During the early days of slavery on Bonaire, the spirit of the people began to develop, combining their different ethnic backgrounds to produce a truly unique style of music and dance. To divert themselves while they worked, they made up songs in their native African styles and invented dances to accompany these songs. These very songs and dances evolved into ritual festivities and have survived to become an important part of life and culture on Bonaire.
Their music blended tribal beats, using modern-day instruments, as well as creating new instruments of their own. Bonairean musicians proved to be resourceful in their ability to create new instruments from the discarded fragments of broken tools. A small percussive instrument known as the Chapi is made from the metal end of a hoe and is struck with a small metal bar. The blade of a plough serves as a base for the Agan, and the Bastel uses a scooped-out calabash gourd floating in a tub of water. The Benta is a mouth-held string instrument made with a bowed-out knife. These, along with the cowhorn and the conch, form the traditional musical repertory of Bonaire.
As far as dances, the Simadan is one of Bonaire’s most widely known dances and is traditionally performed in the fall in celebration of a successful maize harvest. The Bari is another Bonairean dance with harvest roots. It is strongly influenced by the Waltz, the Mazurka, the Polka, and a local dance 'Baile di Sinta,' which is performed around a maypole. These dances are rooted in European tradition. The Rumba, Carioca, and Merengue came to Bonaire's repertoire from the northern Caribbean islands, while Latin America contributed the Danza and the Joropo. American Jazz rhythms also influenced the local traditions of song and dance.
Click on the link below for a sample of the celebration of Simadan on Bonaire:
No comments:
Post a Comment