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Encyclopedia > Music of Haiti
Music of Haïti
Carnival Cadence rampa
Kompa Kadans
Méringue Mizik rasin
Rara Zouk
Timeline and Samples
Francophone Caribbean
Martinique and Guadeloupe - Haïti - Louisiana
Other islands
Anguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Aruba and the Dutch Antilles - Bahamas - Barbados - Bermuda - Cayman Islands - Cuba - Grenada - Jamaica - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Montserrat - Puerto Rico - St Kitts and Nevis - Saint Lucia - St Vincent and the Grenadines - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - Virgin Islands

The music of Haiti is influenced most greatly by European colonial ties and African migration (through slavery). In the case of European colonization, musical influence has derived primarily from the French, however Haitian music has been influenced to a significant extent by its Spanish-speaking neighbors, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, whose Spanish-infused music has contributed much to the country's musical genres as well. Styles of music unique to the nation of Haiti include music derived from vodou ceremonical traditions and the wildly popular Kompa. Haiti didn't have any recorded music until 1937 when Jazz Guignard was recorded non-commercially. The music of Haiti is influenced most greatly by French colonial ties and African migration (through slavery), as well as by its neighbors, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. ... This article describes the festival season. ... Cadence rampa is a variety of music from the Carribean country Haiti. ... Kompa (sometimes written Compas Direct, konpa direk, konpa or compa) is a musical genre as well as a dance that originates from Haïti. ... Kadans is a French Creole music genre, which started off in Haiti and developed in the French islands. ... Méringue (also mereng) is a kind of Haïtian music related to twoubadou and the Dominican merengue. ... Mizik rasin is a musical movement that began in Haïti in 1987 when musicians began combining elements of traditional Haïtian vodou ceremonical and folkloric music with rock and roll. ... Originating in Haiti, rara music mixes percussion instruments, saxophones, and bamboo trumpets, while weaving in funk and reggae basslines. ... Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from Guadeloupe and Martinique. ... The former French colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe are small islands in the Caribbean. ... The music of Haiti is influenced most greatly by French colonial ties and African migration (through slavery), as well as by its neighbors, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Aruba and the five main islands of the Netherlands Antilles are part of the Lesser Antilles island chain. ... Timeline and Samples Pop genres Calypso - Chutney - Dancehall - Dub - Junkanoo - Ragga - Rapso - Reggae - Ripsaw - Rocksteady - Scratch - Ska - Soca - Spouge - Steelpan Other islands Aruba and the Dutch Antilles - Cuba - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Haiti - Martinique and Guadeloupe - Puerto Rico - Saint Lucia The Turks and Caicos Islands are an overseas dependency of the... // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... mtDNA-based chart of large human migrations. ... Slave redirects here. ... Voodoo (Vodou, Vodoun, Vudu, or Vudun in Benin, Togo, southeastern Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Senegal; also Vodou in Haiti) is a name attributed to a traditionally uten West African spiritual system of faith and ritual practices. ... Kompa (sometimes written Compas Direct, konpa direk, konpa or compa) is a musical genre as well as a dance that originates from Haïti. ... See also: 1936 in music, other events of 1937, 1938 in music and the list of years in music. Events January 21 - Paul Sacher conducts the world premiere of Béla Bartóks Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta in Basel June 2 - The incomplete version of Alban Berg... Jazz Guignard was a popular Haitian jazz musician in the 1930s. ...

Contents

Vodou music

The religion of the majority of Haitians is Roman Catholicism, but some people still practice Vodou and highly formalized percussion is used in spiritual music. Vodou uses music, dance, and spirit possession as a part of religious rituals. The spirit possessions are a mixture of African spirits of popular religious figures and a mixture of popular religious figures of Roman Catholic Saints. The Virgin Mary was associated with the love and beauty of Ezili Freda and Saint Patrick was associated with the driving of snakes of Dambala. These spirits are called lwa. Ounsi initiates the vodou community dances to the music of drums, gongs, and rattles. The goal is to have the lwa travel to Haiti and possess a Haitian worshiper. This is also called “mounting of their horse”. Unusual movements or jerks from normal dancing indicates that the possession has taken place or the “horse mounted”. Once the possession has taken place, the worshiper takes on the personality traits of the lwa. For example, if the lwa is Ezili Freda, then the lwa will demand gifts of perfume, fine clothes, or jewelry from the rest of the worshipers. The lwa have their own music in the forms of ritual songs and these are sung at ceremonies to invite lwa participation. Songs are in combination of Kreyòl and the langaj languages that are derived from West and Central African religions. A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... The Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to The Blessed Virgin or The Virgin Mary, is a traditional title specifically used by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, some Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics, and others to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. ... For information about the holiday, see: Saint Patricks Day Saint Patrick (Latin: [2], Irish: Naomh Pádraig) was a Christian missionary and is the patron saint of Ireland along with Brigid of Kildare and Columba. ... LOA could stand for: Library of America, a famous American publisher Length Over All, commonly used to indicate maximum hull length of a vessel. ...


