They’re dancing in the streets of North Carolina for Jonkonnu as they did in the days before the civil war. Jonkonnu and Boxing Day are December 26. In the South slaves were celebrating a day of freedom in their eyes. They danced and sang in the streets to Afro-Caribbean type music.
On Boxing Day English men dance in the streets wearing ragman clothes - trousers and jackets or shirts that have these strips of cloth - and carrying wooden swords. So do those reenacting Jonkonnu. Slaves probably brought it in 1770 or so to North Carolina from Jamaica.
To the beats of a drum called a gumba box, the dancers paraded from house to house and collected coins. The coins were usually from white slave-owners. The songs were an expression of their feelings about their lives and their owners. Some songs poked fun at the master and his family. Since a foreign language was used in their songs, most of the whites did not know the meaning and enjoyed the slaves’ happiness.
In North Carolina about 30 people join together to lift the audiences’ spirits led by the “fancy man.” There are a number of prominent figures including a ragman called Pitchy Patchy, Cow Head, and the Devil. At the end of the performance, a costumed ragman—the leader of the revelers—shook hands with the slaves' master.

In the present parades, Pitchy Patchy dances with small, quick steps and turns cartwheels. He moves in large, circular patterns. Cow Head moves in bucking motions and is usually bent low to the ground. The devil alternates small, bouncy steps with much longer ones and makes pitchfork jabs with quick turns. Belly Woman, sometimes considered to be a negative image of mulatto women, made movements with her belly in time to the music.
The event is considered cultural and not religious today. However, African spiritual roots show up in the music and dance like those used in Western African religious practices.
Ten years after the Civil War Winslow Homer painted the Virginia parade version. The painting inspired a story by Amy Littlesugar based upon some true experiences of Homer. There was controversy then and now the controversy is about the term itself and the various words for it. The origin of the word “Jonkonnu” remains a mystery. It was a celebration by slaves around Christmas time. It may have been named after someone who had a similar sound like John Canoe. There was also a slave trader named John Cooner who brought slaves from Africa. Today it is the name of the historical winter celebration.