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Intangible Heritage of Limón
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the Afro-Limonese identity and culture” led calypso to become an “outstanding expression of Costa Rica’s Afrodescendant intangible cultural heritage”, which is why it was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Costa Rica by decree in 2012.
2. El sinkit
Sinkit is a musical expression linked to carnival troupes. The term probably derives from rhythms brought by Afro-Antillean immigrants from St. Kitts and Nevis, who arrived in Costa Rica at the end of the 19th century. Sinkit is a type of music originally played on three types of drums: the repeater, the fundé and the bass drum. This type of music has been lost since the incorporation of new styles and foreign concepts in the Limón Carnival, starting in the 1970s, although some sinkit bands persist in Limón, mainly in the neighborhood of Cieneguita.
3. Amerindian music
Amerindian music was above all of a utilitarian nature, that is to say, it fulfilled a specific function, in its case especially religious: it was used above all to accompany ceremonies and dances dedicated to this or that deity, for example, “Sibö”, the highest Bribri god, or “Cha Cónhe” for the Maleku. Even dance music, typical of feasts and celebrations, is included
in this category because such festivities were usually associated with religious
worship.
Although no “professional” musicians are known to have existed (in the sense that their sole occupation was music), music can be thought to have been a profession, with a kind
of musicians’ guild (in the sense
of a select and specially trained group), with apprentices, masters, and one or two principal musicians.
Teaching was individual, with a master in charge of an apprentice, who was basically taught the mastery of his instrument and the melodies to be used in the ceremonies. More is known about their instruments, although here it must be said that historical memory is preserved especially through instruments whose constitution and materials have managed to survive the decay of time.
Meza Sandoval, Gerardo (2013).
«Acerca del cancionero limonense».
Rev. Ístmica (Heredia, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica) (16): 59-68. ISSN 1023-0890.
Consultado el 29 de mayo de 2019.
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