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Benna (genre)
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Benna (alternatively spelled bennah, or called ditti) is a genre of Antiguan and Barbudan music.
Benna is a calypso-like genre, characterized by scandalous gossip and a call-and-response format. It first appeared during slavery, and became a form of folk communication in the early 20th century, and it spread local news across the islands.[1] John Quarkoo was a singer who used the genre to criticize oppressors of black people. It was the main genre of non-religious music in the region until the 1950s, after which was replaced by the popularity of Trinidad calypso.[2]
Singing Benna is referenced three times in the short story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid published in the New Yorker Magazine June 19, 1978.
- ^ McDaniel, Lorna (1999). "Antigua and Barbuda". Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol. 2. pp. 798–800. ISBN 0-8153-1865-0.
- ^ Nevins,Debbie (2021). Antigua and Barbuda. Cavendish Square Publishing. pp. 107–108. ISBN 9781502662750.
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