Gombey

The Gombey is an iconic symbol of Bermuda, a unique performance art full of colorful and intricate masquerade, dance and drumming.

In an article from The Royal Gazette newspaper posted on January 10, 1831, a reward is being offered for the return of two slaves by the names of Ajax and Mentor who: "[w]ent off without a cause at Christmas, following that Idolatrous procession the Gumba.

[3] The word "Gombey" is related to the Bahamian "Goombay", a similar musical tradition (though lacking costume and dance elements).

In Bermuda, Gombeys are seen more as dancers than musicians, with ritualised costumes, accoutrements and steps, whereas in the West Indies the term applies to a musical tradition, not normally accompanied by dance.

[4] This was understood from the written record, and confirmed in 2009 by a genetic survey, which looked exclusively at the black (or, rather, "mixed race") population of St. David's Island (as the purpose of the study was to seek Native American haplogroups, which could be assumed to be absent from the white population) that consequently showed that the African ancestry of black Bermudians (other than those resulting from recent immigration from the British West Indian islands) is largely from a band across southern Africa, from Angola to Mozambique, which is similar to what is revealed in Latin America, but distinctly different from the blacks of the British West Indies and the United States.

[5] 68% of the mtDNA (maternal) lineages of the black islanders were found to be African, with the two most common being L0a and L3e, which are sourced from populations spread from Central-West to South-East Africa.

Over time, the blacks, Native Americans, Irish and some of the English merged to form a single demographic, originally referred to as "coloured" (leaving Bermuda divided into two subgroups, with those presumed to be of entirely European heritage defined as "white").

[2] Gombey's costumes cover their bodies from head to toe and are decorated with tassels, mirrors, bells, and other small items and symbols.

[2] In February 2000, the Smithsonian Institution conducted training in folklife fieldwork for Bermuda-based researchers to prepare them to survey the cultural traditions of the island.

They completely besieged my room, which opens on the garden, so that I was forced to remain a close prisoner, and listen to their rude songs, which I should fancy must be very like the wild yelling scream that we read of in African travels.

How much would the diffusion of true christian principles do for these poor people, by teaching them the real nature of rejoicing, and the folly of all these superstitious festivities.

The most famous Gombey parties are those of Hamilton and Hearne Bay ; they were preceded by really tolerable bands, composed of negroes dressed in a neat white uniform with scarlet facings.

It is expected that in the future additional documentaries will be made to supersede this one, maintaining historical records of the shifting culture in Bermuda over the years.

A Gombey Festival is held annually to provide continued exposure to the folk art traditions of this important cultural heritage.