The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #72812 Message #2531744
Posted By: Azizi
04-Jan-09 - 09:45 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Junco Partner (Dr. John)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Junco Partner (Dr. John)
The version that GUEST 28 Aug 04 - 07:39 PM posted was "Down the road down the road down the road/come a junco partner partner partner"
That same Guest wrote "The only "Junco" I have heard of is a Slate-coloured Junco (bird, possibly American). I would hazard a guess that it might mean the same thing as "Junkie", and that knocked out or loaded would mean under the influence of drugs."
I agree with the guess that "knocked out or loaded would mean under the influence of drugs." However, I'm surprised that no one has suggested that a "junco partner" might be a man who is celebrating the African derived custom of Junkanoo {Junkanu; John Canoe}. Junkanoo is still celebrated in the Bahamas, and some other Caribbean nations. It is also celebrated in Belize [Central America] and elsewhere. In the US, the celebration of Junkanoo by enslaved, freed, and free people of African descent during the 18th century and earlier was called "kunering". Of course, some of these people of African descent had lived in the Caribbean before being brought to the United States.
There are many theories about the origin/s and meaning/s of Junkanoo. Two widely accepted theories are that John Canoe was the name of either a White slaver or an African king who was sold into slavery in the Caribbean. I think that both of these theories are balderdash. Instead, I believe the name of this celebration and
some of the traditional customs associated with it comes from the masquerades for the Nigerian, West African deity Egungun, and/or some other West African or Central African deities. Fwiw, I think that "Junkanoo" and "John Canoe" could be folk etymology for "Egungun".
That said, the customs associated with Jonkanoo {kunering} are also very much that of some traditional European celebrations. See this quote from Jonkannu parades-Wikipedia
"The etymology is disputed, but the celebration may have been named for a West African chieftain or shaman among the Papaws or Popos tribes of West Africa in the early 1700's. Recorded names have included King John Conny, Prince Jean Konnu and dzon'ku nu (an African sorcerer persona plus "nu" meaning "man"). Brought to the Americas in the slave trade the tradition survived during the slave off days of Christmas night and New Years. The practice bears great resemblance to Pre-Christian European animist or "mumming" traditions that survived into the 19th century as Christmas traditions. A notable survivor being the Celtic Wren day. Both the Jonkonnu traditions and the Mummer's involved covering the face in soot or ash, dressing in fanciful animal like garments such as the Cow Head and the Hobby Horse, and parading the streets with music before dawn on December 26th."...
-snip-
Notes from the Cronly Family Papers 1888-1925 [Wilmington, North Carolina] provide this information about kunering:
"A letter to D.T. Cronly of Wilmington, NC, from W. D. MacMillan, 3rd, of Chapel Hill, NC, is in reply to Cronly's interest in Wilmington's "Kuners." Dougald MacMillan later wrote "John Kuner," published in the Journal of American Folklore in January, 1926. In a footnote to the article, MacMillan acknowledged Cronly's help in investigating the custom. Kunering was a song and dance performance done in the street by masked and costumed Negro men (Kuners) on Christmas Day. After each performance, the leader passed a hat for contributions. MacMillan's article traced the custom to only a few other coastal towns of North Carolina, and to Nassau, where these men were called "John Canoes." In Wilmington, the custom apparently died out in the 1880's."
http://library.uncw.edu/web/collections/manuscript/MS009.html
-snip-
Finally, those interested may read this excerpt from an online article whose link no longer works {I quoted this excerpt in my 03 Aug 07 - 08:28 AM post to Jacomo finane? What does that mean?
"In his [book] Slave Culture, [Sterling] Stuckey, too, maintains "John Kunuering's" African origins. Yet he elaborates on Linda's, Cassidy's, and Prigg's discussions when he explains the import of the tradition in West Africa as well as the underlying motives behind the slaves' practice of it in the new world.
In terms of its African origins Stuckey tells us, "a Nigerian ritual that closely resembles John Kunering," traditionally took place in early summer as a spiritual aid in crop production. Although "Europeans thought the John Kunering to be mainly for children, the ceremony "had a deeper significance" as it was also performed "to honor the ancestors" (Stuckey 68). And where the slave's employment of the tradition is concerned, Stuckey asserts,
Knowing that in North America Christmas was the main religious period for the dominant group when families gathered, exchanged gifts, worshipped, and enjoyed the festivities of the occasion, the slaves took advantage of that time to revive African cultural expression along somewhat similar lines, since in Africa exchanges of gifts at reunions of family and friends on holidays were not uncommon, especially on important religious occasions.
Exchanges of gifts, such as they were, among slaves were often accompanied by the receipt of gifts from the master and, in the context of John Kunering, "presents" in the form of donations after performances. (69-70)
In other words, in practicing the "John Kunering" tradition on Southern plantations, such as Linda's, the slaves were able to mold African customs to accommodate and take advantage of a Euro-American holiday. Such blendings may have also served to satisfy an ancient need--honoring their ancestors and each other--as well as a new one--collecting much needed money and/or food.
Linda's account of the slaves' Johnkannaus practice implicitly validates Stuckey's assertions. But she explicitly concurs with Stuckey about the slaves' expecting gifts from their masters following their performances. For as she tells us, "It is seldom that any white man or child refuses to give them a trifle" (119). Yet, she also alludes to another aspect of both African and slave culture, the secular song, when she writes, "For a month previous they are composing songs, which are sung on this occasion, "especially when a white man, or master, refuses to give a donation. "If he does," Linda explains, "they regale his ears with the following song:--
Poor massa, so dey say;
Down in de heel, so dey say;
Got no money, so dey say;
Not one shillin, so dey say;
God A'mighty bress you, so dey say. (119)
"Through Slave Culture's Lens Comes the Abundant Source: Harriet A. Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"
- Critical Essay MELUS, Spring, 1999 by Karen E. Beardslee
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Click on these links for more information about Junkanu and kunering:
Jonkonnu-Belize
http://www.junkanoo.com/junkanoo/