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ENTITY · CULTURAL PRACTICE

Pukkumina / Pocomania

Well supported

Jamaican Revival-related religious practice whose drums, possession language and public ceremonies are part of the island's deeper musical ecology. Practice runs through small local "bands", each based at a "Yard" and led by a Captain, Mother or Shepherd/ess; the National Library places it, alongside Dinki Mini and Gerreh, in the traditions of St Mary parish.

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At a glance

Confidence
Well supported
Sources
National Library of Jamaica; Olive Lewin; Reggae Routes; the National Library's Photograph Collection holds ceremonial images of this practice, reproduction rights-restricted (permission required from NLJ); The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, "Pocomania"; National Library of Jamaica, "History Notes: Information on Jamaica's Culture & Heritage".

Coverage areas

Style, language, faith & wider cultureSociety, politics & receptionEvidence, memory & meta layers

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Connections

In stories

Story · Well supportedFrom folk practice to studio language

Revival, Kumina, Maroon and mento traditions supplied the rhythms, drums and speech that Jamaica's recording studios later turned into ska, reggae and dub.

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Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.

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