Fi Wi Sinting Festival
Photography by Collin Porter
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| Country and Region | Jamaica — Portland |
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| Type of Festival | Drama, Music |
| Location of Festival | Somerset Falls, Hope Bay, Portland, Jamiaca |
| Festival Contact Information | Email: info@fiwisinting.com |
| Festival Description | The festival that celebrates African culture with music, poetry, storytelling, drumming, an African marketplace, Ancestral raft, natural foods and juices. The Festival began in 1991 as a fundraiser for the Content Model School located in deep rural Portland in the tiny community of Content which was without running water or electricity. The Festival created a venue to showcase the students’ talent—Fi Wi Sinting provided that and became an annual event which provided desperately needed funding for the school. The community benefited greatly as they were able to set up booths, earning from selling refreshments and fruits. At first it was mostly community members, those from adjoining districts and the attendance of specially invited guests. As word got out, people from all corners of Jamaica, braved the almost impassable Content road and the climb up the steep hillside to celebrate the African heritage in our culture. Increasingly tourists started attending, fascinated by the opportunity to see and participate in our culture. 2010 marked the 20th anniversary of Fi Wi Sinting. |
| Festival Dates | February 17, 2013 |
| Festival Links |
Festival Events:
African cultural performances:
- Jonkunu (John Canoe) a Jamaican traditional dance of African origin;
- Kumina is the most African of our music forms. Brought to the island by indentured servants from the Congo after the abolition of slavery it is mostly practiced in the parishes of Portland & St Thomas.
- Mento is the original folk music created by Jamaicans using instruments of the plantation owners, their own handmade instruments and by adding their own tempo. Instruments range from saxophones, flutes, bamboo fifes, PVC pipes, banjos, violins, bamboo fiddles, guitars, rhumba boxes double basses, rhythm sticks, shakkas and drums played with both sticks and hands.
Other Sources:
Social networks:
- Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/events/567758396573143/ - Twitter
https://twitter.com/FiWiSinting2013
Videos:
- FI WI SINTING promo 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GKv5cgtW9U
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