Puerto Rico and the French-speaking Carribean... - Bomba history.

[Oneleven]

Just trying to compile some information on Bomba genres and their apparent connections to styles from the French speaking slave soceities, especially Haiti, Martinique, and New Orleans...
The imprint of the Anglo Carribean on popular Afro-Puerto Rican forms is substantial (e.g. Plena), especially going into the turn of the 19th Century, but the influence of French and French creole forms is much older and essential to the development of Puerto Rican culture... The immigration of French and Creole speaking people to Puerto Rico is obviously reflected in the common occurrence of French and French derived names in the Puerto Rican population - white as well as black.
To cut to the point, you can also see strong connections in some bomba genres to creole french forms; e.g. bambulae, yuba, and lero all have counterparts in the French speaking countries (at least in name), and the large numbers of French planters - or more importantly, the slaves they brought with them - who fled the Haitian revolution to settle in Puerto Rico amongst other places were supposedly especially prevalent in the Mayaguez area. I'm thinking that the Bomba styles of the Mayaguez/Aguada/Aguadilla areas (and of course Santurce by extension) should reflect the strongest Haitian influence...
And to what degree do these styles represent any continuity with Dahomean culture, which exerted such a strong influence on Haiti, and from which many of those Haitian "refugees" would undoubtedly have been directly connected to...
Information on all this is elusive and contradictory, so I guess I'd appreciate any and all contributions... Or any and all contributions on Bomba history and development in general.

[kinoconga]

Oneeleven:

Banco Popular of Puerto Rico produced a special in 2002? called "Raicez". The special was dedicated to the "Bomba y Plena" musical gendre.
I beilieve that if you contact Banco Popular they can help you locate resources for the information you are interested in.

Sincerely,

KinoConga

[RitmoBoricua]

Just trying to compile some information on Bomba genres and their apparent connections to styles from the French speaking slave soceities, especially Haiti, Martinique, and New Orleans...
The imprint of the Anglo Carribean on popular Afro-Puerto Rican forms is substantial (e.g. Plena), especially going into the turn of the 19th Century, but the influence of French and French creole forms is much older and essential to the development of Puerto Rican culture... The immigration of French and Creole speaking people to Puerto Rico is obviously reflected in the common occurrence of French and French derived names in the Puerto Rican population - white as well as black.
To cut to the point, you can also see strong connections in some bomba genres to creole french forms; e.g. bambulae, yuba, and lero all have counterparts in the French speaking countries (at least in name), and the large numbers of French planters - or more importantly, the slaves they brought with them - who fled the Haitian revolution to settle in Puerto Rico amongst other places were supposedly especially prevalent in the Mayaguez area. I'm thinking that the Bomba styles of the Mayaguez/Aguada/Aguadilla areas (and of course Santurce by extension) should reflect the strongest Haitian influence...
And to what degree do these styles represent any continuity with Dahomean culture, which exerted such a strong influence on Haiti, and from which many of those Haitian "refugees" would undoubtedly have been directly connected to...
Information on all this is elusive and contradictory, so I guess I'd appreciate any and all contributions... Or any and all contributions on Bomba history and development in general.

Hi, in Haiti "Tumba Francesa" is a close relative of the "Bomba Boricua". A good example of the close relationship between the caribbean countries.

[zaragemca]

If we are talking about the concentration of the African in Puerto Rico we can't discount LOIZA which still have rooted decendants of that culture.

[Oneleven]

If we are talking about the concentration of the African in Puerto Rico we can't discount LOIZA which still have rooted decendants of that culture.

Well, Loiza is something of a different matter... My question was more specific as to the influence of Afro-French Creole cutures on Puerto Rico, and if their impact on the Mayaguez region would likely have a led to an even larger influence of "French" forms on La Bomba de Santurce...
For example, I know that whites reported styles called Bambulae and Yuba from both San Domingue and New Orleans during colonial times - and that shows an obvious and direct link - but do these share more than simply a name with Bomba genres?
And my general question was less about African influence than influences of specific African and Afro-American forms... That there's African influence is obvious, but from who and where and how? I've often heard that Bomba has a strong heritage from the Akan people of modern Ghana - the Fante.
Can anyone substantiate or elaborate this?
And what other cultures left overt imprints? Do "Holande'" and "Danua" refer to slaves/free blacks from the Danish and Dutch islands, or rather to contact with Dutch and Danish smugglers?

[tamboricua]

I've often heard that Bomba has a strong heritage from the Akan people of modern Ghana - the Fante.
Can anyone substantiate or elaborate this?

Hi Oneleven, hope all is well! You were right on target the word Bomba derived from the Akán or Ashanti native language arcaism Bombaa, and it does mean "tambor". These days the word bommaa is used instead.

Saludos,

Jorge Ginorio



Edited By tamboricua on Nov. 18 2003 at 17:08

[Oneleven]

I've often heard that Bomba has a strong heritage from the Akan people of modern Ghana - the Fante.
Can anyone substantiate or elaborate this?

Hi Oneleven, hope all is well! You were right on target the word Bomba derived from the Akán or Ashanti native language arcaism Bombaa, and it does mean "tambor". These days the word bommaa is used instead.

Wow... I didn't know about the link of the word Bomba to the Akan (but it makes alot of sense) - I just had heard that the music itself was heavily drawn from Fante and Asante traditions...
And I've also heard that "Bomba" was a creolization of a Congolese word "womba": meaning "to play the drum with your bare hand" this is what my maestro says... Anyone else ever heard of that?

[zaragemca]

Well it also have part of its roots in Mali(Africa) which also is link to what is called 'Socka' in Jamaica and 'Punta' in Honduras(which is connected with the Garifonas Tribe.This is part of my research and Percussion Instruction teaching.



Edited By zaragemca on Nov. 20 2003 at 15:31