Revivalism Essay

Revivalism is an authentic Afro-Christian spi ritual folk engineer that evolved during the eighteenth to nineteenth century. Initially, it was the native Baptist Christians who joined forces with the Moravians, and new(prenominal) non-conformist churches to be obtain the forerunners of the faeces. However, Jamaica was said to have experienced a religious jauntment called the Great Revival in 1861, which axiom the incorporation of much more than(prenominal)(prenominal) African retention in the movement. Pocomania is more African in form period Zion is more Christian oriented. 1Upon preparing to embark this tour, I was a irregular disgruntled that I had to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to go this Watt Town excursion, save I still approached with a sensory(a) mind, though I had an idea of what to expect, fancying that I was already acquainted with quite a few Revivalists. Hvirtuosostly I expect it to be a waste of time, alone upon seeing the fellowship of my friends, while waiting on the bus topologyes which were scheduled to take us on our journey it got easier and easier, we engaged in jokes and hymns we swore were Revivalist hymns but Mr. Grey quickly impoverished our bubble and told us that those hymns were Pentecostal.We were greeted by a semi-pleasant but slow bus driver, but the vibe in our bus quickly took our minds off the length of the journey. I view Revivalists as highly religious people who atomic number 18 in tune with spirits with from various realms, known as Heaven, ground and Ground spirit realms, I met with a drove of different Revivalists, but what I found rather interesting was the fact that the core of what they were look were similar but they were also m all subtle differences, For example I met with a man, whose name is Joseph Whitter, of the Olivette Seventh day church. nd he seemed to be quite respected in the church community, he blatantly tell at the beginning of the conversation that, Revivalism is t he only way to be deliver, we had a long drawn reveal discussion on what ar my personal views on religion and the opening statement he made, where I told him that I strongly disagree with that statement and I confide that at that place is only one beau ideal and peace and love is the ultimate goal, which e genuinelyone should probe to achieve, no matter what religion one identifies with.I then met with Miss. Barbara harper of the same church, Olivette Seventh day church, and she stated that people should go to any church they want to go to and do anything that is truly pleasing to God, when I mentioned what her church brother thought nigh the same thing, she said that thither is no one way to fasten to heaven and that people perish more of their time in competition with other denominations and religions rather than crowing praises to the most high.I laughed a bit and I was in heart and soul agreement with her statement. We then started to talk about her life, and how she was before she identified that Revivalism was for her, I could see that the movement actually helped her and improved her life, before moving on I thanked her for being so honest and reasoning with me, telling her that I would listen to her talk any day for she had a liberal and open mind and I absolutely hated radical minded people, who pass judgment to force their doctrines and beliefs down peoples throats.When we finally arrived at Watt Town, after our excess long journey I had no idea of what I was about to witness, the site was like nonhing I had seen before, I was greeted by what had seemed to be hundreds of people, I discovered that Watt Town was having what had seemed like an inter -church convention. I saw children from various schools and young adults like our selves there to see this feat. unrivaled of the first things I find about the Revivalists was they were wearing different uniforms in different styles and colours, I wondered and asked why were they dressed like this and a gentle lady told me that each church was make uped by different uniforms. The sealskin is the focal point of the church this is where the angels are commitd to manifest themselves. This is the most saintly area of the ground and is a welcoming tool.The seal is a prevailing feature in all evangelist churches because the seal encourages spirits which come and possess the members, enabling them to carry out their works of healing and reverence. It is counsel that one should walk approximately the seal three times to bear respect to the Tribune God. Some seals can be seen with silver coins in them, this is recompense to the spirits for their help. The flags and banners we saw at the front play a very important role in the revivalism. A tall pole usually marks a revival ground.The flags on the pole are apply to attack passing spirits, the attraction of spirits is very important to revivalism because they believe in many spirits and that they can be appeased or s ummoned to supporter in their day-to-day lives. Each banner has its own purpose. Green substance anything of nature, Blue and white means peace, pink love and red stands for the neckcloth of Jesus. Upon venturing to the top of the structure, nearly pebbles started to rain from a roof top, some smash my chair, not understanding anything about what was going on yet, I didnt take kindly to this, that conf employ me a bit more than I already was.When a group of us finally got to the top we noticed the different worship circles/prayer group, and I was pleased by some as I saw some circles which