Recreation Activities

Archive for the ‘Jamaica’s Traditional Island Dances’ Category

Music and dance are two components of Jamaican culture that you ought to consider experiencing within your trip to the area. Many original dances in Jamaica are of African origin, and Jamaicans like to dance. The regular dances with the island bear a striking resemblance to African dances, nevertheless the newer dance moves tend to be more global and infuse hip-hop, jazz, and also other international dance forms.

The single most favored and traditional dance could be the “Kumina,” which came from West Africa. This brand of dance is predominantly perfectly found on the parishes of St. Thomas and St. Mary and is also also known as “Kalunga” or “Kaduunga.”

Kumina features flat-footed inching of the feet (or even the kongo step), a comfortable, but often subtle forward-thrusting in the hip with the rib cage and arms moving against the hip, as well as wild spins and sudden breaks, all signaled with the lead drum. The dominant components of Kumina are dance, music, spirit possession, healing, and also the use of herbs.

The drums found in the dance will be the Kbandu, which provide the fundamental rhythms, and “Playing Cast,” the lead drum. These go along with candles, graters, shakas and catta sticks, played on the back from the drum. In accordance with Jamaica Journal, Volume 10, No.1, “Linguistic evidence cites the kongo like a specific ethnic source for your ‘language’ and perchance the songs of Kumina.” You will find Congolese words in a few of the Kumina songs performed in Jamaica, which shows Jamaica’s link with Africa.