Credibility of Junkanoo judging system questioned

By MINDELL SMALL, Guardian Senior Reporter

Some Junkanoo fans, upset over the results of the 2005 Doyle Burrows Boxing Day parade, are calling for foreigners to judge the event, saying Bahamians who naturally tend to have an affinity for a particular group, cannot be objective. The Valley Boys were declared the winners of the parade followed by One Family, Roots, the Saxons, the Prodigal Sons and the Music Makers. The competition was stiff because instead of the usual 100-or-so point variance between each group, the point difference between first and third place was only 88.

Even though no group leader has come out publicly at this point to dispute the results, there has been much bickering among group members in private. A One Family fan, who did not want to be named, told The Guardian Thursday that since Bahamian judges often have ties to, or a liking for a particular group, they could hardly be seen as impartial.

He said he supports the idea of foreigners judging events such as beauty pageants and Junkanoo parades, where this impartiality is required.

The fans call for foreign Junkanoo judges, comes at time when the credibility of the parade's judging system has been increasingly questioned. Over the past few years, at least two group leaders have protested the results, and some people have even accused judges of manipulating scores in favour of a particular group. To avoid this, the fan said foreign parade organisers should be invited to The Bahamas to take a course on what to look for in Junkanoo. He added that they should leave the country after the course, returning only to judge the parade and departing shortly thereafter, so that they do not get a chance to develop a fondness for any group. He further supported his argument by pointing to the small population of The Bahamas, saying in a country of only 300,000 where "everybody knows everybody," true objective judging cannot be expected, since a judge who lives in a small community, would tend to be blinded by "who" is performing in that community rather than "how" they are performing.

Brendan Foulkes, chairman of the parade management team, said he did not disagree with foreign judges but added that the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence (JCNP) would have to be careful in going down that road.

"I think we have to be very cautious in how we think about bringing other elements, whatever they are, into something that is very culturally expressive to us as a people like Junkanoo," he said.

"Of course our judges will have their personal biases, they're human beings and they will have their likes and dislikes, but when you give them all the tools, as we tried to do this year, they will tighten up the noose."

Mr Foulkes added that the suggestion to use foreign judges for the parade only tends to come up when there is a dispute over the results. He explained that most of the administrative problems associated with judging have been corrected, and that the newly formed JCNP was empowering more Junkanoo practitioners to play an integral part in all aspects of the management of the parade.

"If you have persons in charge and believe in them and you trust them, then you should just sit back and allow them to do what you ask them to do," he said.