Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
This little girl was frightened out of her wits by a Jonkanoo dancer during the last day of the annual Denbigh showcase in May Pen, Clarendon.Claude Mills, Staff Reporter
IT WAS a hot, dusty afternoon. An expectant hush fell over the crowd, which had formed a crude circle around three figures standing in the centre of the grassy lot. At that moment, the sun slipped behind an armada of clouds in the denim blue sky.
Ready.
Set.
Go!
The three figures crouched simultaneously to the untidy bundle of mature nuts at their feet, got up, and in three fluid movements, impaled and flay the heavy husk of the mature nut on a nearby peeler. Then they crouched again. The annual coconut-husking contest had begun at the Denbigh Agricultural Show.
The contestants, Harry McIntosh, Ann Marie Cameron and Lambert Cunningham, the eventual winner, were an amusing part of the island's premier agro-industrial exposition which ended earlier this week.
Thousands of people converged on the 39-acre showground in May Pen, Clarendon, to help Denbigh celebrate its 50th anniversary. And most had a good time.
The family event had attractions for the young, including a 'mini zoo' with the line up of champion livestock animals such as cows, bulls and even goats whose ancestors were imported from Africa. Spectators were allowed to walk through a narrow holding area where the bulls were being fed.
Oohs and aahs greeted the sinewy musculature of a 2,000-pound bull called 'Gambler Nora Devil'. The Devil was named champion male Red Poll for 2002. One man made rude remarks about the animal's large testicles which was suspended just inches from the ground, while women and children scurried back and forth in mock terror with each toss of the animal's magnificent head.
The Ministry of Agriculture won the prizes for the best dairy animals, a Jamaica Hope bull, and a cow. Henry Walker, a dairy supervisor employed to the Ministry of Agriculture, was pleased with the win, but miffed by the fact that last year's winner, Fred Anderson, wasn't present this year.
"If he (Fred Anderson) were here, I would have felt much better. But I hope we can beat him next year, and win two years consecutively," he said.
The Jonkanoo dancers were a hit with the children. Dressed in colourful rags, scary masks and reptilian-like costumes, they provoked screams of delight and amusement.
As the drums beat up a concerto of doom, the dancers beat unwieldy pieces of wood on the ground, while jigging and caterwauling in a manner designed to deafen and intimidate, or maybe both. There was even a costumed police officer in their midst.
But it was the vendors who dominated the proceedings at Denbigh. They were everywhere, hawking products from toothbrushes to caps and shoes. There was also a roaring trade in food, with clouds of jerk chicken smoke hovering in the air like runners of early morning fog.
There were dozens of interesting booths including a few notable ones from the Kingston Hatchers, Tru Juice, Hi Pro Feeds, Digicel and an innovative one touting road safety from the Ministry of Transport and Works complete with a traffic signal.
The Pure bulk syrup stand was very popular on this hot day, and the free samples of their experimental flavours went quickly. However, the booth operated by the Kingston Hatchers, was the crowd-puller for children who were excited by the multi-coloured chicks on display.
The three-day event, mounted by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) ran from August 4 to 6 and was celebrated under the theme Meeting the Global Challenge through Technology in Agriculture. The theme highlighted our recognition of the growing need to transform Jamaica's agricultural sector in view of the critical role it plays in all areas of the economy.
