Kumina
| Kumina | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Afro-Jamaican |
| Region | Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica |
| Origin | Post-Abolition era Jamaica |
| Separations | Kongo, Machunde, Mondongo, Moyenge |
Kumina is an
Kumina also gives it name to a drumming style, developed from the music that accompanied the spiritual ceremonies, that evolved in urban Kingston. The Kumina drumming style has a great influence on
The
Definition
Kumina is an Afro-Jamaican Religion and is not the same as Pukkumina or Pocomania.
History
Kumina emerged through the practices of indentured labourers who were brought to Jamaica from the Kongo region of central Africa after the abolition of slavery.[4] In the second half of the 19th century it syncretised with
Kumina differed from Zion Revivalism in rejecting the belief that the Bible should be the central authority behind worship.[4]Beliefs and practices
The practices of Kumina are primarily linked to healing.[4] Healing ceremonies utilise singing, dancing, drumming, animal sacrifice, and spirit possession, with the intent of summoning spirits to heal the sick individual.[4] These elements are also found in Myalism and Zion Revivalism.[4]
Organization
Organization of Kumina communities follows the general local character of African religions in Jamaica. Kumina communities are small family based communities or nations. Some nations include Mondongo, Moyenge, Machunde, Kongo, Igbo, and Yoruba. People from Kumina families are given the title Bongo. Marrying into a Bongo family is one avenue to become a part of a Kumina nation; special initiation is the other avenue. Kumina nations are led by a "King" and "Queen". Imogene "Queenie" Kennedy AKA Queenie III (c1920-1998) was a well-known Kumina Queen in the 20th century, born in St Thomas in the late 1920s she later moved to Kingston and then Waterloo, St Catherine.[6]
Influence on Rastafari
The use of cannabis or ganja in Kumina may have been an influence on the adoption of this plant as a sacrament in Rastafari, a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s.[7]
References
Citations
- ISBN 9780198039082.
- ISBN 9781439901755.
- ^ ISBN 9781441132253.
- ^ a b c d e f Fernández Olmos & Paravisini-Gebert 2011, p. 178.
- ^ Davy (2018). "Kumina in Rural Southeastern Jamaica: Beyond Resistance to Antithetical-Hegemonic-Subsumption" (PDF). Journal of Pan African Studies. 11 (7). Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "Kumina Queen's Drum Repatriated To Jamaica". Jamaican Gleaner. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ Edmonds 2012, p. 55.
Sources
- Edmonds, Ennis B. (2012). Rastafari: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199584529.
- Fernández Olmos, Margarite; Paravisini-Gebert, Lizabeth (2011). Creole Religions of the Caribbean: An Introduction from Vodou and Santería to Obeah and Espiritismo (second ed.). New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-6228-8.
External links
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| Diverse roots |
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