Traditional Character: Moko Jumbie

A moko jumbie (also known as "moko jumbi" or "mocko jumbie") is a stilts walker or dancer. The origin of the term may come from "Moko" (a possible reference to an African god) and "jumbi", a West Indian term for a ghost or spirit that may have been derived from the Kongo language word zumbi. The Moko Jumbies are thought to originate from West African tradition brought to the Caribbean.
A Moko Jumbie character may wear colorful garb and carnival masks. They also frequent festivals and celebrations such as Caribbean Carnival.
While the god Moko is from the Kongo (or Congo) and Nigeria, from the Nuapa people, Trinidad and Tobago has added their own touch to him. Moko, in the traditional sense, is a god. He watches over his village, and due to his towering height, he is able to foresee danger and evil. His name, Moko, literally means the “diviner” and he would be represented by men on towering stilts and performs acts that were unexplainable to the human eye. In one remote tribe, the Moko rises from a regular mans’ height to the skies fluidly with no help and descends similarly to leave others to wonder how he performed such an act.
The Moko arrived in Trinidad by “walking all the way across the Atlantic Ocean from the West coast of Africa, laden with many, many centuries of experience, and, in spite of all inhuman attacks and encounters, yet still walks tall, tall, tall. (John Cupid, Caribbean Beat)” The idea of the Moko survived by living in the hearts of African descendants during slavery and colonial life to eventually walk the streets of Trinidad in a celebration of freedom, Carnival. While this figure was rooted in African heritage, Trinidad adapted the figure, notably by adding on Jumbie or ghost to the name. The by the early 1900s Moko Jumbies had become an element of Trinidad’s Carnival. This figure would walk the streets of Port of Spain and other cities protecting the city and revelers from evil. As part of his role in Carnival the Moko Jumbie would accept donations from onlookers in upper floors of buildings. However, his notable figure of Carnival slowly faded until a drastic revival.
By the early 1990s Moko Jumbies were essentially non-existent in Carnival, until two men brought this tradition back. These men, namely Moose and Dragon, have brought the Moko Jumbie back to a place of prominence in Carnival and created a new kind of Moko Jumbie. One man originally brought the idea to them as well as the knowledge of how to make stilts. The style of stilts they walked was very similar to the modern day ones but with one main difference, they had no front leg brace. This changed when a man named Ben Block from Canada, a random traveler, came to Trinidad with a pair of stilts. He had a frontal brace on the upper leg and the Trinidadians took inspiration from this design and used it in their own. Now there are two main Moko Jumbie bands in Trinidad, Watusi and Kilimanjaro, as well as several smaller ones. So while the idea of the Moko came from Africa, Trinidad has made it its own.

Spotlight Artist: Photographer Stefan Falkes MOKO JUMBIES

This weeks featured artist is  German photographer Stefan Falke. His images capture the Moko Jumbies of the Dragon Keylemanjahro School of Arts and Culture in Trinidad during their carnival presentations.  These images are available in a coffee table book entitled Moko Jumbies: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad. on Amazon.com .His work is vibrant clear and we think, stunningly beautiful.
See more work on Stefan's website http://www.stefanfalke.com

Spotlight on Artist: Senor Gomez

Narcenio Gomez better known as Señor Gomez, is one of the leading wire benders (sculptors) in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been designing, bending wire and making costumes for over 50 years. Mr Gomez shares his experiences with us.

Señor Gomez Speaks

Looking back from then to now, there have been so many changes from how mas' used to be. They would dance and have their pictures, and you would see someone playing King Arthur or so and he would be dancing and he would have his picture alongside with him where you could actually see him and whom he was portraying. As far as I could remember, I saw so many different changes in mas'. I saw many people like Harry, Burroughs and so on. There were many good bandleaders who could play the Dragon or so. What we used to see years ago was real mas', it is not that I am saying anything about the present day mas', but long ago it was the type of artistry you used to see, and I used to see it as a young fella growing up. I couldn't remember they saying it was a mas' camp, but now I know it was a mas' camp.

I used to enjoy everything starting from Jouvert. I remember right here on Prince Street as a young boy coming up, when the Wild Indians started, it was so real, that I would take off and didn't come back out for the day, because the fellas would portray the mas' in a very real way. It wasn't just playing mas'. I remember some calypsonians who sang too, because I lived in the barrack yard on Twenty-three Queen Street, and there were lots of calypsonians there, like Kitchener, Tiger, Dictator and others. There were also these brothers from Guyana who used to play in calypso tents we had around here.

In my early days, there was a steelband on Queen Street, and we would portray things like Pirates. And I remember one of the productions was Captain Dog, and Barracudas, everybody had one eye and a sword. There was another guy, I think his name was Oliver and he would bring out a Dragon band. When that Dragon band come out from Nelson Street and it reached the corner of Queen and Nelson Streets, the fellas would dance for hours before they crossed that water, because as they would say, the water was holy water. The people who were looking on, got a good display, and sometimes they would explain, "He cannot cross that water because is holy water." People would exchange ideas, and they would throw in money too. So you would be playing and watching and whatever you threw in the dragons would be collecting.

I think it was Forty Nelson Street that they had the steelband, The Red Army. I believe that was one of the first steelbands that left Trinidad to go to British Guyana, and I also believe it was the first steelband that got banned for fighting and rioting. The captain was Captain Diego. Then we had another little band, we used to call it the junior Red Army Band. It was lower down Nelson Street, and I remember the captain was a guy named Dean, but he migrated to Venezuela some years ago, but he would come for a Carnival now and then. Nobody would really know him now, only like me. He would say, "Boy you still in mas'? You are big in mas' now." We would then start to recall the good times.

