Cumbia originated on
Colombia's Caribbean coast, from the musical and cultural fusion of Native
Colombians, slaves brought from Africa, and the Spanish,
during colonial times in the old country of Pocabuy, which
is located in Colombia's Momposina region.
Cumbia was
originally a courtship dance practised amongst Africans in freetimes, which
was later mixed with European instruments and musical characteristics. Cumbia
is very popular in the Andean region and the Southern Cone of South America. It continues to be more
popular than salsa in many parts of these regions. The slave
courtship rite, which featured dance prominently, was traditionally performed
with music played by pairs of men and women and with male and female dancers.
Women playfully waved their long skirts while holding a candle, and men danced
behind the women with one hand behind their back and the other hand either
holding a hat, putting it on, or taking it off in a playful manner. Male
dancers also carry a red handkerchief which we either wrap around our necks,
circularly wave in the air, or hold out for the women to hold. Until the
mid-20th century, Cumbia was considered by the moralistic catholicized, to be
an inappropriate dance performed primarily by the lower social classes.
The basic rhythm structure
is 2/4. Due to its origins, both African and New World Native influences can be
felt in Cumbia. In Colombia, Cumbia can be
played with a rhythm structure of 2/4 and 2/2, while in Mexico, it is also
played with a rhythm structure of 2/2, whereas in Panama, it may be
played with a rhythm structure of 2/4 and 6/8. There in Panama, the processes
that shaped the culture and idiosyncrasies of the Colombian Caribbean are the same;
through
three cultural aspects; hispanic, black and indigenous, dating through independence
from Spain until today, which has also occurred in the neighbouring
nations of the isthmus.
Researchers in the field wrote about its
appearance in the Colonial era. In the evenings, Creole families would gather
to recite poetry and perform music typical of Spain and other parts of
Europe. Other nights, they would bring their slaves to play their traditional
drums and dances. Amongst the favourite African dances was ‘El Punto’, which consisted of intrinsic, abdominal movements by
black women dancing alone. Another dance was the ‘Cumbia’. For this one, the couples advanced to the middle of the
room, both men and women, and gradually formed a circle of couples. The dance
step of the man was a kind of leap backwards as the woman slid forward carrying
a lit candle in her hand while a coloured handkerchief was also held.
It is mostly
asserted that cumbia's basic beat evolved from Guinean cumbé music. Additionally, this drumming rhythm can be found
in music of Yoruba (in the rhythm associated with the god
Obatalá), and in other musical traditions brought from west Africa. The Spanish
‘conquistadores’ used the ports of mainland South America to import African
slaves, who tried to preserve their musical traditions and also turned the
drumming and dances into a courtship ritual. Cumbia was mainly performed with
just drums and percussion.
The slaves were
later influenced by the sounds of New World instruments from the Kogui and Kuna tribes, who lived between the Sierra
Nevada de Santa Marta and the Montes de María in Colombia. Millo flutes, gaita flutes,
and the guacharaca (an instrument similar to the güiro)
were instruments borrowed from these New World groups. The interaction between
Africans and indigenes of the New World under the Spanish caste system created a mixture from which the gaitero (cumbia interpreter) appeared, with a
defined identity by the 1800s. The
European guitars were added later through Spanish influence. According to
legend, the accordion was added after a German cargo ship carrying the
instruments sank resulting in in salvaging of accordions washed ashore on the
northwest coast of Colombia. However, it's
more likely that German immigrants brought the instrument to Barranquilla in
the 19th century. The accordion has since been adopted by the musicians of cumbia. There are many variations and
style of this danceform, including ‘chacha’, ‘…sonidera’, ‘…villera’ and ‘chanchona’.
More recently,
another format has emerged under many creative guises, such as `technocumbia’,
‘digital cumbia’ or `nu-cumbia´, which can all be included in a global movement
of electronic music producers and disc jockeys such as Toy Selectah, Copia Doble
Systema, Frikstailers,
Cumbia Dub Club (CDC), Bomba Estereo, and El
Hijo de la Cumbia who’ve been mixing cumbia rhythms, samples with
electronic melodies. The style varies greatly, incorporating influences from
genres such as Dancehall, Hip-Hop, Reggaeton and Electronica, in general. Notable labels include Generation Bass, ZZK Records, Mad Decent, Terror Negro Records, Bersa Discos and UrbanWorld
Records.
For more detailed
research and dance instruction you may want to read some more from the
following links. Whatever your whim, it is here in South America where you may
catch the cumbia cultural collectives making a show of our more traditional
triplicate musical mixtures.
