pocomania

Pocomania is a Jamaican Afro-Caribbean syncretic religious movement that blends elements of West African spiritual traditions with Christian beliefs and practices introduced during European colonization. It developed among enslaved Africans and their descendants in the Caribbean and has persisted in Jamaica and related Caribbean communities, preserving distinctive ritual forms while overlapping with other African diaspora religions such as Kumina and Obeah.

Ritual life centers on music, dance, and trance. Participants drum, chant, and sing in call-and-response patterns, often led by a ritual conductor who directs the proceedings. Spirit possession—by saints, ancestors, or other entities—is a common feature, with healings, prophecies, and protective rites enacted through ritual drama and exorcism. Purification and cleansing rites, sometimes including fasting, accompany ceremonies. Ceremonies may involve water rites such as baptism or immersion, and processions to rivers or the sea. Herbal remedies, amulets, and other traditional practices accompany the liturgy.

Historically, pocomania has been viewed with suspicion or hostility by colonial authorities and some Christian denominations, leading to suppression or regulation in various periods. Despite pressure and marginalization, the movement persisted, adapting to changing social conditions. In contemporary contexts, pocomania remains part of Jamaica’s religious landscape and has echoes in Caribbean diaspora communities, where its practices mingle with Pentecostal, Baptist, and other Christian forms while retaining distinctive Afro-Caribbean elements.