My parents were Venezuelans and they were never really much into mas' because they were Catholics. To run away sometimes I had to put on my sister's dress. Sometimes when my father came home, he would know we were out and he would wait and then say what he had to say. He was not actually rough with us, but he didn't believe in the steelband because of the riots with Tokyo, Red Army, or Casablanca, which didn't stop until somebody either get their hand cut off or somebody died. I could remember too, we were playing on Queen Street an evening, and we saw some fellas running up and they said they had just killed a man in the square they call 'Black Shot'. Black Shot was a 'bad man' in Red Army and the fellas were from Green Corner.

After playing with Captain Dog, the name of the band I played with next was 'Men of Boys Town'. There was a guy by the name of Tom, in those days printing jerseys was done with stencils, even on your sailor pants they used stencils, for everything like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and so on. At that time he was the man who used to be in control and do all the work for all the bands. Then there was Charlie who had a sort of blinky eye and he was good too, he used to do on the spot painting.

New UKCCA 2011 T-Shirts Design!

UKCCA is proud to introduce our new t-shirt designs by the talented graphic artist Kudzai Dyirakumunda ( Kudz Dee ). He is a a 2nd Year Graphic Design student at the Arts University College Bournemouth (AUCB) and we love what he has done with our design! Here is a link to more of his wonderful work http://kudzd.wordpress.com/

 T-Shirts are available in adult and children's sizes online. Order yours today! http://www.carnivalarts.org.uk/node/649

Traditional Character: New Orleans Indian

Typical Mardi Gras organizations will form a "krewe." A krewe often names their parade after a particular mythological hero or Greek god. The ranking structure of a Mardi Gras Krewe is a parody of royalty: King, Queen, Dukes, Knights and Captains...or some variation on that theme. Many more established Krewes allowed membership by invitation only.
Few in the ghetto felt they could ever participate in the typical New Orleans parade. Historically, slavery and racism were at the root of this cultural separation. The black neighborhoods in New Orleans gradually developed their own style of celebrating Mardi Gras. Their "Krewes" are named for imaginary Indian tribes according to the streets of their ward or gang.
The Mardi Gras Indians named themselves after native Indians to pay them respect for their assistance in escaping the tyranny of slavery. It was often local Indians who accepted slaves into their society when they made a break for freedom. They have never forgotten this support.
In the past, Mardi Gras was a violent day for many Mardi Gras Indians. It was a day often used to settle scores. The police were often unable to intervene due to the general confusion surrounding Mardi Gras events in the city...where the streets were crowded and everyone was masked. This kept many families away from the "parade," and created much worry and concern for a mother whose child wanted to join the "Indians."
"'I'm gonna mask that morning if it costs me my life!' That morning you pray and ask God to watch over you, cause everybody is bucking for number one." - Larry Bannock

Today when two Mardi Gras Indian tribes pass one another, you will see a living theater of art and culture. Each tribe's style and dress is on display...in a friendly but competitive manner, they compare one another's art and craftsmanship.

The greeting of the Big Chiefs of two different tribes often starts with a song, chant, ceremonial dance, and threatening challenge to "Humba"--the Big Chief's demand that the other bow and pay respect. The retort is a whoop and equally impressive song and war dance with the reply, "Me no Humba, YOU Humba!"
Mardi Gras is  no longer a day to "settle scores" among the Mardi Gras Indians. Violence is a relic of the past. It is now Mardi Gras tradition and practice for the Indians to simply compare their tribal song, dance and dress with other tribes as they meet that day. Each Indian has invested thousands of hours and dollars in the creation of his suit, and is not willing to risk ruining it in a fight. This tradition, rich with folk art and history, is now appreciated by museums and historical societies around the world. It is a remarkable and welcome change from the past.

The history and culture of the Mardi Gras Indians is a significant part of Mardi Gras and New Orleans - yet until now, it has been the least appreciated and least understood.

UKCCA Educational Workshops

Carnival Workshops

An Introduction to Carnival Arts
We are running a series of FREE courses throughout 2008 that introduce people to carnival arts of every kind. We can tailor a course or set of workshops to the individual needs of groups. This is a fabulous opportunity for you or your group to get into carnival.
If you work with a group of people in any way – community project, special interest group, NEET provision, etc. then get in touch and we might be able to organise your very own ‘Introduction to Carnival’ workshops. (Due to funding criteria, there are certain restrictions e.g. the majority of participants must live, work or study in Luton and be aged 16+)
These free workshops are part of the Roots to Carnival project funded by Arts Council England, Learning and Skills Council, European Social Fund and run in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire.
Current ‘Introduction to Carnival Arts’ projects:
•    Large-scale Carnival Costume frame-building workshops with the Youth Offending Team.
•    Carnival Costume workshops with ACE Enterprises’ clients who have accessed mental health services.
•    Carnival banner making workshops with ACE Enterprises’ clients who have accessed mental health services.
•    Dj workshops with Lewsey Farm Ballistic Zone Café Project
•    Steel Pan Beginner’s course.
•    Lyric and Studio workshops at Marsh House with Youth Offending Team.
•    Carnival Costume design and making workshop with Young Mum’s group based at Welbeck Youth Centre.
•    Carnival Costume design and making with young people at Farley Youth Centre.
•    Carnival Costume making workshops with clients with disabilities at the Bramingham Centre.
•    General Carnival introductory sessions at our Mas Camp at Wigmore.
For more information on these FREE workshops, please contact 01582 437100 or email info@carnivalarts.org.uk

Spotlight Artist: Setti Carlo Mask Maker of Venice

Setti Carlo, one of 3 remaining artists living and working in Venice, Italy, talks about and shows his process of and reasons for traditional mask making .