Jumbie
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Jumbie is a term akin to a Black ghost. Whereas Western culture "sees" a ghost as a white misty figure, jumbies are imagined as dark shadowy figures. This phenonemon is widely believed among the English speaking Caribbean states that were colonized by the British and also practised "Obeah", a form of mystical wizadry that encompassed traditional African beliefs merged with Western European, primarily Anglican immages and beliefs of the dead.
Various islands including Antigua & Barbuda in the east to Jamaica in the north and as far south as Trinidad have had a long held set of folklore that include the jumbie. In the folk religion of Montserrat, a jumbie is a ghost, or spirit of the dead. Jumbies are said to possess humans during ceremonies called jumbie dances, which are accompanied by jumbie drums. Jumbies receive numerous small offerings from Montserratians, such as a few drops of rum or food; they are also the subject of numerous superstitions.
Four couples perform a set of five progressively quicker quadrilles during the jumbie dance, switching out with other couples until someone is eventually possessed by a jumbie.
[edit] References
- Music of Montserrat. Montserrat First, Montserrat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) Inc.. Retrieved on December 8, 2005.
- Messenger, John (1999). "Montserrat", Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume Two: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Routledge, 922-926. ISBN 0-8153-1865-0.