Vodou includes two different kinds of lwa: rada and petwo. Ceremonies may include either rada drums (Tanbou Rada in Haitian Kreyòl) with cowhide covers attached with wooden pegs, or petwo drums (Tanbou Petwo), which have a goatskin cover attached with cords and a more aggressive sound. The rhythms and sounds of vodou performances have many regional variations. For example, some of the most popular rada rhythms from Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas include yanvalou, mayi, zepol, and dawomen, while in Gonaïves, rada takes such names as wanjale, akbadja, and kavalye hounto. In the petwo family one can find: petwo makaya, fran petwo, petwo doki, makandal, bumba, and kita. Rada is the term for council or assembly borrowed by Polish from Middle High German Rat (council) and later passed into Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Petro loa. ... Haitian Creole (kreyòl ayisyen) is a creole language It is spoken in Haiti by about 8. ... Categories: Caribbean geography stubs | Capitals in North America | Haiti ... Gonaïves (Gonayiv in Kreyòl) is a city in northern Haiti, the capital of Artibonite department. ...


There are many other vodou rhythms, including djoumba, kongo, ibo, tchika, raboday, banda, nago, maskawon.


Vodou-jazz

When the United States invaded Haiti in 1915, the rituals of vodou were used to reject the cultures of the occupying soldiers. Groups like Jazz des Jeunes brought the sounds of the vodou drum battery to popular music performances.


Rara

Rara music is a Lenten processional music with strong ties to the Vodou religious tradition. It has been commonly confused with Haitian Carnival since both celebrations involve large groups of dancing revelers in the streets. Rara is performed between Ash Wednesday (the day after Carnival ends) until Easter Sunday (or Easter Monday in some parts of Haiti.) Rara bands roam the streets of Haiti during Lent performing religious ceremonies as part of their ritual obligations to the "lwa" or spirits of Haitian Vodou. Gede, a spirit associated with death and sexuality, is an important spiritual presence in Rara celebrations and often possesses an ougan (male Vodou priest) or manbo (female Vodou priest) before the band begins its procession in order to bless the participants and wish them safe travels for their nightly sojourns. Originating in Haiti, rara music mixes percussion instruments, saxophones, and bamboo trumpets, while weaving in funk and reggae basslines. ... Originating in Haiti, rara music mixes percussion instruments, saxophones, and bamboo trumpets, while weaving in funk and reggae basslines. ...


Mizik rasin

Starting in the late 1970s (with discontent surrounding the increasing oppulence of the Duvalier dictatorship), youth from Port-au-Prince (and to a lesser extent Cape Haitien and other urban areas) began experimenting with new types of life. Francois Duvalier's appropriation of Vodou images as a terror technique, the increase in US assembly and large-scale export agriculture, the popularity of disco, and Jean-Claude Duvalier's appreciation of konpa and chanson francaise led to a disillusioning of such youth. To question the dictatorship's notion of "the Haitian nation" (and thus the dictatorship itself), several men began trying a new way of living, embodied in the Sanba Movement. They drew upon global trends in black power, Bob Marley, "Hippie"-dom, as well as prominently from rural life in Haiti. They dressed in the traditional blue denim (karoko) of peasants, eschewed the commercialized and processed life offered by global capitalism, and celebrated the values in communal living. Later, they adopted matted hair which resembled dread locks, but identified the style as something which existed in Haiti with the term cheve simbi, referring to water spirits. Mizik rasin is a musical movement that began in Haïti in 1987 when musicians began combining elements of traditional Haïtian vodou ceremonical and folkloric music with rock and roll. ...


The most well-known of these were Sanba Zao (Louis Leslie Marcellin), Ayizan (Harry Sanon), Azouke (Gregory Sanon), Aboudja (Ronald Derencourt), and Kebyesou Danle (Jean Raymond). They formed a band called Sanba yo and later, Gwoup Sa. Later still, other musicians like Lolo (Theodore Beaubrun), Papa Bonga, and Eddy Francois joined the trend. This was the modern precursor to what would become mizik rasin. One of these groups recorded a song in the 1980s for a UNICEF campaign for vaccination which is included on the LP Konbit!.


