Villan,

I'm afraid I've no idea where your neck of the woods is. I'm in the US, myself, so if you are in the UK, my contacts wouldn't do you much good - not that I have any for Jonkannu troupes. A couple of years ago I met a member of a troupe which had disbanded, and we had a fascinating discussion about identical features of Jonkannu and Morris/mumming: short trousers, white shirts, baldricks, bells at the knees, Christmas-play, and cadging. (Joncannu is a Christmas/Boxing Day tradition, by the way - I doubt you'd find it in June). The play characters are different - apparently based on African cultural characters/mythology - but the idea is the same: "entertain" the upper-class at Christmas-time to get some cash (to go away).

From what I've read on this, Jonkannu (there are various other spellings, including "John Canoe") has eveloved in some places such as the Bahamas into a carnival parade spectacle with elaborate costumes, and it has lost the mummers play aspect (much like the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia, PA, USA).

I suggest you contact the folks at that site I mentioned in my last post if you are looking for Carribean-African entertainment contacts in the UK.

Good luck!

--Bill