Virgin Islands Moko Jumbie Makes Waves at the Democratic National Convention

Yisrael “Allan” Petersen, a self-taught legendary moko jumbie, made history this past week when he became the first moko jumbie to make a series of presentations at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC).

Born and raised on the island of St. Thomas, Petersen began stilt walking formally at the age of nine when he was recruited to be a part of the first moko jumbie troupe in the Virgin Islands established by Alvin Ali Paul. “I have been doing this for decades. I began in the early 70s. From a little boy, I’ve been coming up in the parades and participating in exaggerated performances, including the 1979 Super Bowl Half-Time Show,” Petersen said.

“My beginnings were humble. I taught myself to stilt walk initially by using Goya cans and a bunkbed ladder. When I felt ready, I fabricated my own stilts and transitioned to using those. I remember going out and cutting down branches off of trees to make my stilts. I’ve always been fascinated by the moko jumbies and the tradition of the craft. I started and never stopped,” Petersen said.

Carol Burke, the Virgin Islands Delegation Chair who was responsible for assembling a caucus that would attend the 2024 DNC and represent the territory, saw an invaluable opportunity to showcase Virgin Islands culture at a national level. “Mr. Petersen and his group were brought to the 2023 Festival Children’s Parade in St. Croix and then he performed at the 2024 Agriculture Fair. He was a complete hit. One of the qualities about Yisrael’s performances that I really appreciate is his knowledge of the history of the moko jumbie tradition. This prompted me to invite him to the DNC for a series of moko jumbie presentations, of which he was elated to provide”, Burke said.

“One of the first events Yisrael performed at happened at the hotel that the Virgin Islands Delegation was sharing with seven other states. He also greeted attendees at the welcome reception and later performed at the reception itself. After this initial event, Yisrael went on to perform at the Black Caucus Reception and finally, he was invited to the convention itself so he could connect with members of other delegations and share his moko jumbie stories. His creativity and charisma was well received among spectators and I consider the entire series of presentations as a complete slam dunk for the Virgin Islands”, she said.

Petersen works diligently to keep the moko jumbie tradition alive in the Virgin Islands, including hosting weekly workshops dedicated to teaching the craft to children in the territory. He believes that this is an important step in ancestral veneration.

“The people of Congo were enslaved by colonial forces and when they were brought to our islands they shared the moko jumbie tradition with us. “moko” refers to the name of their tribe and their God, while “jumbie” represents spirit. One of the most important aspects of the moko jumbie culture that I include in my teaching is that performers should be fully covered, including faces so no human appearance is visible at all. It is important for us to perform and say their names allowed because this is how we celebrate a people who were lost during slavery. It is how we honor their contributions to our community and pay homage to the significance of the tradition,” Petersen said.