festival of the Garifuna of southern Belize. According to tradition, this festival is rooted in male secret societies of West Africa, Poro , and Egungun, which was where most of the African slaves were taken by the British and forcibly brought to British Honduras to fuel ...

Captioned “Koo, Koo, or Actor Boy,” this lithograph depicts an elaborately costumed and masked male dancer surrounded by on-lookers and musicians; he carries a whip and fan, the former used for clearing his path, the latter for cooling himself when his mask is lifted. The character is dressed to “mock” the European plantation owner in […]

Captioned "Koo, Koo, or Actor Boy," this lithograph depicts an elaborately costumed and masked male dancer surrounded by on-lookers and musicians; he carries a whip and fan, the former used for clearing his path, the latter for cooling himself when his mask is lifted.

“Jaw Bone or House John Canoe” depicts a person with a small decorated house on their head dancing whereas “Koo Koo or Actor Boy” depicts a street performer with a very elaborate costume. In both images, a mask is used to hide the person’s face.

The John Canoe masquerade involves players wearing masks and costumes, and recognition by the public of the characters they represent. The common characters include the King, the Queen, the man with the house on his head (Ku-Ku), the devil, Belly Woman, the policeman, Cow Head, Head, Warriors, and Dancing Ladies.

Captioned, “Jaw-Bone, or House John-Canoe,” along with “Koo-Koo, or Actor Boy” this “is the most conspicuous of those who annually attract public notice.” He dresses in a pseudo military style and “in common with the whole John Canoe fraternity,” he is always masked “with a profusion of dark hair, which is suffered to fall in