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901
The Bahamas are located in the Atlantic
Ocean west of Cuba and Florida. The Bahamas are actually over 700 islands.
When Columbus discovered them in 1492, they were the home of the Lucayan
Indians. Tourism is the major industry and the low lying islands are
ringed by coral reefs and beautiful water. The name Bahama comes from
baja mar – or shallow seas and was first named by Columbus. It
is home to the clearest water in the world. The Bahamian culture is
known for bright colors and lively music – no where can you see
this better than in the Junkanoo parade.
901-1 Junkanoo Costume:
Junkanoo is held on Dec 26 and January 1. It began centuries ago as
a celebration of temporary freedom for slaves who were given days off
at Boxing Day. The parade includes themed costumes of crepe paper. Thousands
dance through Bay Street, in Nassau. Each costume consists of a headdress,
shoulder piece and shirt. Here’s the hands on version of a junkanoo
costume.
901-2 Painted Cowbells:
Music is an important part of the Junkanoo parade – cowbells are
combined with goat skin drums and brass horns to create the rhythmic
pattern of the music. In fact the main element of Junkanoo is Goombay
music, the Banta word for rhythm. The parade has a unique step called
“rushing”; instead of walking it’s a rhythmic procession
of two steps forward and one step back all in time to the music. Our
next project is a painted cowbell.
901-3 Wooden wind chimes:
The Bahamian Island culture is known for music and the soft breezes
of this tropical climate. This wood wind chime combines music and bright
Bahamian colors and also mimics the beaded hair designs found in the
Bahamas. It also highlights an island tradition of creating music from
found items.
901-4 Paper Conch:
Pronounced "Konk" Queen Conch is the most abundant, versatile,
and popular shell of The Bahamas. It is also edible and can be made
into salad, fritters, chowder, cracked and scoured conch. The shell
is used for decoration, jewelry and crafts and in fact Potter's Cay
Dock, located under the Paradise Island bridge, was originally created
from discarded shells crushed to become land fill. The Hands on version
is made of paper.
