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Bongo, Backra and Coolie: Jamaican Roots, Vol. 2

Various Artists
Bongo, Backra and Coolie: Jamaican Roots, Vol. 2

Jamaican folk music blends African, European and East Indian (in dialect: Bongo, Backra and Coolie) roots into something distinctly Jamaican. Revival Zion, an Afro-Christian religious cult influenced by the early 19th century Myal cults and American missionaries (largely Baptist), involves possession led by a body of music comprised of Christian hymns, choruses, bands choruses and blowing tunes. Possession is uniquely defined by a heavy rhythmic breathing often called “trumping”; this practice is clearly audible on this recording. Quadrille (“katreel”) music hearkens back to the colonial era when slaves learned European dance forms for the entertainment of the Europeans, but it quickly became a fully appropriated fiddle music for the entertainment of the non-Europeans following the fall of slavery. On these recordings, the instrumentation includes bamboo fife, guitars and four-string banjo. Fife and drum music is often associated with junkanoo festivities surrounding the Christmas season that involves energetic dancing intended for “jollification.” Volume One (FW04231) includes music of kumina and convince cults and “Hindustani” dance music.


RELATED LESSON PLAN
"The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom"


Track Listing

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101
Revival Zion group, Saint Ann
03:52
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102
Revival Zion group, Saint Ann
04:00
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103
Singer with guitar, Saint Ann
03:41
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104
Quadrille band, Saint Ann
03:02
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105
Quadrille band, Saint Ann
00:45
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106
Quadrille band, Saint Ann
02:13
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201
Quadrille band, Saint Ann
03:36
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202
Quadrille band, Saint Ann
03:45
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203
Fife and drum band, Saint Ann
02:46
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204
Fife and drum band, Saint Ann
03:29