Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey
  |
Fi Wi Sinting, the largest African History Month event in Jamaica, now in its
eighteenth year is a celebration of our African heritage and a tribute to the
ancestors for their immense contributions towards the development of Jamaican
culture and for the legacy of a rich heritage that is quickly disappearing. Whenever one thinks of Jamaican culture it is almost always that which has its roots in Africa or within the Rastafarian movement that comes to mind. |
| The venue is transformed into a village, with a marketplace featuring
exquisite garments, books, jewelry, craft, food and juices. Jamaicans and
visitors/tourists can dance to the beat of traditional rhythms from the Kumina
drums, the Mento band, let loose at the African Dance Party or join in
Nyabinghi chanting. The spoken word is expressed through story telling, an
Open Mike segment and a guest speaker. Each year there is a main attraction
and at sunset patrons are invited to place offerings to the ancestors on the
Ancestral Raft which is sent floating into the Caribbean Sea. Listen to "Kumina",  from the album "Skin of the Drum", played by the Nayamka Drummers and produced by Tkae Mendez Vendors (many of them for whom this is their main source of income for the month of February) are stake holders and have been participating over the years mindful of the fact that Fi Wi Sinting as a community effort can only be staged by pooling resources, giving meaning to the term “Community Economics”. Dishes served include escovitch and steamed fish, rundung, dookoonu, ital, jerk chicken, puddings, cakes and ice cream Many events are targeted towards a specific age group, which separates the family and the community. Fi Wi Sinting sees the need to bring the family together crossing age barriers where grandparents and their grandchildren can share in the past and the present creating a harmonious relationship through culture. |
    |
   |
Visitors to Jamaica often complain that except for carefully staged
performances in a few major hotels they are for the most part denied the
opportunity of seeing how as a people we have kept our traditions alive. Fi
Wi Sinting provides such a forum where they can choose to be spectators or
participants in the day’s activities. They will also have the opportunity
to meet and mingle with average Jamaicans in a family setting.
Fi Wi Sinting is increasingly attracting Africans in the Diaspora, along with Jamaicans overseas and their offspring, connecting them to their common ancestral past. Over the years it has become a growing trend for those attending to dress very colourful or in African Attire. Against a backdrop of the strolling Jonkunoo band and thatched bamboo stalls which houses the marketplace the atmosphere is carnival-like. |
Jonkunu (John Canoe) a Jamaican traditional dance of African origin is performed mainly at Christmas time (see picture above). A strong feature of the dance is the characters, some of which are Pitchy Patchy, Horsehead, Cowhead and Belly Woman. Pitchy Patchy can still be seen in W. Africa. The rhythm of the Jonkunu Music is quite distinct from other ritual folk music with its fife and "rattling drum"- carried on the shoulders and played with sticks. 1)Kumina is the most African of our music forms. Brought to the island by indentured servants from the Congo after the abolition of slavery it is mostly practiced in the parishes of Portland & St Thomas. The ancestors are called upon during a Kumina ceremony, which is usually associated with wakes and entombments, but can also be performed at births, anniversaries and thanksgivings. The dance and music are two of the Kumina's strong features - the drum playing an integral part in this dance ritual. Listen to "Kumina", from the album "Skin of the Drum", played by the Nayamka Drummers and produced by Tkae Mendez 2)Mento is the original folk music created by Jamaicans using instruments of the plantation owners, their own handmade instruments and by adding their own tempo. Instruments range from saxophones, flutes, bamboo fifes, PVC pipes, banjos, violins, bamboo fiddles, guitars, rhumba boxes double basses, rhythm sticks, shakkas and drums played with both sticks and hands. |
|
