Quadrille is a dance for couples performed in three styles. The dance has a wide range of body movements and vigorous actions. Myal is among the oldest dances in Jamaica and associated with a type of religious observance. Other popular formations were the Spider Web, Flair, Dome and Umbrella. It involves plaiting different coloured ribbons into three basic patterns, starting with the grand chain or “basket weave” wrapping the ribbons around the pole from the top. Maypole, also referred to as the Long Ribbon Pole in rural areas, was part of outdoor social festivals and performed at fairs, garden parties or picnics. Important elements in a Kumina session are dancing, singing and drumming. It is generally performed in the parish of St.
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Kumina originated in the Congo and was brought to Jamaica by free Africans in between1840s to 60s. The dance characters were usually performed by men - King and Queen, Cow Head, Horse Head, Devil, Pitchy Patchy, Red Indians and Belly Woman. The musicians play well known traditional songs with their fife, bass and rattling drums, shakas and graters. They usually perform in towns and villages around Christmas time. Jonkunnu is performed by a roving band of dancers in masquerade along with a musical band. This dance is well known among the Maroons.
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The dance involves a series of long steps followed by vibrating sideways body movements, wheeling turns and sudden stops with the pelvic in a forward tilt. Gumbay dance is an element of Gumbay healing cult. Similar instruments are played to those used in Dinki Mini, except the benta. It is like Dinki Mini and Zella with more hip movements mainly by the female dancers. Gerreh also originated in Africa and performed the night after a person’s death, to cheer the bereaved. The songs are short and repetitive, using only four notes and sung in a Yoruba dialect. The dance involves lifting, and dropping the elbows and shoulders, with the feet doing sideways shuffling steps. It is believed that Ettu is a corruption of the word Edo, the name of a Yoruba tribe. The benta, a large one-string bamboo zither native to Jamaica is an integral part of the band.Įttu dance originated in west Africa and was performed in the parish of Hanover. Both male and females dance together with very suggestive pelvic movements. During the performance the male dancer bends one leg at the knee and makes high leaps on the other foot. It is usually performed after the death of a person on the ninth night to cheer up the bereaved. The dance has strong fertility elements with rotating action of the hip while bending through the knees accompanied by breaks of intermittent small jumps.ĭinki-minni is from the parish of St. It was performed to celebrate Emancipation from slavery on August 1st, 1838.īurru comes from Lionel Town and Hayes (Clarendon). Bruckins is a stately, dipping-gliding dance typified by the “thrust and recovery” action of the hip and leg.
Here is an excerpt from the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) on Jamaica’s dance heritage.īruckins, a creolised traditional dance, is a unique mixture of African and European influences. Yet there are other traditional dances from Asia (India and China) that came with successive waves of migrants in the late 1800s and in recent years celebrated as part of Jamaica’s rich dance heritage. These traditional dances are deeply influenced by Jamaicans’ African ancestry and colonial history.
The maypole which came from Europe is generally considered a children’s dance. Some dances, like quadrille are for couples while others involve a troupe of dancers, such as jonkunnu. Kumina is more than a dance, it is a religion that many Jamaicans still practice.
Look carefully at the YouTube video below.īesides cultural festival and competitions you can see some of these dances at certain events, such as a nine-night to celebrate the life of a lost one and encourage those in mourning. To the unschooled eye, these traditional dances look alike, but there are distinct differences in the movement of the arms, legs and hips. Here is a list of Jamaica’s traditional dances, which you might find strange since several are not English words – bruckins, burru, dinki-minni, ettu, gerreh, gumbay, jonkunnu, kumina, maypole, myal, quadrille, tambu and zella. Thankfully local cultural festivals help to keep traditional dance forms alive. With time new dances emerge that express today’s culture replacing some traditional dances. Jamaica has a rich heritage of traditional dances, but today many of them are hardly known. Bruckins, burru, dinki-minni, ettu, gerreh, gumbay, jonkunnu, kumina, maypole, myal, quadrille, tambu and zella.ĭance is such a wonderful artistic expression, influenced by history and culture.
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