Now that's a statement piece. A celebration of liberation and freedom, the Bahamian Junkanoo has roots in West African cultures. Junkanoo time means music, dance, vivid costume, and theater in the days leading up to the new year. Our Junkanoo headdress was worn in 1994 when this celebration was brought to our Smithsonian Folklife Festival and you can now see its full splendor thanks to Smithsonian 3D Digitization. It is made of carboard and crepe paper and decorated with paint, tinsel, and shini

Experience the vibrant rhythm and energy of a Junkanoo rush out in The Bahamas! 🥁 This historical music celebration fills your ears and eyes with beautiful sights and sounds! Junkanoo music incorporates drums, cowbells, brass horns, and whistles while the colourful costumes are made out of cardboard, crepe paper, feathers, beads, and more. Don't miss the Junkanoo rush outs on Boxing Day and New Year's Day from 2am onwards—it's a must for your bucket list! Can’t make it during that time of year?

Swingers Junkanoo Group had downtown Freeport light up tonight the music was tight 💙🇧🇸 they do it for the culture. | Lynden Lundy

Into Junkanoo music? This is archival footage of the fife and drum group of Ed and Lonnie Young of Mississippi. It was recorded sometime between 1959 and the early 60s. They use a fife made of cane, and drums adapted from military bands and at the end of the video, you can hear the style in Junkanoo music from Jamaica. See more fun, inspiring drumming videos from over 100 countries around the world at www.facebook.com/DrumTalkTV/videos | Drum Talk TV