Fascinated.
That’s how some people may feel when they see a Moko Jumbie walking the streets during Carnival. They may be impressed by their balance, lack of fear of heights and just their overall talent.
But before these traditional mas characters are able to revel in all their glory, there is a lot of work that is put behind the construction of these costumes.
Guardian Media visited Moko Jumbie camps Touch D Sky and Future Jumbies in San Fernando to find out how the stilts are made.
“A one foot would take basically about half hour to 45 minutes to complete,” says stilt walker and builder Adrian Young.
“Ranging from three feet to five feet, probably an hour to an hour-and-a-half long,” he added.
There is technique to building stilts.
While a Guardian Media news team was there Young and his colleague, Jonadiah Gonzales, built a pair of two feet stilts to demonstrate the process. There were approximately 10 steps.
But before building begins, selecting the wood is an important step.
“We use rough pitch pine, the reason because termite don’t like the smell and the taste,” Gonzales said.
“What we usually do we buy two by four so we split it down in half to make the both sides the same.” Young said.
They said if they use any other type or size of wood, for example two- by- two, the sides may be uneven.
They also choose wood without knots because a stilt with a knot can break easily.
Young said, “Stilts last us about six years.” “We build as often as we want to go up and down,” he added.
Young and Gonzales said a pair of five feet stilts cost approximately $650 and all their Moko Jumbie costumes are created out of pocket.
“We treat our stilts like how we treat ourselves. Our lifestyle is about stilts,” Gonzales said.
Another important part of constructing the stilts is the placement of rubber at the bottom, they said without this walking would be even more dangerous.
“Wood just so on concrete is not a good thing. It helps the wood, because watch it done start to split,” he said.
Then, there is the sticking of the shoes. This process, according to Gonzales, takes the longest as the shoe must be secured.
“We put three coats of glue, one on the shoe, on this (the stilt) and one on the cloth that is used to hold the shoe,” Gonzales said.
Both Gonzales and Young said decorating the stilts is a personal decision.
They are one of the only Traditional mas characters used throughout the year and are sometimes hired to do odd jobs.
“People want stilts in birthday parties, to hold up a sign,” Gonzales said.
Young and Gonzales created the Touch D Sky and Future Jumbies camps in San Fernando after they were initially taught the art form by Junior Bisnath from a very young age.
However, when they got older they decided to branch off and pass on their knowledge to youths in their community. It’s their way of keeping the tradition alive.
However they had some advice for patrons who see them on the road.
“Walking up to a stilts walker and holding his leg is a total no-no because that is balance,” Gonzales said.
