Revivalism : representing an Afro-Jamaican identity
(2019)

Nonfiction

eBook

Provider: hoopla

Details

PUBLISHED
[United States] : The University of the West Indies Press, 2019
Made available through hoopla
DESCRIPTION

1 online resource

ISBN/ISSN
9789766406561 (electronic bk.) MWT13916773, 9766406561 (electronic bk.) 13916773
LANGUAGE
English
NOTES

Maria A. Robinson-Smith presents an overview and genealogy of Revivalism in this work. She explores the role of the Revival iconography in building a culture of shared understanding among Revivalists and, by extension, African Jamaicans. The Watt Town setting, with bands coming together from communities all over Jamaica, engaging in the same practices, is a symbolic homeland where people celebrate their Africanness and sustain the collective memory of Revivalists. Revival iconography is explored through its many modes: visual, sound and movement. Seals, symbols and colour symbolism are presented as a representation of the repertoire of images that make up the Revival iconography. Revival cosmology in the rituals and ceremonies are explored and the spaces created by the seals are treated as liminal ones for the enactment of cultural performances. Smith makes the point that the iconography makes it possible for Revivalists to interpret events and rituals in much the same way across Jamaica. Iconography is the symbolic language and carrier of culture that is central to the practice and production of shared meanings, and this language gives Revivalists a sense of identity. The Revival iconography stores information that makes it possible for Revivalists to reconnect with African metaphysics, thus reclaiming the African self

Mode of access: World Wide Web

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