How did boat repairs sneak into this thread?

Well, it got this discussion refreshed, for what it's worth. I scrolled up to see what I had written back in April, and what others had contributed since.

I had never thought to interpret the obscure word/phrase "Junkanoo" as "John Canoe," and therefore never imagined a possible connectin between "Junakanoo" (a Mardi Gras Indian and Caribbean expression) and "[John] Kanaka," a Hawiian term referenced in the sea-shanty literature (notably, in the very powerful number "Rollin' Down to Old Maui").

Interesting...Not defnitively or verifiably "true," of course, like everything else under discussion here, but interesting nonetheless.

I know I've mentioned this somewhere, sometime in the past ~ maybe even up above in this thread, in which case I apologize ~ but here goes:

Years ago, probably in the 1970s, I heard an interview with Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack wherein he swore that the English "translation" of "Jocky Mo Fee Nah Nay" was "Eat My Shorts." I almost peed on myself laughing ~ I had never heard such an expression before. (This was years before the appearance of Bart Simpson.)

Of course, when The Simpson later emerged as pop culture icons, I enjoyed the insider knowledge that young Bart seemed to have some kind of awareness of Mardi Gras Indian culture....