Jamaica music and dance, part of the country's rich culture
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When you visit the island check out the Jamaica music, such as our tradditional,dances, like kumina,mento, bruckings,pocomenia, reggae, Bob Marley music, maypole, myal,quadrille, rock steady, ska,calypso.
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The heritage of Jamaica Music and dance kept alive
Jamaica has a rich culture in music and dance. This culture is kept alive by the many cultural competitions held yearly by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission.
Schools are encouraged to participate in the cultural activities and competitions held by this organization yearly.Speech, in the form of poetry and story telling, drama ,music and dance form part of their yearly programmes.
Jamaica has a rich archive in the form of the late cultural icon. Louise Bennett-Coverly’s work.
Many people and groups have been instrumental in keeping this rich culture alive in their research works such as Joyce Campbell, Olive Lewin, Rex Nettleford, Edward Seaga, Wilmot Dawes and many others. The Jamaica information service has also documented a number of articles that relate to Jamaica culture . Here is your Unlimited Music Download
Reggae music is said to be uniquely and original Jamaican and was born in the 1960s right after the short lived ska and rock steady which are also Jamaica’s more recent traditional music and dance.
Reggae is said to have its birth in Western Kingston by the late super star Bob Marley who put reggae music and Jamaica on the world stage.
Some what slower than the rock steady it has a characteristic heavy repeated bass. One of its most prominent features is the off beat unlike any other musical form. The lyrics gave messages from the poor and centered around political, economical, social and religious oppression all intended for the powers that be to awake their consciousness.
Mento is a traditional dance in Jamaica that is still played in some North coast hotels in Jamaica. It is said to come about somewhere in the time of the early slavery and Plantocracy system and remained dominant up to the 1950s.It came out of a mixture of British and African music.
Mento is a type of music that the slaves used to jeer their Owners.It also address their struggles , politics ,social ,environment , sexuality and their hopes. Songs that were too sexually explicit were banned.
Mento music was found in every parish in Jamaica and was recognized just as how the calypso is recognized in Trinidad.The instruments that accompany mento dancing are usually the rumba box, fiddle, maracas, banjo,flute,guitar and drums.
Kumina is one of Jamaica traditional religious dances said to have its origin in the Congo.
It is believe to come with the slaves from Africa in the 1800s and has three basic characteristics singing,drumming, and dancing.
The drums are seen as the most important instrument since they are used to control the spirits. The practitioners believe in the existence of three spirits, the powerful God, or the sky and air spirit, the earth spirit, and the ancestral spirit.
When they dance the dancers can reach such a state that they become inhabited by one of the spirit who help to solve problems they may encounter. The sky air spirit is the most powerful and one is said to have that spirit during a kumina session if he seems to be leaping uncontrollable . He has to be guided by the other dancers to prevent him from getting hurt. If one dances very near to the ground he is said to be possesed with the ground spirit .
However kumina dance is really to ask the ancestral spirit to abide. To give health , prosperity and protection. Kumina is danced to celebrate achievements as births,and weddings. It is also danced at wakes for the dead to give speed and good passage to the other world.
Jamaica music and dance
Kumina is said to be used to cast evil spells and the dance is used to force the spirit to do the dancers bidding. At a kumina session the spirit are fed with white rice, curry goat, calaloo and ground provision cooked without salt. Candles, fowl’s blood, coconut, rum water sugar, cream soda all these aid to carry the spirits and also protect from harm.
Specials colours are worn for various occasion . black and white mourning, green and white for thanks giving, Two of the most prominent ancestral spirits believe to be king in Africa is Famous and Comfe. Read more on jamaica-music and dance