A Mocko jumbie (also spelled Moko jumbi) is a stilt walker or dancer. Like many traditions in the Caribbean, its origin stems from West Africa and developed differently throughout the region. In the Virgin Islands, Mocko jumbies are a vibrant piece of local culture, they perform at events, greet cruise ship passengers, and are a staple of carnival parades. And, it’s also used as the logo for the tourism industry here (see picture to the left).
I first learned about Mocko Jumbies from Tifanie Yanique’s book Land of love and drowning, which was a reading connected to a conference I attended earlier this spring. Little did I know that I would soon learn a lot more about it!
We saw our first Mocko Jumbies in a carnival parade, when we attended the British Virgin Islands Emancipation celebration in August. Simon’s eyes lit up when he saw them, it was the highlight of the parade for him.
Not long after that event, we saw a Facebook post for a children’s Mocko Jumbie group here on St. Thomas. Simon tried and immediately loved it and said he wanted to join. This is a pic of Simon with Coach Senio about 5 minutes after trying the stilts for the very first time.
So, two evenings a week Simon has practice with the 
Eccentric Mocko Jumbie Youth Performers. At 5 he is one of the youngest in the group. He can walk with ease, do some synchronized and improv dance moves with the troupe, and is learning how to skip and hold one leg up while balancing on one leg, and to not be nervous when it’s time for his solo. His practices are like an hour and a half of aerobics, on stilts.
His school is at the far east end of the island, practice is on the far west. Not the most convenient, but we all feel like it is a good fit for our family. We frequently get to practice early and have a family picnic on the pier, enjoying the nice weather and sea breeze. Sometimes a cruise ship will be there and one of his coaches greets the passengers.
Simon loves activities that allow him to get his body’s wiggles out, especially in ways that involve balance– even at 4 years old, he could bike almost 10 miles. As educators, we love the coaches. The majority of the coaching is done by a brother duo Coach “Senio” and Coach “Junior” who instill the perfect mix of energy and excitement with care and interest in each child’s development to inspire the next generation to carry on the traditions of their ancestors. They also remind all the kids about the importance of education and good behavior both on and off the stilts (you can’t be in the group if you have bad grades or if your teachers report problems).
As parents, we love that our kiddo gets to experience a rich part of Afro- Caribbean culture that is not something he would ever get to experience in Minnesota. We also are grateful that it gives our family another environment in which Simon can be in a large group of Black children and adults celebrating Black culture, with us as the sole White parents.
Simon will be in two smaller performance this coming week, all leading up to and prepare him for the BIG to St. Croix Carnival parade on January 5th. The carnival parade we went to in Tortola was very small in comparison, so none of us really know what to expect. This gives a sense of what is in store:
Ben put together a video of Simon’s progression, from his very first steps at try-outs to practice tonight, enjoy! And with that, I’m proud to call myself a Mocko Mama!
If you want to know more, here are some good places to start: