Jamaican Cult Music

The year 1862 brought a wave of Baptist missionaries to Jamaica, thus beginning the Great Revival. In a melding of fundamentalist Christian practices with African religious and magical beliefs, Revival Zion shepherds (ministers) led followers in a musical "laboring in the spirit." Of special note in these recordings is the audible trumping, or the "trampling" of evil spirits to a rhythmic foot-stamping, which is accompanied by a heavy rhythmic breathing (hyperventilation) that often leads to possession. In sharp contrast, this compilation also includes recordings of hymns that hit West Kingston in the 1930s emergence of Rastafarianism, another religious cult that sees itself in part as a counter to Revivalist cults, as well as the secular kumina drumming and junkanoo music.

Track Listing

101	Uplifting Table (Revival Zion) (1) Revival Zion church members, Kingston	03:28
102	Uplifting Table (Revival Zion) (2) Revival Zion church members, Kingston	02:06
103	Uplifting Table (Revival Zion) (3) Revival Zion church members, Kingston	02:10
104	Preparation for Baptism Table (Revival Zion) (1) Revival Zion church members, Kingston	01:19
105	Preparation for Baptism Table (Revival Zion) (2) Revival Zion church members, Kingston	02:53
106	Preparation for Baptism Table (Revival Zion) (3) Revival Zion church members, Kingston	02:15
107	Church Dedication Service (Cavaliers Church) Mother Vi Brown and Revival Zion group near Kingston	01:57
201	Revivalist Week-Day Service (1) Revivalist group, Kingston	01:49
202	Revivalist Week-Day Service (2) Revivalist group, Kingston	04:11
203	Sunday Evening Service Mother Gardner and Revivalist group, Kingston	03:06
204	Sunday Night Service Revival Zion church members, Kingston	03:29
205	Ras Tafari Youth Group (We Are Going Home) Ras Tafari youth group, Kingston	01:54
206	Ras Tafari Youth Group (King So High) Ras Tafari youth group, Kingston	01:38
207	Cumina Drumming Kumina drummers, Trench Town, West Kingston	03:00
208	John Canoe Music John Canoe band, Trench Town, West Kingston	01:53