Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean sea south of America. It is famous to the world at large as the country of singer Bob Marley, reggae music and the Rastafarians. Despite that most Jamaicans are not Rastafarians.
The British took Jamaica from the Spanish in 1655 to grow sugar, making it one of the sugar islands worked by black slaves.
Jamaica now makes a living mainly from the beautiful white sands along the blue sea on the north coast where North Americans, Britons and others come on holiday. Since Jamaica lies in the tropics, it is like summer all year round. The places where visitors come to stay, eat and enjoy themselves charge high North American prices but pay their workers a low Jamaican wage. The owners keep the difference.
Money also comes in from Jamaicans working overseas who send money home to their families.
Since the middle 1900s, many have moved overseas, especially to Britain, America and Canada. Among them are the parents of Colin Powell and Naomi Campbell. Jamaica has good schools but it is still a poor country. Of those with a university degree, three in four have left the island.
In Jamaica the rates of murder and out-of-wedlock births are far higher than in America. Crime in Jamaica has been getting worse over the years. New York City is now safer than Jamaica.
Jamaicans come mainly from the Guinea coast in West Africa, especially from what is now known as Ghana and Nigeria. The British brought them to Jamaica to work as slaves for the sugar planters. Some of the slaves ran away to live as free men in the mountains. They are called the Maroons. In 1838 the British freed all the slaves.
Jamaica was part of the British Empire for over 300 years, from 1655 to 1962. It was one of the islands of the British West Indies, which broke up into separate countries in the 1960s.
Jamaicans speak English, but on the island it comes in two forms:
- British English – and, increasingly, American English – that everyone learns in school. It is the main form of English used by the rich and well-to-do.
- Jamaican patois that most people speak. It uses English words (with dropped h’s) with some West African words thrown in, but the word order and ways of putting things is different. To anyone who mainly speaks British or American English, it takes some getting used to, but it is not like learning a whole new language. It is English, just in a different form. It is like what Haitian Creole is to French.
Bob Marley sang in what was mostly British English, but Sean Paul sings in patois, just to give you an idea.
Most Jamaicans are Christians, mainly Protestants. Religion is taken more seriously than it is in North America.
A few practise the old African black magic called obeah, which works through evil spirits. It comes from the Yoruba in Africa and is something like the voodoo of Haiti.
Some Jamaicans, though not many, are Rastafarians. They smoke marijuana, read the Bible, believe in God, do not eat pork, do not comb or cut their hair (but wash it, thus the dreadlocks) and say that Haile Selassie, who ruled Ethiopia in the middle 1900s, was the Second Coming of Christ. Reggae music grew out of Rastafarianism.
See also:
Abagond 
I, a Jamaican approve this. It is well written!
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Thanks! Jamaican-approved!
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My family is from Jamaica (well on my mum’s side.)
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Jamaica is paradise on earth if you just stay in the countryside
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And have a little thing called money.
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mikase and kom nuh man, mi wan go a mi yard fi nyam, unu mek wi gulang.
Abagond, Translate that with an American or British English dictionary!
Patois is old English (British, Scottish, Irish accented) mixed with words from Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Arawak and African languages (Ashanti, Igbo and Yoruba)–sprinkled with modern day English words to add color and flare–“de youth dem gwine mash it up!”
It was created by the first Maroons, who were African slaves who lived in the mountains together with the Taino (Arawak) Indians. The Spanish freed both the Africans and Tainos and gave them guns to help them fight against the British in 1655. This is how the Maroons began their guerilla style warfare against the British. They lived in the mountains and and continued to unleash hell on the British by recruiting and encouraging the slaves (British imported) to runaway into the mountains. At some point, they even made a deal with the British to help capture and return runaway slaves in exchange for free passage into towns to do business–once again the all mighty dollar had won–but this was short-lived, the British (as usual) betrayed them, so back to war.
