Cimarrón Spirit: Afro-Dominican Maroon Culture

Streaming video - 2015

In the Dominican Republic, as early as 1512, African slaves escaped from Spanish plantations and lived with the island’s Taíno Indians or on their own in mountainous jungles in the remote frontier land of Hispaniola. These people who were known as “cimarrones,” meaning “maroons,” created their own independent communities that have survived for centuries and until recently remained isolated from mainstream Dominican society. These resilient and resourceful “outlaws” have long developed their own celebrations, many of which mock a society that enslaved and branded them. Our documentary examines cimarrón syncretic cultural celebrations and beliefs that are full of magic, fantasy and popular religiosity. We travel the cimarrón ...regions of the Dominican Republic, near the cities of Elias Piña and Barahona, looking for Dominican Gagá troops and Haitian Rara bands. Traditionally separated by national borders, these religion-based musical forms are beginning to coincide. _Cimarrón Spirit_ explores carnival traditions such as the ritualistic fire burning of the masks and costumes of “Judas,” “Cocorícamo,” and “Tifúas,” as figures important to the cimarrón culture of Elias Piña. We also document the similar yet unique ritualistic practices around the figure of “Las Cachuas de Cabral” in the region of Barahona, and the popular “Los Negros de La Joya” and “El Peje” that so much reflect cimarrón communal behaviors and beliefs.

Saved in:
Subjects
Genres
Documentary films
Published
[San Francisco, California, USA] : Ruben Duran 2015.
2019.
Language
English
Other Authors
Ruben Duran (film director)
Online Access
A Kanopy streaming video
Cover Image
Item Description
Title from title frames.
Film
In Process Record.
Physical Description
1 online resource (streaming video file) (53 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Format
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Access
AVAILABLE FOR USE ONLY BY IOWA CITY AND RESIDENTS OF THE CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS OF JOHNSON COUNTY, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, HILLS, AND LONE TREE (IA).