were mixed with members of different churches, this showed me that superciliousness was not an issue and did not hinder worship, and the main goal, magnifying the most high, I stood in amazement right next to two worship circles and I heard various choruses, some I had heard before, some I had not, I was familiar with songs such as Madda de great stone got to move and Rock oh Rock beatifie d, rock oh Rock holy.Being a musician I enjoyed this aspect of the excursion, identifying the keys and the chord progressions that would go with their simple but effective melodies. I noticed that even though their uniforms were different, they had many things in common, I noticed that many of them had head wraps with various pieces of stationery in the wraps, I laughed at this sight because I thought they were taking notes or something, but as I went on and I learned more I discovered that the pencils, rulers and scissors that I saw resting in their head wraps had special significance.The pencils and rulers signifies healing among the fol starts, the scissors were carried around by a circumstantial set of people, known as the healers, who use the scissors to literally put down evil from around the persons being healed, as demonstrated to us by a young man named Otis. A few of the Revivalists were also seen carrying around a meter ruler, this was crumplen to people who had been l iving a right life and who were slated to be married.We saw some people washing their reflection with sugar water, this was said to bring clearance and purity, the prayer shawl was said to represent the Tribe of Judah, as we learned that, like the Rastafarians there was a lot of African roots in Revivalism also, and they used red green and fortunate to identify with Ethiopia and Ghana. When I inquired about a lamp I saw an antique woman carrying around, she said that the lamp also represents healing and spiritual light because gospelers go intot walk in the darkness. These healing symbols were brought from Africa with the slaves and became an integral part of the revivalist healing services.As a result the present day revivalist has maintained the practice. I asked some Revivalists of their actual occupations and from the replies I found out that they were either day workers, higglers or fishermen, (more than likely belonging to the lower class) I saw that this must have contr ibuted to the scornful treatment by mainstream and midway/upper class Christians, They consider them to be highly superstitious, pagan, primitive and mirthful in ritual behaviors especially when they suspect them of practicing obeah. The disdain heaped on the lower class involved in revivalism can be traced to colonialism.Stratification was technical on the plantation not only from the perspective of whites to none whites or but also among the blacks. The free slave felt himself above the kin slave who felt they were superior to the field slaves and there was further stratification in that group depending on the gang to which they belong. Seaga, in his writings in the 1980s explained that Revivalism also has different levels within its structure. There is the Leader who is the profound figure of importance below the leader are the armour bearer, ward boy and mother.The leader is never usually questioned on the reason for ritual observances. The ritualistic forms of Revivalism takes three major forms such as prayer meeting, roadway meeting and rituals for specific purposes for example tables, altars and baths. The meetings are usually opened to the public. Revivalism is change integrity into two groups, Zion and Pocomania, Pocomania is more African in form while Zion is more Christian oriented. they are referred to as 2 different spiritual groups the 60 and 61, the 60 spirit (Zion) are persons who believe in only one God, the Heavenly spirits, archangels, saints and angels. ho are viewed as firmly rooted and attached Christian. The 61 (Pocomania) spirit comprises of individuals who take commands from earth-bound spirits are the Fallen Angels (satanic powers), from God and from The Ground spirits are those of the human dead that are not biblically mentioned. I noticed that the people of the 60 spirit, look down the 61 in a way which gave me a feeling of segregation amid both of the groups. I noticed that like other Christians, Revivalists also go on fa sting sessions but they cant just get up and fast they have to be ordered by the holy spirit.Also apart a Revivalists culture includes heavy usage of flowers they believe that when you place the flowers in water and go to sleep you dream see your future, whether it brings destruction or fortune. Some of my views on Revivalists were different after the trip, antecedently I thought that, Revivalists only went to church like other Christians and the worship was similar but I was mistaken, I also thought that they used instruments but I discovered that their bodies were their instruments, stomping and grunting to help them keep time and to add percussive sounds.In my opinion the greatest gift Revivalists can give to the Jamaican culture, is their sense of unity, having being bashed for many many years, I saw that these people remained strong and stood firm for what they believe. That is what many religions and people of Jamaica need to blend through good times and bad, this was what I took away from the journey, and if I didnt take anything else, I was glad I took this quality from the Revivalists, unity is specialisation and they will forever be a constant reminder of that value.