Anyhow, it was from this group of ex-Spanish held Maroons that Jamaica developed it’s patois and fantastic jerk pork! Til this day, the Maroons live independantly on their own reservations. In my first sentence above, you’ll find words from 4 different languages combined.
My mother’s mother is Maroon–Grandma’s parents came out of the mountains around 1890’s. The white historians lied when they said the Tainos died out in the islands, all they did was procreate with the Africans and merged into a Maroon society. If you look up Taino, you’ll find information on how history was “white-washed” as far as the Arawaks/Tainos are concerned.
I believe I read an article that said that in places like Hispaniola (Haiti/Domincan Republic), the census was changed to call anyone mixed African w/Taino and pure Tainos “African” in order to convince the authorities in Spain that the Tainos were dying out and so more Africans were needed for slavery.
Maroon colonies and Census tampering had alot to do with the disappearance of the Tainos in Haiti/ DR (actually, most islands). Under the French, mixed Tainos/Africans were also called creoles.
Anyway, I digress–just wanted to elaborate (correct) on your Jamaican patois section and throw in my 2 cents on what I was taught about how it all began.
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Forgive me here Abagond…
Some of the articles or more specifically your references/sources are very ‘Euro-centred’ in their perspective.
I am not quite sure of the relevance of the following statements :
“In Jamaica the rates of murder and out-of-wedlock births are far higher than in America…
And again this part is totally misleading.
A few practise the old African black magic called obeah, which works through evil spirits
And finally
[Rasta’s] believe in God, do not eat pork, do not comb or cut their hair (BUT WASH IT , thus the dreadlocks)
Hmmm!!!
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My point of view is not so much Eurocentric as probably just Catholic. As a Catholic I see murder, out of wedlock birth and obeah as ills and the Rastafarians as a bit strange. In America the Rastafarians are romanticized but not in Jamaica itself.
If you live in Jamaica I would think the climbing murder rate has “relevance”. For tourists it might not since the places they visit are much safer.
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@ Linda:
I will do a post on patois in time (and probably the Maroons too). I had always thought patois came from the English Creole spoken in West Africa in the 1600s.
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Thanks!!
I did not really want to go there, but Catholicism and Eurocentricism are in fact the same thing, both belong to
some other realm, that is not rooted in an ‘African centredness’.
I do not live in Jamaica but it also bears relevance for me in the UK, since I have family living there.
Lets for argument sake admit that that what you wote above is ‘accurate’ but also that which you CHOOSE TO SELECT to write on is also ‘valid’.
Even you must admit (even if you do not do it in this open space) that whether a Rasta washes his/her hair or not (which is a stereotype) has no relevance to the profile of a whole country??
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Abagond, looking forward to your post, make sure you get it right though! 🙂
I mentioned the Tainos mixing with the Africans to stress how strong their influence was (is) on the creation of Jamaican culture as we know it today…Jamaica through foreign eyes is considered more Afrocentric than it really is because Jamaica was really put on the world map by Bob Marley (a Rasta), so most foreigners are not familiar with our history.
As you correctly point out, the Rastas are romanticized by everyone but Jamaicans and other islanders, and because their core philosophy was centered around the return to our African roots (with a detour through Haile Selassie), this led to the popular belief that Jamaica is more homogenized than it really is…Our African ancestry is blended into our culture–it does not dominate–the Irish left their mark pretty strongly and of course, as a British colony, their belief system was the foundation as far as work ethics, religion, and education.
Also, pay attention to the ethnic African tribes that each European country had liked to bring over–the French liked the Wolofs (Senagal coast), both the Spanish and French liked the Yorubas–since Spain dominated Jamaica first, the Yorubas where probably the Africans that mixed with the Tainos. The British liked the Coramantees (mostly Ashanti) but the French and Spanish did not, they believed the Ashantis to be too tempermental and prideful aka troublemakers.
