Myal is an

Afro-Jamaican Afro-Jamaicans are Jamaicans of predominant Sub-Saharan African descent. They represent the largest ethnic group in the country. Most Jamaicans of mixed-race descent self-report as just Jamaican. The ethnogenesis of the Black Jamaican people ste ...

spirituality. It developed via the

creolization Creolization is the process through which creole languages and cultures emerge. Creolization was first used by linguists to explain how contact languages become creole languages, but now scholars in other social sciences use the term to describe ne ...

of African religions during the slave era in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

. It incorporates ritualistic magic, spiritual possession and dancing. Unlike

Obeah Obeah, or Obayi, is an ancestrally inherited tradition of Akan witches of Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo and their descendants in the African diaspora of the Caribbean. Inheritors of the tradition are referred to as "obayifo" (Akan/Ghana-region ...

, its practices focus more on the connection of spirits with humans. Over time, Myal began to meld with Christian practices and created the religious tradition known as Revivalism.

History

Origin

The practice of Myal as a spirit possession originated in Jamaica. It derived from the

Kongo religion Kongo religion ( KiKongo: BuKongo) is a broad set of traditional beliefs from the KiKongo speaking peoples. The faith bases itself on a complex Animistic system and a Pantheon of various gods and spirits. The idea of a high god named Nzambi Mpu ...

. It was once theorized to be of

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan * Central Tano languages, a language group ...

origin, because of its popularity with Akan slaves. However, Myal was also popular with Kongo slaves. The centrality of spirit possession is a core component of both Myal and Kongo religion. This evidence suggests that Myal is more closely related to Kongo. Myalism resulted from the cooperation of ethnically diverse African slaves. The term "Myal" was first recorded by

Edward Long Edward Long (23 August 1734 – 13 March 1813) was an English-born British colonial administrator, slave owner and historian, and author of a highly controversial work, ''The History of Jamaica'' (1774). He was a polemic defender of slavery. Li ...

in 1774 when describing a ritual dance done by Jamaican slaves. At first, the practices of

and Myal were not distinguished. Over time, "Myal-men" involved in spirit possession became involved with Jamaican Native Baptist churches and incorporated Myal rituals into them. Over time, these Myal-influenced churches began preaching the importance of baptisms and the eradication of Obeah, thus separating the two traditions.

Christianization

After the abolition of slavery, conservative Christian churches began to lose followers to

Bedwardism Bedwardism, more properly the Jamaica Native Baptist Free Church, was a religious movement of Jamaica. Origins Bedwardism was founded in August Town, Saint Andrew Parish, in 1889 by Harrison "Shakespeare" Woods, an African-American emigrant to ...

and Myalist Native Baptist Churches. After 1814, the Myalist chapels started to become more visible. By the 1840s, many Congolese indentured laborers arrived in Jamaica where they revitalised Myal practices and the Kumina religion. Myal was generally tolerated by slave owners because of its stance against Obeah and its adoption of Christian elements. By the 1860s, Myal-based churches became referred to as "Revivalist" churches and were established as Baptist churches. From 1858 to 1859, a Christian revival swept Jamaica, adding energy to local religious life. Two branches of this revival, the 60 Order or Revival Zion and the 61 Order or Pocomania, emerged. Revival Zion adopted more orthodox Christian practices, while Pocomania continued more African practices. Myal as a separate religion is no longer practiced, its rituals can be found in Revivalism, Kumina, and Convince.

Practices

Early Myalist religion

Myalists honor a creator god and ancestor or African spirits. These spirits are invoked in Myal rituals. It holds that a human has two souls: the duppy, which departs the Earth after death, and the second spirit, which acts as the person's shadow and needs protection from evil. Under slavery, Myalists would ingest a mix of cold water and branched callaloo to induce an intoxicated state and then dance to commune with the spirits.

Revivalism

Most Revivalist faiths involve oral confessions, trances, dreams, prophesies, spirit seizures, and frenzied dancing. In Pocomania, male religious leaders are usually called "Shepherd", and in Revival Zion, the male leaders are called "Captain". Female leaders are generally called "mother".

References

{{Afro-American Religions Afro-American religion Afro-Jamaican culture Religion in Jamaica