Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey
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Give thanks for the support of family and friends, performers who have donated their talent and all those who have participated and attended Fi Wi Sinting over the years. Welcome to all who see a need and share a desire to celebrate and preserve Jamaica’s rich African heritage, in tribute to the ancestors for the legacy of a rich culture that is rapidly disappearing. Fi Wi Sinting the largest African History Month event in Jamaica will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on Sunday February 14, 2010 from 10A.M - 8 P.M. Admission J$500 Children $200 The venue, Somerset Falls in Hope Bay, Portland, world known for its lush vegetation, exotic flora, tranquility, ambience and cascading waterfalls is the ideal setting for this family event. |
With the venue transformed into a huge Market Place, representative of Jamaican/African culture featuring exquisite garments, books, jewelry and craft, as with any market it is abuzz with activities throughout the day. Dine on traditional food such as dookunu brought from Ghana with the same name, puddings, fried fish and bammy or vegetarian from raw to ital. You are invited to dance to the rhythms of the Kumina drums brought to our shores from the Congo, the Mento band our own indigenous folk music, let loose at the African Dance Party hosted by Mutabaruka with his vast repertoire of rhythms from the continent, participate in Nyabinghi chanting with Rastafarians or join the children as they playfully follow closely behind the Jonkunoo band with its main character Pitchy Patchy which traveled with us from West Africa. The spoken word is expressed through ourstories of that cunning spider Ananse also from West Africa as told by Story teller extraordinaire Amina Blackwood-Meeks along with resident Poets Royal African Soldiers and their friends and in an Open Mike segment where participants are free to express themselves. Each year there is a Main Attraction and at sunset patrons are invited to gather, where homage is paid to the ancestors and offerings are placed on the Ancestral Raft before it is sent floating into the Caribbean Sea. |
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Fi Wi Sinting is where we meet, greet and mingle in a family setting while indulging in Fi Wi Sinting the Jamaican phrase meaning “It belongs to us”. For futher information we can be contacted at: Fi Wi Sinting Hope Bay P.O. box 9 - Portland, Jamaica W.I Telephone: 876 913-0103, 876 426-1957 E-mail: info(at)fiwisinting.com E-mail: sistap2001(at)yahoo.com |
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. |
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