Spiritual Healing has always been central to Indo-Caribbean faith traditions, and nowhere is this more alive than in the rhythms of drums, the cadence of chants, and the hypnotic pull of devotional song. For many communities scattered across the Caribbean and its diaspora, music isn’t just background noise — it’s medicine, prayer, and cultural glue, stitched together in sound.
From temple yards in Trinidad to living rooms in London, the beats of tassa drums, the steady rhythm of dholak, and the melodic swing of bhajans carry with them more than just entertainment. They act as spiritual conduits — bridging ancestors with the present, offering strength during hardship, and infusing joy in celebration. And if you’ve ever sat close enough to a drum during a jhandi or puja, you’ll know: those vibrations don’t just move the air; they move something deep inside you too.
The Healing Power of Rhythm
In Indo-Caribbean culture, drumming isn’t just about keeping time — it’s about keeping spirit. The tassa drum, often heard at weddings, Hosay processions, and temple festivals, is renowned for its ability to lift moods, channel energy, and draw communities together. Yet beyond its social role, many believe the soundwaves themselves have healing qualities. The vibrations resonate through the body, encouraging relaxation, focus, and release.
Traditional healers and spiritual leaders across the Caribbean have long employed drumming as a means to induce altered states of awareness. During pujas, the rhythmic repetition of drumming and chanting can ease mental burdens, draw out negative energy, and heighten feelings of connection with the divine. Call it sound therapy, ancestral memory, or simply the joy of rhythm — the effect is undeniable.
Music as Devotion
While drumming grounds the body, bhajans (devotional songs) lift the spirit. Passed down from generations of indentured Indians who carried their faith across the kala pani (dark waters), bhajans evolved in Caribbean soil, mixing Bhojpuri folk styles with local cadence. Sung in Hindi, Bhojpuri, or sometimes a Caribbean-English blend, these songs are prayers in melodic form.
A harmonium note, a tabla beat, voices joining together in chorus — the experience is deeply communal. Whether in mandirs, open-air jhandis, or casual gatherings, the act of singing bhajans is a reminder: you are not alone in your struggles or your joys. For devotees, this shared music becomes a form of healing, one that soothes the heart even before the mind has found words for its troubles.
Drumming and Trance in Rituals
Certain Indo-Caribbean rituals, particularly within Kali worship or Madrassi pujas, rely heavily on drumming to induce trance states. Here, drumming is not decoration — it’s the main event. The repetitive, insistent beat helps devotees move into spiritual states where healing, possession, or messages from the divine can occur.
In these spaces, drums do what doctors sometimes cannot: they quiet the chattering mind, unlock deep emotions, and create a channel for release. The spiritual healing here isn’t metaphorical; it is felt in the body, witnessed in the ritual, and honoured as divine intervention.
A Meeting of Indian and Caribbean Rhythms
One of the most fascinating aspects of Indo-Caribbean music is its ability to blend traditions. African-Caribbean drumming and Indian drumming have long been in dialogue, especially in multicultural spaces like Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname. Tassa, for instance, evolved in close contact with African percussive styles, creating something uniquely Caribbean.
This fusion means spiritual healing in the Indo-Caribbean sense is never static. It evolves, absorbs, and reshapes. Today, the sound of tassa might sit beside steelpan, reggae beats might blend with bhajan melodies, and dholak rhythms might underpin a chutney gospel tune. The shared heartbeat of rhythm reminds us that healing doesn’t have to be locked in one tradition — it thrives in cultural exchange.
Diaspora Devotion: From Port of Spain to Peckham
For the Indo-Caribbean diaspora in the UK, Canada, and the US, music and drumming remain anchors to identity and faith. In London’s Peckham or Southall, weekend satsangs and temple nights echo with familiar sounds — tassa for weddings, bhajans for Navratri, kirtan for Sunday services. These rituals, adapted for city life, keep traditions alive while also offering a sense of healing for the challenges of migration, displacement, and identity.
For second and third generations, music becomes a way to connect with heritage without always speaking the languages of their grandparents. The beat of the drum or the sound of a chorus is enough to ignite belonging. It is cultural memory set to rhythm.
Spiritual Healing Beyond Religion
It’s worth noting that while rooted in Hindu and Madrassi practices, the role of music in healing has crossed religious boundaries in the Caribbean. Christian revivalist movements, Spiritual Baptist churches, and Rastafarian gatherings all share a belief in the power of rhythm and chant. The Indo-Caribbean use of drumming as spiritual healing finds resonance in these traditions, showing that the human need for sound as medicine is universal.
Today, music therapy is a recognised field, but Caribbean communities have been practising it informally for centuries. For them, the tassa player or bhajan singer was both entertainer and healer, long before therapists put a clinical name to the act.
Instruments that Carry Healing
- Tassa: Loud, celebratory, and capable of stirring entire crowds into movement.
- Dholak: The heartbeat of bhajans and chutney, grounding voices in steady rhythm.
- Harmonium: Gentle yet commanding, the melodic anchor of many devotional gatherings.
- Jhaal (cymbals): Tiny instruments, big impact — used to punctuate chants and uplift energy.
- Steelpan (in fusion settings): A reminder that Caribbean identity is layered, blending traditions to create harmony.
Each of these instruments plays its part in the wider symphony of spiritual healing, reminding us that music is both a tool and a tradition.
Why Sound Still Matters Today?
In 2025, with mindfulness apps and streaming playlists promising instant calm, it might be tempting to dismiss traditional drumming and chanting as old-fashioned. But there’s a difference between passively listening to a track and feeling the vibrations of a live drum in a crowded mandir or family yard. The latter is communal, embodied, and rooted in generations of meaning.
At a time when stress, anxiety, and cultural disconnection are rampant, Indo-Caribbean spiritual practices remind us that healing doesn’t need to come from something new — sometimes it’s already in our culture, waiting to be reclaimed.
Closing Beat: The Drum as Healer
From tassa’s thunder to the soft hum of a harmonium, music has always been more than entertainment in Indo-Caribbean life — it is medicine for the soul. It heals wounds of migration, provides comfort in ritual, and bridges the old with the new. Whether in the heart of Trinidad or the suburbs of London, Indo-Caribbean communities continue to find strength and solace in rhythm and song.
So, the next time you hear a tassa drum or a bhajan chorus, don’t just listen with your ears — listen with your whole self. You might just feel the healing, too. And if you want to keep exploring the rhythms, flavours, and stories of Indo-Caribbean culture, follow CurryBien — your space for stories that honour heritage and keep the connections alive.
