Archaeologists have discovered ruins and texts showing that there were Stilt Walkers in ancient Greece as far back as the 6th century BC! In Belgium, stilt walkers of Namur have practiced fights on stilts since 1411.
Also, there’s a folk story about the origin of stilt walking from China. In the story, a foreign ambassador of the Spring and Autumn Period (722–481 BC), Yan Ying, visited his neighboring kingdom. Since he was short, Yan Ying was often laughed at by the officials of that kingdom. So he tied two stilts on his feet to make himself taller than normal people. By walking with the stilts, he spoke sarcastically to the people who had been laughing at him. After that, the tradition of stilt walking spread to the citizens, and people began to make it into a dance to celebrate big events and festivals.
In the 1800s, the shepherds of the Landes region of southern France used to watch their flocks while standing on stilts to extend their field of vision. The roads were non-existent and the ground was marshy and uneven, so the people of Landes developed a unique mode of transportation to allow them to get over the rough ground: they walked on stilts everywhere! The townspeople often used them to traverse the soggy ground in their everyday activities. Apparently this system of locomotion was so effective that men on stilts could keep up with horses at full trot.
One of the most fun Stilt Walkers to see are the Moko Jumbies. A Moko Jumbie is a Stilt Walker who dances on stilts. The first Moko Jumbie performers had a spiritual significance. The origin of Moko Jumbies has been traced to the 13th and 14th centuries, although it could date back even further. This art form comes from West African countries such as Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. “Moko” means “to mock”, meaning imitation in a funny way. “Jumbie” means evil or false spirits. So these Stilt Walkers were making fun of bad spirits. The art of Moko Jumbie Stilt Walkers almost got lost until it was brought back into fashion in the 1990s.
St. Louis Stilt Walkers' events are exciting and entertaining. Bring even more fun to you event with our other entertainment options like Juggling, Comedy Hypnosis, Face Painting, Sideshow, and Magic. We are sure you will agree, Circus Kaput does great events in Missouri and Illinois.
This web site is maintained by Circus Kaput to provide information about Circus Kaput(CK) booking services and to provide links to sites of independent CK subsidiaries that provide variety entertainment services in the USA.