To me, the British did too well a job in brainwashing my free and enslaved ancestors into wanting to be proper and well respected British subjects–as we know–the victor writes history…that’s probably why Marcus Garvey said “to hell with this” and moved to United States.
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There is also another important fact pertaining to Rastas
and even the late Walter Rodney commented on it in his book ‘Groundings With My Brothers’
At a time when Jamaica tried to run away from its African heritage, it was the Rastas that helped keep this alive amongst the populace, until it is the norm to celebrate
Africaness throughout the island.
I am not including the Maroons since they were on the periphery of the ‘society’.
Finally its ‘Rastafarianism’ and not ‘Bob Marley’ who was an individual within that movement made Jamaica famous
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Sorry J, without Bob Marley, Jamaica would have been just another island.
True, the Rastafarian movement had nothing to do with Bob Marley as far as it’s creation is concerned BUT it was because of Bob Marley why the world even knows about its existance.
Bob Marley was a Rasta, who revolutionized Jamaican music and brought reggae music to the masses…he introduced reggae to the world–
this was how Rastafarians were introduced to the world…not the other way around…no foreigners would have cared about “dreadlock Rastas” if not for Bob Marley being the international star that he was.
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Per Jamaica’s high homicide rate, Ross Kemp did a good documentary explaining why this is:
http://www.guba.com/watch/3000089689/RossKempOnGangsS03E01Jamaica
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my boyfriend was jamaican i love jamaica
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A thing I wonder is how many people visiting Jamaica see an authentic Jamaica. How many just confine themselves to resorts in Montego bay, smoke some ganja and think they’ve experienced Jamaica? It seems illusory.
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@ Tulio:
Wow, thanks for the documentary!
@ Linda, J:
I agree with Linda about Bob Marley, the Rastas and the deep British influence.
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“I’m a Buffalo Soldier, Dreadlock Rasta”
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With regard to:
“Without Bob Marley, Jamaica would have been just another island.
this was how Rastafarians were introduced to the world…not the other way around…no foreigners would have cared about “dreadlock Rastas” if not for Bob Marley being the international star that he was”
Again it all depends on ‘perspectives’. In this instance it depends how much one wishes to take away credit from Rastafarians (a once pariah group in Jamaica).
I am not quite sure where to start here. Long before Bob Marley even became famous Reggae music was popular.
As early as the 1960s long before Bob Marley was popular Ska/Bluebeat (music that are precusors of Reggae) was already popular in England
Bob Marley was a Rastafarian reggae musician who helped to spread Reggae music/Rastafarian culture and it is through the spread of the music per se, Jamaica became famous.
As I said it all depend on ‘perspectives’ if it was not for the White English producer, from England who formed Island record label called Chris Blackwell, who formed ‘The Wailers’. One could argue there would be no Bob Marley if there was Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh and Chris Blackwell.
Further it was this same Chris Blackwell who helped to make the film ‘The Harder They Come’ with Jimmy Cliff.
At the time Regage music was developing much of the Reggae artists were Rastas, not all of them. Enough though to have a synonimity between Reggae and Rastas, as if Reggae was associated with Rastas
Its a false impression of history to say that an individual man based in a socio-musical tradition that existed before him (Rastafarian) and his rise in the music industry (Reggae) single-handedly made Jamaica what it was.
Its possible to argue that without the entrepreneurship of Chris Blackwell, none of it would have been possible.
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Even though I have not seen it – and in a way I have chose not to see it. I would be very suprised if Ross kemp documentary is be insightful
There is a book whose name alludes me at this present moment in time that has it starting from 1945 upwards to explain the high homicide rate and one of those
factors again is U.S imperialism through the CIA in sponsoring the PNP Party …Oh oh, here we go again
ha ha ha ha
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There is also another thing about Bob Marley, while he and his band were getting world wide accliam. Most Jamaicans were not really listening to his music.
The artist that most people then identified with back then is the late Dennis Brown who has the title of ‘crown Prince of Reggae.
