Coon Carnival
The Coon Carnival is a yearly minstrel festival in Cape Town, South Africa. Up to 13,000 minstrels, from the Afrikaans speaking "coloured" (mixed-race) community, take to the streets. Minstrels are grouped into 'klopse' ('clubs' in Cape Dutch, precursor to Afrikaans). English speaking coloureds do not participate in the carnival as they constitute the Coloured middle class as the carnival's participants are from the lower class,are members of gangs and speak Afrikaans,which is an indication of social class in the Coloured community
Although it is still called the Coon Carnival by Cape Townians, local authorities have renamed the festival the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival, as tourists and some segments of the population finds the term derogatory (there is some debate about this). Also know as the Kaapse Klopse (Cape Clubs).
History
Minstrels from America first visited the Cape in 1848. This was 10 years after the then British colony had abolished slavery (but years before emancipation). The American minstrels were white, but they blackened their faces with burnt cork. This caught on with the local former slave population, and many songs were written specifically to mock their former masters.
The Carnival Today
The festival begins on New Years day and continues into January. Festivities include street parades with singing and dancing, costume competitions and marches through the streets. Since 2002 the carnival has been sponsored by local government and business - not without accompanying scandals.