In the foreground is Tall Lady. Photograph from Mondale Smith's 2009 article, %22Essequibo Bad Cow Masquerade attracts thousands%22 (Kaiteur News, December 22, 2009)
[Video to be Attached]
MASQUERADE JAMBOREE/ Festival of Guyana Masquerade: Post # 4
It’s the characters that make Guyana’s masquerade memorable. The essential cast of characters are:
• Mad Cow
• Bam Bam Sally
• Tall Lady
• ‘Tilt man
• Flat Foot Flouncers
Masquerade’s cast of characters are not static. The article, “Masquerade Memories” in the 1954 edition of the Chronicle Christmas Journal refers to the character Budhoo Jaundoo and the Cow—probably reference to our Ahir heritage. Mondale Smith’s 2009 article on the Essequibo Mad Cow Competition noted that in addition to the “dreaded Mad Cow,” there were additional characters: “the Big-belly Man. … the Cow Catcher, [and] the [Fowl] cock.”
Here are photographs of some of Guyanese masquerade characters. Celebrating the Festival of Guyana Masquerade, December 18 to 22.