Features
Yvonne Webb
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Reigning moko jumbie king Tekel Sylvan has taken his towering talent to new heights – 13 feet, to be exact – as the lone stilt walker in Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural delegation to Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
From August 11-15, Sylvan performed alongside pannist Johann Chuckaree, soca artistes, dancers, masqueraders, and other cultural ambassadors under the Ministry of Culture and Community Development’s banner.
Before boarding a flight on August 7, the team gave Minister of Culture and Community Development Michelle Benjamin a taste of what Japan would see, in a preview show at Queen’s Hall.
“The ministry is proud to be playing its part in sending you all to Japan to represent TT. Show up and show off,” Benjamin told the delegation.
For Sylvan, the 29-year-old Tarodale resident, the trip was more than a performance.
It was a personal milestone and one for his sons to see him as a role model.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “I want my sons to see what’s possible.”
He has been sending photos and videos of his performance to his boys, Prince (seven) and Kenji (six), who already walk on stilts and recently performed at the African Emancipation Day parade in Port of Spain.
Sylvan’s own path was far from easy. His father was incarcerated when he was just three months old, leaving his mother to raise six children alone. His father was released when he was 18, but at that time he had already left school. He found purpose under the guidance of Junior Bisnath, founder of the Kaisocah Moko Jumbies, who uses stilt walking to engage at-risk youth.
“I never finished secondary school and to get this opportunity to stay out of trouble and see the world, never in my wildest dream did I think I would be representing my country at this level.”
Growing up without a father has propelled the moko king to remain close his sons and encourage them to live a productive and meaningful life, not one contrary to the law.
“I never thought I’d be representing my country at this level,” Sylvan said.
Since winning the first-ever King of the Moko Dance Championship in 2024, he’s been training children in his community – including his nieces and nephews – and crafting his own stilts and costumes.
For Japan, he created two elaborate outfits, one in red, white and black depicting the national flag, and another in black, white and gold to reflect his “royalty” title.
His daring feats – walking on one leg, balancing at extreme heights – have earned him spots at King and Queen of Carnival competitions, the Universal Circus, where he stayed for ten months in 2016, Borough Day and Labour Day in Brooklyn and festivals in Miami, Orlando, Toronto, Grenada and Germany.
One standout memory was performing on calypso night at the Apollo Theatre in New York on September 3, 2024, alongside Machel Montano, Olatunji, Kurt Allen, and others. “That was unforgettable,” he said.
In Osaka, Sylvan found an audience eager for something new. “The look on people’s faces was genuine love,” he said in voice notes from Japan. “Outside of TT, you feel more appreciated – it’s our culture, but here they see it as something special.”
For Sylvan, moko jumbie is more than a performance art. “It’s a way of life. It keeps you fit, it keeps you focused. I think it should be in schools as an extra-curricular activity as it can keep youths out of trouble. TT needs that right now because we are not in a good state.”
Grateful for the opportunity, he’s already thinking about what’s next. “No matter where I go, there’s no place like home. My mission is always to put TT on the map. This was the best opportunity – to design, sew, and bring my own vision to life.”
