Caribbean Flashcards
Mestizo
European and indigenous descent
Mulatto
European and African descent
Zambo
Indigenous and African descent
Voodoo
West African derived music. Mainly focuses on drums and male/female vocalists.
Rada
Haitian drum
Shekere
Haitian rattle
Purpose of voodoo rituals
Call on deities and be possessed by them
Vaksin
Haitian bamboo trumpet
Rara
Voodoo ceremony process
Loa
Name for Haitian gods
Shango
Haitian god of thunder and lightning
Syncretism
Associating certain deities with one religion in another (John the Baptist = Shango). This is how they were able to keep certain religions alive
Reggae
Popular music from Jamaica characterized by rhythmic emphasis on offbeat and politically/socially conscious lyrics
Reggae ensemble
Electric guitar/bass, tight drum set, electric keyboard
Haile Selassie I
Ethiopian emperor considered by Rastafarians to be a black reincarnation of Jesus Christ
Rastafarian
A person who believes that emperor Haile Selassie I is Jah (God) and Ethiopia is Zion.
Ganja
Jamaican word for weed. Rastafarians believed that smoking it would bring them closer to God
Dub
Recorded Jamaican music that emphasizes the bass and rhythm tracks so that the DJ can talk over it
Calypso
Popular music from Trinidad and Tobago characterized by improvised lyrics and broadly humorous subject matter
Conga
Tall, barrel shaped drum (Trinidad and Tobago)
Tamboo bamboo
Ensemble of bamboo drums created when the British banned drums in Trinidad and Tobago