Meaning
An Afro-Jamaican drumming tradition of West African descent, played on three drums (bass, funde/middle, and the lead 'repeater'). Historically a music of Christmas masquerade and of welcoming men home from prison, burru survived in Kingston's poorer districts and passed its drums and rhythms directly into Rastafari Nyabinghi drumming and, from there, into the pulse of ska and reggae.
Examples
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Burru drumming feed straight inna Nyabinghi.
Burru drumming fed straight into Nyabinghi.
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Di burru man dem drum fi welcome him home.
The burru drummers played to welcome him home.
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Three drum carry di burru rhythm.
Three drums carry the burru rhythm.
Origin
Of West African origin; a Kingston drumming tradition that shaped Rastafari Nyabinghi drumming and Jamaican popular music. See [[nyabinghi]].
How it’s used
An Afro-Jamaican three-drum tradition; a direct root of Nyabinghi and reggae rhythm. See [[nyabinghi]], [[mento]], [[kumina]].