Hurdles

Can you believe that it is week 17 of 2010 and it feels like so many things have happened in so few weeks? Wow! We thought we said goodbye to the recession blighted old year of 2009. Now there is still financial crisis and recession which continues to shock the world, the growing fiscal deficits which call for the increase dependence on the World Bank and IMF.   Many have sleepless nights over environmental risks; many mention ‘going green.’ Also there is the unpredictability of the weather leaving billions homeless and millions dead. There is ethnic strife, famines, increased civil wars, ongoing guerilla conflicts. So far this is quote an exhaustive list but far from complete, the losses of 2010 are profound. In contrast, hey, the upside is that gold has regained popularity with Central Banks across the world.

On a more local level when we visit the grocery stores we see prices increasing.  To understand the conundrum that we are in we need to take a step back and see ourselves. We would be faced with obstacles no matter what. Let us put it this way the more mountains we climb the stronger our legs become, the fitter we get and the better we feel. Do not be sidetracked, be encouraged, and be excited by ‘tough times’ because these impediments would make us be the giant we all would like to become.

Folks have a wonderful day!

Jumbie Dance

In a previous post I discussed the jumbie table. There is also a dance called jumbie dance which is tied to ancestral religion. According to the Dictionary of Caribbean English usage it defines jumbie dance as a religious dance organize to induce spirit-possession and divination; it is accompanied by a folk-band such as the WOO WOO BAND, it is impassioned and can last throughout the night.

Dr Howard A. Fergus further highlights in his book that the jumbie dance can be the purest manifestation of folk religion in Montserrat. The sound and tempo of the music produced help to bring worshipers in a trance-like state which brings devotees into communion with the world of the dead.

It was told that in the 1990s Montserrat Cricket team was on a loosing streak in the Leeward Island tournament; a jumbie dance was organize at the Sturge Park to break the spell, it was met by a public outcry and condemnation from the Christian believers stating that the practice was evil and it has brought shame and disgrace upon the nation.

So many cultural traditions in the Caribbean have been wiped out due to an over-emphasis on the European traditions. We continue today to loose our former identities and move onto a more nondescript and homogeneous global culture.