ABSTRACT
Reggae has much in common with other forms of Caribbean music. It is, like calypso and Cuban music, a product of the union of African rhythms and European melody and harmony. As with Haitian music, there are some pure African survivals in reggae. You can find elements of African work songs and digging tunes-chants based on the call and response pattern of African communal singing. Other African survivals in Jamaica have also played their part in shaping reggae’s unique sound. In the Blue Mountains, you can still hear African anansi songs, which tell the comic exploits of the spider, Brer Anansi. Similarly, the John Canoe (Junkanoo) dancers still perform in rural Jamaica at Christmas time. Dressed in rags and feathers they have preserved African rhythms and flute music. The strange name seems to stem from the African words dzong kunu, which mean “terrible sorcerer”.
