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“The aftermath of the Haitian revolution also gave rise to black cabildos throughout Cuba and Puerto Rico. Cabildos were homogeneous African ethnic groups that, like Spanish guilds or associations, operated as mutual aid societies or lodges. Thinking that increased factionalism among enslaved Africans would reduce the danger faced by outnumbered whites these cabildos were tolerated. On the contrary, however, as cabildos grew in size, they began to consolidate multiple African groups—solidifying African culture on the islands.
African cabildos conserved several conserved several African languages, ritual practices, belief systems, dances, songs and chants, instruments, and instrument making techniques—all of which are still found today in both Cuba and Puerto Rico. They contributed to the refinement of certain African dance and music concepts in the Americas—such as: that music and dance are not primarily entertainment forms; the music and dance are interdependent; that their structures utilize both set and improvisational elements; that complexity and depth are built by the layering and interfacing of small, simple, diverse units; that the human body is paramount—all of which play a major role in the musical foundations of mani, calinda, cocobalé, and cocolembe.”
-Miguel Quijano & Miguel Machado, El Juego de Mani & Cocobalé in The Book of the Stick, part 4
