ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ongoing effects of the slave trade on Caribbean musical culture, as well as ongoing musical exchanges between the Caribbean and Africa. It deals with a discussion of those musics with a great number of African musical and linguistic retentions, such as Cuban bata, Haitian vodou, and Carriacouan big drum, and proceeds to examine traditions that appear very African but are highly syncretic, such as Cuban rumba and Puerto Rican bomba. The chapter explores how contemporary musicians reimagine African heritage through genres such as Jamaican reggae and Haitian mizik rasin, and looks at the Caribbean’s influence on African musical cultures past and present. Africans from the areas – particularly Fon and Yoruba – have had a huge impact on Caribbean music and dance. The rich tapestry of African cultures that helped to make up the Caribbean is actively remembered through Caribbean music and dance practices.
