- Contributed
The Jonkunnu marches were a significant part of the Christmas holidays, as the slaves made great use of their two work-free days for the year.
Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter
KINGSTON IS slowly trying to jingle its way back to the days when Christmas was a time of mass entertainment. A few years ago, after the consumption of sufficient sorrel, cake, ham and gungo rice, persons were left with little to do but twiddle their thumbs or walk the streets.
With the inception of the New Kingston Grande Market and the Christmas concert series in Emancipation Park, Christmas in Kingston is losing its more relaxed air. However, these programmes are by no means newcomers.
Revelling at Christmas is as Jamaican as jerk and there was a time that it was equally spicey. During slavery, the Jonkunnu marches were a significant part of the holidays, as the slaves made great use of their two work free days for the year.
On Christmas morning the sounds of the flute and the cow bell rang out as characters such as 'Pitchy Patchy', 'Belly Woman', 'Actor Boy', 'The Devil' and 'Cow Head' made their way through the streets or around plantations. Over the past few decades Jonkunnu seemed to stare extinction in the face, as the sounds of the cowbells were rarely heard. However, more recent years have brought it back, though not into Christmas morning.
The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) has been one of the major instigators in returning Jonkunnu to an active part of Jamaican culture. Last year, the commission successfully staged a Jonkunnu Food Festival which saw the Jonkunnu characters scaring the daylights out of children and amusing the adults. This year, the Jonkunnu Food Festival will mingle with the Emancipation Park 'Spirit of Christmas' concerts, which are scheduled for December 14 to 25. This year's Jonkunnu Food Festival will take place today at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on Hope Road. St. Andrew, which also marks the start of the 'Spirit of Christmas'. The two events will meet, as there will be a Jonkunnu street parade stretching from the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre to Emancipation Park.
NATIONAL PANTOMIME
However, the area of Jamaican culture which has most retained what 'ole time' Christmas - or at least Boxing Day - was like is the theatre. The National Pantomime remains true to its Boxing Day opening. Several other dramatic works also premier on Boxing Day.
This year, along with the National Pantomime, Combolo, at the Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Drive, St. Andrew, there will be Christopher Cum-Buck-Us at the Centre Stage theatre in New Kingston. Both productions intend to keep with the Christmas show tradition of dishing out helpful amounts of comedy and music. There is also something new, though it harkens to something old, this year. Louis Marriott's Bedward will be opening at The Ward Theatre, Downtown Kingston at 11:00 a.m. on Christmas Day.
The Ward Theatre has a long tradition of Christmas morning concerts. Whereas the Pantomime would open on Boxing evening, The Ward Theatre would be alive with variety concerts on Christmas morning. According to Wycliff Bennett, the chairman of the Ward Theatre Foundation, these concerts in varying forms existed throughout almost the entire life of The Ward.
DAYS OF GLORY
The Ward, built by Colonel Charles James Ward in 1912, is itself attempting to return to its days of glory. The nature of the concerts changed greatly to reflect the changing nature of the country.The staging of Bedward is a part of its 'Reliving The Glory' series, geared at bringing Jamaicans back to the Ward, a place where many once flocked on Christmas morning.
According to Bennett, several of the early variety concerts staged at The Ward were produced by Lindsay Downer, who created a series of concerts over the Christmas period dubbed 'The Fireflies'. The Fireflies had a crowd-pleasing mix of shapely girls, vaudeville and comedy.
Bennett points out, however, that these shows generally featured white performers. The colour barrier for these productions were broken by the comic talent of E.M. Cupidon during the 1920s and 1930s.
Often working as a part of the comic duo 'Cupes and Abes', Cupidon graced the stage of The Ward and the movies on many a Christmas morning. Cupidon also put on his own productions, including the play Meddlesome Mattie, which was staged at The Ward on Boxing Day 1934. Another comic duo, Racca and Sandy, and the singers Slim and Sam, were also popular on these variety concerts.
Eric 'Chalk Talk' Coverly became one of the major producers of Christmas morning variety concerts. Through his productions, Jamaicans were delighted by the talents of Bim and Bam, Louise Bennett and Ranny Williams, to name a few.
THRONGS
Coverley, however, had competition for the Christmas morning throngs. By 1942, advertisements in The Daily Gleaner declared at least three variety concerts for Christmas morning. While Coverley presented
Yuletide Yoddlers and a musical revue dubbed Anansi Goes to Town at the Coke Memorial Hall, Jim Russell offered more 'laughter and fun' at the Conversorium. Russell also offered Xmaszouavita at the Conversorium on Christmas night, The Ward stage was taken over by Vere Johns with Chrismania.
Those four shows were not the extent of the Christmas Day offerings. Winchester Park offered the annual 'Christmas Garden Fair', which included a vaudeville show as well as varying choirs and bands.
Indeed, the activities for Christmas Day were rather varied, especially in the early 20th century. They ranged from sporting events such as boxing matches and races through carnivals to a variety of concerts. Jamaicans were evidently not afraid of donning their dancing shoes and feeling fine.
