JONKONNU RITUAL OILS

Jonkonnu—also spelled John Canoe, Junkanoo, and in North Carolina, John Kuners—is a Christmas-season tradition built from drums, disguise, procession, and performance. In North Carolina, it was documented across the 1800s as troupes of enslaved and free Black men moved through towns and plantations in masks and “tatters,” singing, dancing, and collecting contributions. 

It matters because it’s not just “celebration.” It’s a ritual logic: masking as protection, procession as power, rhythm as coherence, public space as a claim. And in places like Wilmington, white officials treated Jonkonnu as something they could permit, regulate, or ban—proof that this wasn’t merely entertainment; it was cultural authority in motion. 

That’s the lineage behind these oils: movement, shielding, and safe visibility—three ways we learn to survive, build, and be seen.

description:

A two-oil ritual collection inspired by Jonkonnu/John Canoe traditions: procession, masking, and public presence. The set comes with  Road-Opener, Protection/ Confidence oil.