Performance in Context...Part I...

The folk music of Jamaica has been an important agent of socialisation and medium of entertainment for many A Jamaican, amassing as well, a multitude of followers from all walks of life the world over. From the sweet light themes of mento to the reverent communion of Kumina, the awe inspiring and response evoking forms of the island have served as the source or outlet through which comfort, warning, reproach, humour, praise, all aspects of the socio-emotional and cultural spectrum have been and are expressed for generations. It has buoyed spirits deeply entrenched in slavery, easing the mental toll of the menial load on Jamaica’s forced immigrants, and now, centuries after their emancipation, still bolster the hearts and minds of many a person who come in contact with their message. Now displaced from the informal settings of the village common; the secluded hillside and deep forests and transported to the stage much to the delight, enjoyment (and in some cases horror and arguably misplaced embarrassment) of many an audience, one has several things to consider. Is this affect a two way street? How integral is culture on the responses and attitudes of an audience to the performance of the music? And to what extent is this seen?

“To enhance the appreciation of the music,” as a tutor of mine constantly says, “one must try to construct as close as possible, a socio-historic context within which to frame it.” In my limited experience of folk forms in their “natural” setting, the common thread that is found is of community, or an “oneness” of purpose. The young and old alike congregated on a village common at Christmas time could erupt into the Christmas favourite “chrismus a come”, or a funeral procession, having reached the departed’s final resting place raising songs of farewell such as “she gahn to paradise”. Community were also integrally involved in the mourning process, as is typified by the song “bawl ooman bawl”, where a woman is encouraged to cry for her deceased baby, husband, mother, etc, as a sign of accepting the grief.