Friday 6/17/2016

A journal entry:

"Today was our very last day in the schools.  We arrived, greeted the kids, and attended their morning devotion.  Then, we set up under our trees for our only lesson of the day--one lesson for the little kids attending the basic school next door.  The kids were 4-5 years old, and the lesson was very much fun. I played the guitar and ran shaker activities.

Then, we brought our donations to the principal (we donated three drums and a box of recorders so they can hopefully establish some sort of music program).  She was so incredibly excited and grateful. She could not believe that we were leaving some of the instruments with the school and couldn't sop thanking us and hugging us.  She said they will definitely use everything (especially the recorders) to keep music going in their school, and welcomed us back anytime.  I would love to come back sometime to see if they are successful in putting bits of music in their curriculum and even help the teachers figure out ways to use music in their classrooms.

When our driver came, we had to say goodbye to the kids, which was so sad.  They kept asking us when we were going to come back, and it was so hard to tell them, 'maybe never.'  We got a lot of hugs and notes and cute goodbye's and I teared up a little.  I'll never forget them and their energy and zest for life, as well as their unwavering love and helpfulness.  They are truly incredible kids.  I would love to come back, but I honestly don't know if I will ever get the chance again.

Where we ate

After school, we went to lunch at an excellent sit-down jerk place that looked over the town of Boston Bay.  I had jerk chicken, festival bread, and fruit punch.

Later, we went down to the beach to relax and swim.  Laura and I swam across the bay to the caves on the other side.  We couldn't explore because it was too treacherous over there, but we saw the caves and they were really neat.  The swim back was a bit taxing, and I spent the afternoon laying in a hammock and accidentally falling asleep under the trees.  It was wonderful.

Kumina drummers

Tonight, after dinner and drumming, Eric is bringing in Kumina drummers to us--drummers that play in nine-night (wake) ceremonies.   The ceremonies are parties/celebrations in the yard of the deceased person that include the whole village and involve a lot of dancing.  The Kumina drummers play all night long, with no rest.  Before playing, they sprinkle the drums with white rum (their equivalent of Holy water) and rub it on their hands.  The beat they play exists only in the Portland and St. Thomas parishes of Jamaica, and nowhere else in the world.  The beat is known to bring people into a trance-like state called a Myal, during which it is said that the deceased person's spirit takes over the entranced person and makes them do crazy, sometimes super-human things (i.e. climb trees backwards, eat glass).  The beat is repetitive and has hypnotic powers--especially because it is played all  night long.

Eric said he was playing at a set-up for a nine-night one time and felt woozy, so he left the drum to rest.  The grieving widow came up to him and said, 'We knew this would happen?' 'Why?' 'Because my husband didn't like white men.'  This culture and their customs and beliefs are so intriguing and I am excited to experience the Kumina drumming tradition tonight."

Later...

"The Kumina drummers were amazing.  The night was so fun.  They set up with two people sitting on drums across from each other  One of them played the same rhythm over and over:

The lower pitch was an open drum.  The higher pitch was created when the player placed his foot on the edge of the head of the drum to raise the sound.  The other drummer soloed the whole time.  The solo drummer is said to be completely responsible for the action of the deceased person's spirit.  Then, there was a person sitting behind the solo drum, playing this rhythm on the sides of the back of the drum with sticks (Catta Sticks):

And, there were two people playing that same rhythm on shakers.  There was also a blind man playing a grater on the same rhythm.  They were all singing, and the words basically meant 'leave us alone, duppie (spirit), because you are dead.'  The final element is dancing.  There were people dancing all around in a circle around the drummers.

One of the Jamaican men (an older shaker player with very baggy clothes) pulled me into the circle to dance.  He was very much fun to dance with and spun me around a lot.  After I finished dancing with him, I stayed on the dance floor (without shoes--no one was wearing them) and danced with everyone in a group  The Jamaican girls joined us and tried to teach us their moves.  It was the most fun I've ever had dancing!  It was such a fun night.  I wore a flowy skirt that was so fun to dance and twirl in.  The night was truly a blast."