Kumina is a part of the Myal religion and includes dance and music. It began with traditions brought to Jamaica by people from the Congo region of West Central Africa, including enslaved individuals and workers who were forced to labor, after slavery ended. Kumina is mainly connected to eastern Jamaica, especially the areas of St. Thomas Portland, St. Mary, St. Catherine, and the city of Kingston.

The dance called Kumina is also the name of a drumming style. This style developed from the music used in spiritual ceremonies and became popular in urban Kingston. Like other Myal drumming styles, Kumina has greatly influenced Rastafari music, especially Nyabinghi drumming, and Jamaican popular music. Count Ossie was an important person who helped bring this drumming style into popular music, and it still affects modern genres like reggae and dancehall.

The Kumina riddim is a dancehall rhythm created by Sly & Robbie in 2002. It has been used in songs by more than 20 artists, including Chaka Demus & Pliers and Tanya Stephens.

History

Kumina developed from the religious traditions of the Bakongo people of Central Africa. These people were brought to Jamaica as indentured servants after slavery was abolished in 1834. Kumina, a part of the Myal religion, differs from Zion Revivalism by not considering the Bible as the main rule for worship.

The Slave Trade Act of 1807 led the British royal navy to create a naval patrol called the West Africa Squadron along the West African coast. This patrol stopped ships that tried to transport enslaved Africans to the Americas. Any captured ship was taken by the British, its crew arrested as pirates, and its enslaved people freed.

Enslaved people freed from these ships were not sent back to Africa. Instead, they were sent to British colonies as indentured servants. These colonies included British Sierra Leone and parts of the British Caribbean, such as Trinidad, Jamaica, and St. Lucia. Although Jamaica ended slavery in 1834, Cuba did not abolish slavery until 1886, and Brazil did not end it until 1888. Because of this, slavers in these regions continued to smuggle enslaved people across the Atlantic until 1860.

During the rule of King Henrique III of Kongo, from 1840 to 1857, fighting broke out between rival powerful families. Henrique III belonged to the Kinlaza group, and in 1848, he faced armed opposition from the Água Rosada faction, led by Ande II. This conflict led Henrique III to capture people and sell them into the Atlantic slave trade, despite the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Some of these enslaved people were later freed by the West Africa Squadron and sent to Jamaica, where they helped create the Kumina tradition.

Beliefs and practices

The practices of Kumina in the Myal Religion are mainly connected to healing. Healing ceremonies use singing, dancing, drumming, animal sacrifice, and spirit possession to call on spirits and help sick people get better. These same elements are also found in Revivalism.

Organization

The Kumina branch of the Myal Religion includes smaller groups or communities that share similarities with older religions in Jamaica before Christianity arrived. These groups are based on families and are called nations. Some of these nations are named Mondongo, Moyenge, Machunde, Kongo, Igbo, and Yoruba. People who belong to Kumina families are called Bongo. One way to join a Kumina nation is by marrying into a Bongo family. Another way is through a special ceremony called initiation. Each Kumina nation is led by a "King" and a "Queen." Imogene "Queenie" Kennedy, also known as Queenie III, was a well-known Kumina Queen in the 20th century. She was born in St Thomas in the late 1920s, later moved to Kingston, and then to Waterloo, St Catherine. She lived from around 1920 until 1998.

Influence on Rastafari

The use of cannabis or ganja in Kumina Myal ceremonies led to its adoption as a sacrament in Rastafari, a religion that began in Jamaica in the 1930s. This practice was directly influenced by the sacramental use of the plant in Kumina Myal ceremonies.