The Tap Root of Jamaican History
The Pocomania drum would consist of two drums, one man playing the bass drum and the other drum would be played with two sticks along with a tambourine.
​
The transference of these instruments led to the Rumba box becoming a popular instrument used in Mento and Calypso music along with the Bamboo guitar and Banjo.
The instruments in the Kumina consist of Drums called the Funde and Repeater. A grater and a shaker would make up the percussion, utilising a spoon or a fork to scape against the grater while the coconut shell is made into the shaker and stones, gravel or beans would be firmly locked inside to obtain the desired sound.
The drum, the Funde, was used to hold the bassline in the Kumina, the Repeater, which would be considered the treble today, would sweet up the bassline as every drummer present would exhibit their own style increasing the energy and vibrancy of the pace.
Mento
A fusion of African and European music traditions which in part are governed by dance styles like the Quadrille, fashioned in Europe during the colonial times and later many more dance styles would erupt.
​
From 1930s Mento became entertainment for tourists and the Rumba box came into play as the instrument for that entertainment. Mento is performed by usually four musicians each playing banjo, rumba box, guitar and percussion
​
The Rumba box consisting of 3 keys, one plays the bass, the other two are often in the high and low range.
Rumba Box
.jpg)
Big Bands/Orchestras
The fusion of Mento became a staple, along with the influx of American RnB. It wasn't long before the emergence of Big Bands and Orchestras in Jamaica. Self-trained and trained musicians soon became a force on the Island, thanks to the military and constabularies and reform schools, (Alpha Boys school produced some of Jamaica's world-known musicians) where the training was classical.
​
Early songs often had a Christian nature considering indoctrination was now an integral part of the culture.
​
This boost of creativity soon led to Big Bands and orchestras dominating dance halls settling Jamaica into world recognition for its newly created sound.
Turning Point
King Tubby's in Jamaica was a sound engineer building amplifier and discovered a method where base and treble could be turned off independently by 1973.
​
Festus had heard about this new concept and visited his builder at the time Errol Prettyger and requested this new format without any doubt.
After playing it for the first time with the audience going wild, Festus realised its full potential and knew then it would revolutionise the delivery of music in Sound System culture.
​
Sub-Genres
Most sub-genres like trance, jungle, garage all have their roots in this sound system method.
Sound Systems
The growth of technology no doubt impacted the world with the birth of the mobile discotheque. In Jamaica, the early 50s saw a rise in Sound Systems capable of playing bass frequencies at 200 watts or more with an ability to fit into small areas attracting large crowds. The rise led to competition with amplifier rivalry.
The first popular music was American RnB, a period where ceramic was prominent. From the 1940s until the early 1970s mono, meaning one mic recording lead the way. Ceramic is the cartridge that plays inside the turntable and is often referred to as mono.
Globally all recordings were one channel for a period of time. The one drawback was that you could only record all instruments on one channel which would mean the recording had to be perfect the first time.
​
Until the early 1970s, Sound Systems were still using mono until the stereo 4-track mixing desk came into play which enabled multi-recording. for all instruments.
"It reminded me of the excitement I experienced with the Kumina where the varying of the drummer's style would excite the crowds. Now I was able to excite the crowds in a very unique way with my pre-amp using it as an instrument".
From the heart of Africa to the plantations of the colonies,
the significance of the drum and the abeng
became an integral influencer upon the spirit, mind, and
voice of the people, essentially survival.
Shaping the country's music, culture, and politics.
Festus shares his experience with these traditions as a child, growing up in a storytelling culture, led by the beat of the drum which has left an indelible mark on his life's work. He concludes this influence has assisted in catapulting him into the enigmatic Selector that his legacy demonstrates.
​
His ability to steer the mood of his audience into an unforgettable experience has been witnessed by many across the globe.
Abeng
The Honorable Three-Fingered Jack
In Jamaica's history music has evolved from the spirit of rebellion, One notable rebel from the mountains of St Thomas was Three-fingered Jack, who upon refusal to be a slave, sought to rob pirates and hold Slavemaster ransom and sometimes taking their lives. His legacy still lives today, through songs, poetry, and ceremonies.
The weariness of slavery and the frustration after abolition continuously forced a counteraction of protest. Yet the sombre moments would gather the traditions together embracing the words of the Griots (storytellers, singers, thinkers, and preachers), and the remnants of rituals from the Kumina and Pocomania which would stir a medley for calm and thoughtfulness with the drum being the guiding feature.
The time to mobilise and value the profound sense of individuality and the benefits that could accompany the might of talent, was staved off by rebellions, dire poverty, denial, and injustice which had begun sewing itself tightly into the moral fabric of the culture.
​
After the first World War, the idea of value became an important topic concerning the future of Jamaica. Did it become a country that would define itself in terms of colonial values or local/African values?
​
Local values were filled with pitfalls and triumphs, in that, the crudeness of life value and the mystical attachments to rituals and traditions used during slavery had become rooted in everyday life amidst economic change.
The upside to Kumina was it exercised power through words, drum, and percussion, acting as a vehicle of prediction, upliftment, lamentation, and a guide for communities during demanding times a common theme in most folklores.
By the 1930s, the old traditions still held their fervour amidst a new sense of self-value and curiosity emerging. The ideas of individuality and consciousness were disclosed through the philosophy of Marcus Garvey and other truth-seekers and the first trade union organised by mason and ex-serviceman Allan Coombes and a friend (JWTU) in 1936 provided an insight into the rights of man, once again, arousing ideals through word sound power. This organised effort gathered over 100,000 people from across the Island and by 1938 soon found itself establishing the first workers' rebellion, without a leading drumbeat!
