I have always been fascinated with language, and our usage of words to communicate the message that we wish to send. In Bahamian dialect, many words and phrases take on a meaning other than the original, and even in Standard English, many words and phrases have changed definitions.

In years gone by, if someone called you a 'Junkanoo' it meant that you were behaving wildly, in a violent manner, or the colours and patterns of various pieces of your clothing did not match. Being a Junkanoo, in the eyes of the public, was nothing to be proud of.

One of the first blows struck to change the 'meaning' of the word Junkanoo was by the first Prime Minister of our nation, the late Sir Lynden Pindling. Sir Lynden had always seemed larger than life to me. His masterful and eloquent deliveries on the Southern Recreation Ground leading up to the 1967 General Election, grounded in an inimitable mixture of dialect and flawless English Language, impacted deeply on all who heard him. In 1968, I was delighted to be among the first group of Bahamian students benefiting from scholarships made available by the new Black government. A year later, those of us in Canada could not believe that our Premier, Sir Lynden, would take the time to personally visit Bahamian students there.

Those personal memories of this Bahamian national hero never faded, and imagine my delight when Sir Lynden Pindling consented to be our special guest on the first anniversary show of the radio show 'Junkanoo Talks!' on July 9, 1999. For a brief while on a Saturday morning, we were allowed to get a fascinating glimpse at another side of the man who had played such a pivotal role in our history. But on this special morning, we were not discussing his well-documented drives for majority rule or for independence. We were discussing his passion for uplifting his people by giving them a new sense of themselves and their cultural expressions. It was time to hear how he began the drive to change the negative responses to the word 'Junkanoo'.

Even as a boy, Sir Lynden had been concerned about the negative and disparaging connotations that the word 'Junkanoo' carried. "That's what troubled me from day one," he said, "and I thought that perhaps I needed to help change that perception. In my days in Mason's Addition going to Western Jr. School, Junkanoo was just a rush, and there was no pride attached to it. All the comment about it was that it was a nothing, the people that took part in it were nothing, all that could result from it was a bashed-in skull with a piece of stick or with a cowbell. What more could you expect because if it were in fact a relic of an African thing, Africa had no culture, its people had no culture, so really it wasn't something that anybody should be concerned about. I don't know why it bothered me as a boy and I'm surprised that it stuck with me so long and that it did bother me as a boy."

Sir Lynden saw his first opportunity to begin to arouse public consciousness at the opening of the Jumbey Village. "I had the gall to say 'I AM A JUNKANOO'," he said. "Lord what I say that for. The press said, 'I always knew he was a Junkanoo'. Now they've got it out of the horse's mouth. Nothing but a Junkanoo. Fine, but at least people started to think in slightly different terms about Junkanoo."

The consummate leader, Sir Lynden knew that his next move must be to lead by example, and he took the amazing decision to take part in the Boxing Day and New Year's Day parades, spending many happy years deep in the heart of The Pigs. It was the first time that any leader had donned a Junkanoo costume. His thinking on Junkanoo was far beyond his time. "I hoped that the day would come when we would get to have a greater appreciation of Junkanoo and so develop Junkanoo into a fine art form..."

He had big dreams for Junkanoo, and these he crystallised into three distinct targets. He dreamed that Junkanoo would inspire choreography for dance steps and performances, and that plays would be written surrounding Junkanoo, "So that we could depict our historical and other events in a Junkanoo setting."

He wanted actual research done in Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Nigeria so that we could "get some of the authentic origins of the dance steps that we do in Junkanoo, and interweave them into what I would call our modern Bahamian structures, and develop it."

The impact of Sir Lynden's participation in Junkanoo was immediate. "One of the early spin-offs," he said, "was that in just a few years I saw more and more students returning home at Christmastime from college, in costumes. And gradually the whole complexion of Junkanoo changed; it wasn't looked at in the same way that it had been looked at before. And now all strata in the community take part and enjoy themselves in Junkanoo."

And so, Sir Lynden's fight to uplift his people was fought on many fronts, and his efforts on behalf of celebrating Bahamian culture laid the foundation for today's wholesale embracing of the Junkanoo festival by all sectors of our society. "If you want to get Bahamians involved in anything - involve Junkanoo," he said. "Junkanoo transcends all occupations, all denominations. At one time some churches might have frowned upon Junkanoo as a replica of a pagan ceremony but we've gone beyond that stage now. Junkanoo is part of the Bahamian psyche and it replicates within our breasts."

And so it does. Now regarded as the national festival of the Bahamas, Junkanoo has risen to its present place in our society because of Sir Lynden's vision, and thousands others who kept the tradition alive for us to celebrate. I too, am proud to be called a Junkanoo.

The EduCorner is produced by Educulture Bahamas Ltd. Please address comments to Educulture@coralwave.com