In the 1990s, commercial success came to the musical genre that came to be known as mizik rasin, or "roots music". Musicians like Boukman Eksperyans, and Boukan Ginen, and to a lesser extent RAM, incorporated reggae, rock and funk rhythms into traditional forms and instrumentation, including music of rara, music from kanaval, or traditional spiritual music from the rural hamlets called lakous, like Lakou Souvnans, Lakou Badjo, Lakou Soukri, or Lakou Dereyal. Though initially the people involved followed the ways of the Sanba Movement, eventually this began to fade away. Increased political and economic pressures saw many of these people move outside of Haiti (to the US and Canada, primarily). Both those who stayed and those who traveled between countries began adding more non-Haitian (strictly speaking) elements and implemented a more commercial sound to earn more money and a wider audience. Mizik rasin is a musical movement that began in Haïti in 1987 when musicians began combining elements of traditional Haïtian vodou ceremonical and folkloric music with rock and roll. ... Boukman Eksperyans - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Boukan Ginen is a a mizik rasin band from the city of Port-au-Prince, Haïti. ... For the progressive rock band from New York, USA with a similar name, see Ram (band). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Funk is an African American musical style. ...


Although the message of much of the sanba-oriented bands espouse values of equality, several members have been linked to male chauvanist ideas and even domestic violence. (C.f. the book Walking on Fire, Beverly Bell)


Kompa

Kompa or Compas in French is a complex, ever-changing music that arose from European ballroom dancing, mixed with Haiti's bourgeois culture. It is a refined music, played with an underpinning of tipico, and méringue (related to Dominican merengue) as a basic rhythm. Much of early Haitian music consisted of Western dances with africanized versions of the accompanying music. Some of these forms still exist, including menwat, a variation of the minuet. In the early 20th century, Kompa was further influenced by multiple genres, including the Cuban son, calypso, salsa, soca and soukous. Beginning in 1915, the American military occupation of Haiti brought swing and big band music, and Haitian musicians incorporated the swinging style into Kompa. Among the artists to rise to prominence was the group Les Jazz de Jeunes. Kompa (sometimes written Compas Direct, konpa direk, konpa or compa) is a musical genre as well as a dance that originates from Haïti. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... Gaskell Ball Ballroom dance, refers collectively to a set of partner dances, which originated in the Western world and are now enjoyed both socially and competitively around the globe. ... Méringue (also mereng) is a kind of Haïtian music related to twoubadou and the Dominican merengue. ... Merengue is a type of lively, joyful music and dance that comes from the Dominican Republic. ... A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two persons, usually in 3/4 time. ... With roots on the island of Cuba, Son Cubano is a style of music that became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the eastern province of Oriente. ... Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad at about the start of the 20th century. ... Salsa music is a diverse and predominantly Spanish Caribbean genre that is popular across Latin America and among Latinos. ... See: Soca River (pronounced Socha River), ( Slovenian original reka Soča). ... // Soukous is a musical genre that originated in the Congos during the 1930s and early 1940s, and which has gained popularity throughout Africa. ... Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed during the 1920s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. ... A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. ...


Kompa direct was invented in the mid-1950s by a group of artists, already then famous, called Coronto International; it soon became popular throughout the Antilles, especially in Martinique and Guadeloupe, where it evolved into zouk. Webert Sicot and Nemours Jean Baptiste became the two major powers in the group. Sicot left and formed a new group and an intense rivalry developed between the two, though they remained good friends. Nemours played a popular, improvised, mambo-influenced style called konpa direct, while Sicot's sophisticated, significantly Cuban-influenced cadence rampa was inaccessible to mainstream listeners. Kompa (sometimes written Compas Direct, konpa direk, konpa or compa) is a musical genre as well as a dance that originates from Haïti. ... Coronto International was a seminal Konpa band from Haiti formed in 1955 by [[saxophone players Nemours Jean Baptiste and Weber Sicot. ... The Antilles (the same in French; Antillas in Spanish; Antillen in Dutch) refers to the islands forming the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean. ... Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from Guadeloupe and Martinique. ... Webert Sicot (born 1934) is a Haitian composer and band leader. ... Nemours Jean Baptiste (February 2, 1918 - May 18, 1985) was a Haïtian saxophonist, writer, and band leader. ... Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ... Cadence rampa is a variety of music from the Carribean country Haiti. ...


It was used as a tool of the Duvalier dictatorship (both to trumpet praise as well as to divert attention from socio-political oppression) as well as later being a tool to question authoritarianism. Most Kompa in the late 20th and early 21st century deals with themes of heterosexual love relations and at times includes lewd and suggestive, potentially male chauvinist attitudes.


