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Jumpin' Jumbies

Mocko Jumbies are a towering presence at St. Croix celebrations — costumed stilt walkers that stride, kick and dance their way through the streets — always drawing crowds and cameras in their wake.

But stilt walking represents much more than an amusement for Virgin Islanders. It's an art form created by slaves from West Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the tall figures represented deities. Some say that spirits watched over villages from on high and warned of danger. Others believe they were healers or embodied ancestors. Everyone agrees that plantation masters did not permit African religious practices, and so the slaves disguised them as entertainment.

Descendants of those slaves who have learned to walk on stilts often wear hats, masks and costumes that cover the entire body to hide the spirits within.

St. Croix educator Willard S. John stilt-dances professionally and teaches local school children to carry on this cultural tradition that has almost died out in some parts of the West Indies. He starts any child who wants to learn at age 10 on 5-foot stilts and ties on their full size 7-foot stilts only after they progress at weekly three-hour practice sessions. Eventually some kids get good enough to perform in public and join a professional troupe.

Look for individual dancers or small troupes cavorting year-round during West Indian-style buffets or guest parties at large resort hotels, or at public events for nonprofit organizations like the St. Croix Landmarks Society or St. George Village Botanical Garden.

Don't miss a chance to see Mocko Jumbies turn out in force during the Crucian Christmas Festival parade (on or around January 6), the Agriculture and Food Fair (Presidents Day weekend in February) and at "Jump Ups" (evening street parties held in February, May, July and November in downtown Christiansted). Those performances are free, fun and a powerful symbol of Virgin Islands' culture.