It is well known that Jamaica has a rich cultural heritage inclusive of our music, songs and dances, our speech, food, our prowess in track and field and our pleasant disposition and caring nature.

The Jamaican culture is also exemplified in our artwork, ceramics and paintings, and even in our adherence to Christianity and the Rastafarian faith.

In its simplest form of definition, culture represents the way of life of a people. It represents practices which have been maintained and preserved throughout the ages, passing from one generation to the next. Young people are also a part of this endeavour to preserve this heritage.

It is true that not many of us stop and question some of these practices, which have been passed down to us as culture. We simply fall in line and follow suit. This is especially of fundamental importance when dealing with young, impressionable people.

I make specific mention here to an incident which took place on Thursday, September 19, this year at the St Thomas Technical High School.

According to reports, a group of students were in a Religious Education class which was dealing with kumina, an ancestral ritual dance. It was reported that shortly after the boys started beating the drums, one female student fell to the ground and went into what was described as a trance. Soon other, students became affected and also fell to the ground. There were also others, it was further reported, who went over to the principal's office and started banging on the windows and door. Some parents who became aware of the situation and came to collect their children were also said to be affected.

The question to be asked is what really happened here? The general consensus seemed to be that persons were of the opinion that these students must have come into contact with spirits, and based on how they were behaving the conclusion was that these were evil spirits.

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites said there appeared to have been a health issue at the institution and the matter was being investigated.

This initial diagnosis might have been correct for the way the students were behaving, contorting and making weird sounds would point to some health issue. So what really took place in this situation? Could it be that this kumina, long held as part of our culture, actually serves to facilitate evil spirits? One parent was said to have commented: "Di govament nuh andastan sey peple nuh sen dem pickney goh a school fi duppy goh lick dem."

Perhaps the education ministry should hire Bishop Joseph Adegold as a consultant to assist with this investigation. Similar incidents have happened before and the general public is still left in the dark.

In fact, in this very space on February 4, 2008 in an article entitled: "The lightness of the dark" I made reference to a similar incident which took place at one of our universities.

In that incident, students were told by their lecturer to compose a rhythm for a dance. One set of students chose the drum as the instrument on which to make their rhythm.

At the height of the drumming one young lady fell to the ground writhing and foaming and uttering inaudible sounds. The lecturer on seeing what was taking place grabbed the drum and started to play a 'reverse rhythm' on it. Then the young lady slowly but surely came back to full consciousness.

This shows that some academics are knowledgeable about what happened, but the general public seems to be confused. Is some form of drumming a danger to your health and well-being? Should we continue to include kumina in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's activities and in our schools? Do we have sufficient knowledge of occurrences like what happened in the St Thomas Technical High School saga?

These are pertinent questions that need to be answered. Perhaps the Ministry of Education should make its findings into this matter public.

Questions, comments, observations? You can email me at elgin1225@yahoo.co.uk