Jamaican Yorubas
Jamaican Yorubas are descendants of 18-19th century indentured labourers from Benin republic and Nigeria. They identify themselves as the Nago people of Westmoreland, who also have links to the Etu people of Hanover.
Locale
[edit]The Nago people of Jamaica named their settlement in Westmoreland “Abeokuta”, after their hometown in modern day Nigeria. The related Etu people can be found in the Jamaican parish of Hanover, namely: Pell River, Cauldwell, Deanstown, and Kendal. The origin of the name Etu is not completely understood by researchers; through cultural similarities, they have been tied to the Nago.[1]
Religion and culture
[edit]The Etu and the Nago live just like other Jamaicans, but they have special food ceremonies for a number of events such as traditional weddings, funerals 30-40 days after a death, and dreams. The purpose of these food ceremonies - full of drumming, song, and dance - is said to be to seek guidance from their ancestors. [2]
The song and dance of the Nago and Etu have made a notable contribution to the colourful conglomeration of cultures that makes up jamaican music.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Logan, Wendell, and Marjorie Whylie. “Some Aspects of Religious Cult Music in Jamaica.” The Black Perspective in Music, vol. 10, no. 1, 1982, pp. 85–94. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1215000. Accessed 14 July 2025.
- ^ African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica (2023). "Etuu and Nago: African Retentions in Jamaica".
- ^ Backus, Leroy M. “An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Sources on Jamaican Music.” The Black Perspective in Music, vol. 8, no. 1, 1980, pp. 35–53. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1214520. Accessed 14 July 2025.