Revivalism: a misunderstood folk religion - Part II

Revivalism is a folk religion in Jamaica that evolved from the Great Revival of the early 1860s as a syncretism of African spirituality and European religiosity. It is replete with symbolism, which is significantly misunderstood by even some practitioners, and thus Revival symbols/icons are regarded with much disdain, and considered in many circles to be emblematic of witchcraft working and demon-worshipping.

This negative attitude towards a religion that is practised mainly by people whose ancestors were brought over from Africa to work on plantations during the brutal system of slavery was planted and nurtured by members of the plantocracy who did not understand what enslaved people, who came over only with their memories, were doing.

Even the drums, that were created locally, were banned at one point.

In Africa, before the arrival of Europeans, people did know about the salvation messages of European religions of which Jesus was at the centre. African people were deeply spiritual, having a strong relationship with nature and the spirits of their departed relatives and associates. Everything, including animate and inanimate objects, in their world, has spiritual, personal and communal meaning. Europeans did not understand the importance of individual and ritualistic objects, and thus regarded them as fetishes, idols, charms, embedded with evil powers.

It is this misunderstanding that led to an irrational contempt for African rituals and their banishment from the plantations. The enslaved, nevertheless, clandestinely carried out their rituals. Unfortunately, some of the enslaved and their descendants were convinced by their masters and former masters that their spiritual practices were vile and evil.

So, when the emancipated Africans merged their symbols and practices with European ones to create a new and different worship space, the established churches vigorously objected.

“Many Christian churches, however, did not take a liking to this syncretic practice of incorporating Christianity as part of this spiritual tapestry, and, as such, the movement was labelled as demonic, uncivilised and a cult which contributes to mental instability. This resulted in pejorative terms such as ‘Pocomania’, [translated as “a little madness” in Spanish],” the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank records in its catalogue for its current exhibition, ‘Journeying Revival Iconography’.

“The association of madness with Revivalism has resulted in the recommendation of Dr J. W. N. Hudson to the Jamaican parliament, which for the prohibition of Revival practices in the island. At the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s headquarters in Kingston, the inspector for Westmoreland reported in the minutes addressed to the colonial secretary on July 9, 1930, calling for the banning of Revival practices based on the belief that Revival was contributing to mental insanity among the population.”

And, several decades after 1930, many Jamaicans are still bitterly against Revival spiritual practices and the objects that are used within.“They are wary and afraid of it, because of ignorance, lack of adequate information,” Georgette McGlashen-Miller, the fellow at the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank, said in a recent discussion with Family and Religion.

Writing in Jamaica Journal Vol 32 No.1-2 about his Revival experience in a Kingston inner-city community, Edward Seaga, former Revivalism researcher and prime minister of Jamaica, says, “Our knowledge of ourselves is being trapped in ignorance for lack of communication.”

There is indeed a high level of ignorance of Revivalism, especially about the icons. These are not arbitrary objects, but emblems that convey a plethora of messages for a variety of purposes, such as healing and cleansing. They are objects with which there are deep ancestral, spiritual, mental, psychological and emotional connections.

In her address for the recent launch of the Journeying Revival Iconography, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange writes, “The question of who we are as a people is partially addressed through the seals, photographs, items of dress, tables, musical instruments, sounds, colours, and herbs/plants/spices found in this exhibition. Journeying Revival Iconography offers visitors an opportunity to learn, understand and appreciate the relationship between the material and non-material worlds of Revivalists.”

POWER OF SYMBOLISM

In the aforementioned Jamaica Journal, Seaga also writes “Rural or urban, these facets of life were transposed experiences of Mother Africa diluted by the exigencies of conformity to the modern demands of making a living and finding acceptance in the order of society.”

People find acceptance in the Revival church space where they can use and wear objects that others will not view with suspicion. It is self-liberation, self-determination and self-empowerment at the highest level, qualities that critics, doubters, haters, persecutors, et al, themselves might not have.

Through the objects, they express themselves without strictures, chains and censure, telling their own narratives of joys and sorrows, success and failures, betrayal and rejection, hope and faith.

In all of this, there is encoding and decoding, perception and feedback. What are the messages the Revival table, ritual gowns, turbans, banners and flags, brooms, water, basins, cutlery, drums, spirit writing, Revival seals, herbs, scissors, tape measures, etc, convey? For example, “The water seal showcased in the Journeying Revival Iconography exhibition serves as a profound symbol within Revivalism, embodying the central theme of healing.”

In his article, The Revival Table: Feasting with the Ancestors, published in the aforementioned journal, Revivalism researcher Professor Clinton says, “The ritual feeding of the ancestors and ancestral gods is, in some respects, quite pervasive and central to the way that many people in the African diaspora make sense of their existential reality and sense of self.”

The Revival table is a significant icon in Revivalism. The objects thereon are not merely for show; they encapsulate the significance and power of symbolism in Revivalism, and the embracing, rather than the fear, of self.