Revivalism III
Errol McKinson
Oil on Canvas 14x14
The Trench Town Rock Experience Summer tour kicks off May 28-June 27, 2017 at Olive on Main, 504 Main St, Laurel, MD, 20707. This series exhibits the lifestyles and faces of Trench Town, Jamaica, Kingston 12.
Reception:
Thursday, June 15, 2017
6:00-8:00 pm
Exhibit:
May 28-June 25, 2017
Trench Town (also Trenchtown) is a neighborhood located in the parish of St. Andrew which shares municipality with Kingston, the capital and largest city of Jamaica. In the 1960s Trench Town was known as the Hollywood of Jamaica.
Today Trench Town boasts the Trench Town Culture Yard Museum, a visitor friendly National Heritage Site presenting the unique history and contribution of Trench Town to Jamaica. Trench Town is the birthplace of rocksteady and reggae music, as well as the home of reggae and Rastafari ambassador Bob Marley.
Revivalism began in Jamaica between 1860 and 1861 as a part of a religious movement called the Great Revival. It is a combination of elements from African pagan beliefs and Christianity and has several forms, the two major forms being Revival Zion and Pocomania.
The Revival ritual involves singing, drumming, dancing, hand-clapping, foot-stomping, and groaning along with the use of prayers to invite possession. It also includes music and songs from orthodox religion. Revivalism is found chiefly in the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, St. Elizabeth and St. Ann.
Rastafarian Music
Rastafarian music originated from the Rastafarian Movement, which began during the 1930s in Jamaica. A Rastafarian man by the name of Count Ossie Williams was very instrumental in the development of this music. His interest in music led him to take ideas from an easier type of Jamaican music called Burru which was originally from Africa. Count Ossie adapted the Burru drums and combined them with the Kumina rhythms of his youth in St. Thomas and arrived at what is now known as Rasta music.
Several instruments are played in Rasta music, for example, tambourines, shakers, scrapers, striker bells, sometimes the saxophone and trombone and, most importantly, drums. Three kinds of drums are used: The largest is the bass drum which produces the steady rhythm then the fundeh which sets the pace of the music and finally the Repeater which is the smallest of the three drums.
Cheers,
Errol