The coon minstrels have been gracing the streets of the mother city of Cape Town, where parliament is housed. The coons have walked down the city's streets since the mid 1850s when slavery was abolished here. Slavery was abolished 20 years earlier by the women libbers in England, but freedom only came here 20 years later as hardliner Afrikaans Boer farmers clung to their human property. Human trafficking was a lucrative business. Slaves in Africa were sold to passer-by ships, often black slaves were captured by fellow blacks. They marched and contested each other for more than a week after new year's day.
Even the crowds are quite emotional about the annual event.
Restrictions
This year the coons were unable to walk through the city's streets because the white residents complained to the DA-led (Democratic party-led) Western Cape government. Whites still enjoy the beautiful sunny soil of the land. They own what their forefathers looted, by murdering thousands upon thousands of local people. The peace they feel is disturbed by the noise of so-called low-class coons, most of whom live in abject poverty while Europeans still bask in the sun and sway on Cape Town's beautiful beaches.
Coons
The word coon comes from the American animal the racoon. Local minstrels paint their faces black and white, similar to the American raccoon.
By the mid 1980s an American ship approached Cape Town harbor. The boat was filled with freed American so-called negro slaves celebrating their freedom. When these American freed slaves disembarked from the ship they started donning colourful attire, painted their faces black and white, and started dancing and singing through the streets of Cape Town.
Today after more than two centuries, locals are religiously imitating that day when the so-called American negro freed slaves danced through our streets. The locals here imitated their American counterparts. It's unlike the Rio carnival. Here the coon carnival is a holy event with countless different teams vying for the prestigious awards.
Their colourful garments are made by professional designers and the cloth is often made from expensive silk. People here are quite fanatical about the coons.
Financed
The coons have organized themselves into two different organizations. They are also being funded by the Western Cape government as well as the lottery. They have received a substantial amount this year. Even youngsters under eight take the lead in performances and singing. They are being judged on discipline, appearance, and performance. This has become a phenomenal tourist attraction.