Mini-jazz

As cadence rampa became more and more experimental, and Kompa direct incorporated more effective pop structures, American- and French-style pop spawned mini-jazz bands that became perhaps the first fully Haitian form of pure pop. Ibo Combo, Les Fantasistes de Carrefour, Shleu Shleu, Les Freres de Jean, Los Incognitos de Pétionville and others remain influential and popular artists. In the early 1970s, Los Incognitos de Pétionville became Tabou Combo, whose 1969 Haiti incorporated major influences from American funk and began a swift rise to international stardom for the band and the Haitian music scene. By 1984, Tabou Combo had become chart-toppers in Paris and elsewhere across the globe. Originating in Haiti during the 1960s, the mini-jazz movement was influenced by other Caribbean music styles, the British Invasion, and French pop. ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... Funk is an African American musical style. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...


Zouk

The mid-1980s saw the blockbuster success of zouk (itself a Kompa-derived genre), which soon traded influences with all the greatest of Caribbean genres, including merengue, calypso, salsa, and kompa. The zouk wave was followed by an influx of Haitian artists like System Band, Zin, Top Vice and Karess who incorporated rock and roll, hip hop and jazz into kompa, and experimented with new lyrical content, such as feminism. Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from Guadeloupe and Martinique. ... In West African folklore, the Zin are water spirits that live in the Niger River. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... Feminists redirects here. ...


Haitian rap

The local homegrown Haitian hip hop movement is rising in popularity in Haiti and other communities where there is a strong Haitian presence. It is becoming more and more popular with Haitian youth, often communicating social and political topics as well as materialistic concepts. Kompa as well as other popular local beats are used frequently with urban sounds. Popular Haitian hip hop artists are Black Alex, Top Adler man from King Posse and original rap Staff, and today Bennchoumy, Barikad Crew, etc. Haitian hip hop is hip hop music originating from Haiti and sung by artists of Haitian descent. ... Kompa (sometimes written Compas Direct, konpa direk, konpa or compa) is a musical genre as well as a dance that originates from Haïti. ...


References

  • Manuel, Peter, with Kenneth Bilby and Michael Largey. Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae (2nd edition). Temple University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-59213-463-7. 
  • Steward, Sue and Sean Harvey. "Compass Points". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 421-429. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
Caribbean music

Bahamas | Bermuda | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Dominican Republic
Haiti | Jamaica | Lesser Antilles | Puerto Rico | Turks and Caicos Islands The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. ... The music of the Lesser Antilles encompasses the musics of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Montserrat. ...

Latin American music

Argentina - Bolivia - Brazil - Chile - Colombia - Costa Rica - Cuba - Dominican Republic - Ecuador - El Salvador
Guatemala - Haiti - Honduras - Mexico - Nicaragua - Panama - Paraguay - Peru - Puerto Rico - United States: Tejano - Uruguay - Venezuela
See also: Andean - Caribbean - Central America - Portugal - Spain Latin American music, sometimes simply called Latin music, includes the music of many countries and comes in many varieties, from the simple, rural conjunto music of northern Mexico to the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, from the symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos to the simple and moving Andean flute. ... Tejano[1] (Spanish for Texan) or Tex-Mex[2] music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Hispanic-descended Tejanos of Central and South Texas. ... A quena, a traditional Andean instrument Andean music comes from the approximate area inhabited by the Incas prior to European contact. ... The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. ... Central America is a is dominated by the popular Latin musical trends, including salsa, cumbia, mariachi, reggae, calypso and nueva canción. ...


  Results from FactBites:
 
Another Haiti Installment | Music For America (1260 words)
In December of 1990, Aristide was elected president with %67 of the vote in the first free elections held in Haiti since the country achieved independence in 1804.
Haiti is also as reliable source of cheap labor, especially in the garment industry.
Any leader in Haiti who has a progressive agenda faces the combined opposition of local business leaders, large foreign corporate interests, and gang leaders whose intentions are essentially mercenary, all of whom benefit in some way from insuring that average Haitians do not improve their lot too much.
Music of Haiti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1075 words)
The music of Haiti is influenced most greatly by French colonial ties and African migration (through slavery), as well as by its neighbors, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Haitian rap music was a major part of the country's musical scene by the late 1980s, laying the groundwork for the emergence of Haitian Wyclef Jean and The Fugees.
In the 1990s, a new musical genre evolved that came to be known as mizik rasin, or "roots music".
  More results at FactBites »


 

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