Politics finally wrestled itself into the fabric by 1938, music, and dance, by now free from physical slavery and could be expressed without fear. With the boom of technology by 1950, the transistor radio arrived as a breath of fresh air across the Island offering a new way of integrating world into the traditions of its folklore culture.
During slavery, crowds gathering around the drum, drawn to the mystical trance-like drum beat which would then invoke the spirit of the ancestors, who would take possession of an individual and make them perform superhuman feats that would often mystify onlookers in disbelief.
For centuries around the world, the drum plays a major part in a culture's spirit and evolution and a fundamental part of its expression. In Europe, the drum was banned during tumultuous times when the Church and State deemed the 'language' of the drums threatening and evil.
Africans were introduced to the English language mostly via the route of Christianity and the few European planters captured by spirit of freedom amongst the slaves. The Abeng, the Burro drum, the griots, were all deeply embedded in the culture to enact change which has always threatened the status-quo.
In 1740 Jamaica, drums were banned. They were often used as a call to rebellion across the Island. Many a revolt was often stirred by the 'language' of the drum and on many occasions used to summon ancestral spirits for guidance and cleansing with the belief that unbelievable strength would follow, this was the essence of the Kumina.
Influences
The Griot
The jewel of Jamaica's oral tradition. Originally carried from West African culture, it continues its mammoth influence in Jamaican storytelling, toasting, and DJing, poetry, social commentary, singing, and regional political life and culture.
Tremendous admiration has been bestowed on those whose foresightedness has cultivated the value and maintenance of this tradition in the culture, right up to the present day, though not in the same rudimentary form.
​
African tradition cherishes it as something profoundly royal while in Jamaica it is clear of its powerful influence from the plantations to the political arena, the music and the culture.
​
Even past Prime Ministers have had to oil their wits to garner the interest of the people. Bustamante, Norman Manley (ex BITU, which was originally JWTU), and Edward Seaga, have all spent many years learning and understanding the ancient folklores in order to integrate them into communicative politics.
Kumina
A ceremonial practice originating from the folklore of the Congo. It would act as a translator of the state of affairs and was performed almost religiously at funerals leading to Nine Nights of celebration.
It would involve intense drum playing which would capture the spirit of the griot who would be taken into a state called a "Myal" (The sound pressure would elicit a person to modify their body and head movements with the hips almost synchronised with the drum frequency) which would have observers transfixed and eager eyes waiting to see what would happen next. Often a person would go on to perform super-human feats leaving bystanders and observers excitedly baffled.
During slavery, it was used as a vehicle to provide warning signs and revelations to forthcoming rebellions and uprisings.
​
The drum and it's relationship to movement holds enormous revelry in music across the world. There is something special when the drum can command such movement and energy from a human being!
It's inevitable that folklore traditions are imprinted on a culture. All three would be prevalent influences upon Jamaican culture and values in more progressive forms retaining the thread of its intrinsic value. Though many do not practice the ceremonies in their early crude forms, the appreciation of the spirit of the joy derived from them is apparent in the colourful character and energy of the Jamaican people. Like many cultures across the world elements of folklore remain an indelible part of the cultural tapestry.
Sound of Rebellion
Festus shares his experience of growing up in one of the most popular Kumina communities in Jamaica and also one noted for its history of rebellion, the Parish of St Thomas.
​
His observation amounts to a night or more where sound vibrations and frequencies make people do incredible things outside of the sensual rousing that would sometimes occur.
"It became a place
where I witnessed magical happenings. Though it sounds spurious, I watched a man run through barbed wire, cut himself all over only to find the following day, he was good as new! As a child, this blew my mind as I could not figure out how on earth that had happened. The Kumina was an intriguing and spiritual experience growing up that often left
me bewildered and excited".
Nine Night
A Nine Night is a celebration for nine nights!
People would circle the drums and be led into song and dance. Popular food always present was hot chocolate tea, as it is referred to in Jamaica, coffee a regular favourite, fried fish and bread, also curry coat and rice along with white rum, which would be thrown around the area to stir the 'duppy' (dead spirit).
Also, the drummer would take a shot of rum to get the sound frequency going until someone went into a Myal which would excite onlookers, some of whom would sit and observe nearby. Overall it was a party atmosphere.
​
The dancing would often be intensified by the individual style of the drummer whose delivery would exciting enough to keep the audience mesmerised. From miles away the drumming could be heard and would be followed by inquisitive ears.
"In my district, no doubt, the most popular drummer is Chacha Ben, when he played the place when wild for his particular style, while onlookers control themselves, fearing that if they danced they too would be overcome by the 'duppy' or ancestors", but overall the energy and excitement was an unforgetable experience"
The Myal
During this state, the drumming would not stop until the person in the Myal stopped dancing, and this could sometimes go on for days. If the drums did stop, it is said it would lead to the person becoming discombobulated or even die if this momentum was broken.
​
Many have interpreted the Myal as the ancestors guiding them to perform some sort of revelatory action.
The Mystery in the Sound Pressure
Is it a mystery? Or does it unearth the seductive power of the drum frequency to pressure the mind and body submitting it to movement?
​
An unseen force of this manner shows how we are susceptible to sound pressure which has advantages in limbering up our movement at the same time releasing stress and pressure!
The mystery in the Kumina
Drum and Percussion development
Pocomania / Revival
Many a Christian song learned were woven into Pocomania rituals, paving the way for them to be integrated into the early songs.
​
The difference between Pocomania and Kumina would be the type of drums used and also the end results would differ as would the vibration and frequency of the drum. In Pocomania the spirit possession could last up to 40 days and 40 nights which could prove hazardous. Also, pocomania is a mix of the Kumina and European protestant religions depicting the struggle in dealing with slavery.