Some would suggest that Bob Marley did not revolutionise
Reggae music, what he did along with The Wailers, and the I-Threes who replaced the original group.
In fact there are some who suggest in taking the music to the mainstream by adding Rock elements therein. Compare and contrast the Wailers ska and Reggae records and compare it to Bob Marley and the I Threes, you will see and hear the difference. He kind of ‘compromised’ the Reggae sound.
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Why not look at it? The only effort it takes is a click of the mouse. Ross Kemp has a lot of interesting documentaries where he goes around the world interviewing gangs and seeing what makes them click, including MS-13 in El Salvador, the neo-nazi gangs of Russia and gangs in S. Africa. I like his documentaries, because he meets with the gangs, builds their trust and you feel like it’s very 1st person, as if you are interviewing the gang leaders yourself.
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J,
Ska had nothing to do with Rastas..back in the 60’s and 70’s, my father was a session drummer in Kingston who played with Byron Lee and Toots and the Maytels…so I get where you’re coming from as far as roots and reggae…
we’re not discussing how Reggae was distributed outside to the world…Chris Blackwell was a business man with a vision who greased the machine for our musicians to move further than Harry Belafonte and his sugarpop calypso…
Credit for what? what did the Rastas do for Jamaica except play up to the white peoples perception of “Irie” and ganja…
…as I maintain, Rastas in the 60’s were then an unknown entity outside of Jamaica, if mainstream Jamaican society did not accept the Rastas, why would the rest of the world care…
if your family is from Jamaica then you should know that back then, Jamaicans were too Eurocentric in their thinking to even want to acknowledge the Rastas as part of Jamaican culture, much less have Rastas be a “representative” of Jamaicans…to me most of the so called “Rastas” of today are posers, playing up to the white tourists and their “vision” of Jamaica.
it was Bob Marley the world loved, and the Rasta culture went along for the ride…
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I should clarify:
I believe we are discussing how Jamaica is perceived in the world–not about how we Jamaicans view ourselves.
Due to Bob Marley’s becoming an international star, the other Reggae artists such as Jimmy Cliff were able to benefit and break onto the international stage as well…
The Rasta culture somehow ended up becoming synonymous with Jamaican culture in most foreigners minds….”dreadlocks and spliffs, man!” That’s why I roll my eyes when these so-called white Rastas want to talk about the “yard”
But as I maintain–if you ask Vladimir in Russia, Billy in Kentucky, or Miyoki in Japan–what famous person is from Jamaica–they would all say: Bob Marley…
As I said, most foreigners don’t really know the “real” Jamaica.
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Now I think we have come to the crux.
I had detected an anti-Rastafarian sentiment within your writings and this would explain the need to make Bob Marley a man but not a Rastafarian.
Have you heard of the song ‘Oh Carolina’ popularised by Shaggy??
There is a Ska version and it involves the drumming of the late Count Ossie who was a Rastafarian. So Rastafarians were even present then…
I am not quite sure what if my family is from Jamaica, then I should go back then?? Its a bit presumptuous to be saying such things, when you do not know me, and more importantly my personal circumstances.
Finally Bob Marley like any human being does not exist in a ‘vacuum’. Without Rastafarianism (the cultural context of his life) there would be no Bob Marley (the world superstar).
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With regard to:
Due to Bob Marley’s becoming an international star, the other Reggae artists such as Jimmy Cliff were able to benefit and break onto the international stage as well…
Jimmy Cliff was in fact the ‘first’ Jamaican superstar. because of his role in the film ‘Harder They Come’ before Bob Marley
In fact it was he who Chris Blackwell had earmarked for global sucess. However, that venture failed and then Blackwell targeted The Wailers and teh rest is history.
It should also be stated that at this point when Blackwell targeted the Wailers he was not targeting Bob Marley per se. This only came later a bit like the saga when Dian Ross silit from the scene because Berry Gordy had bigger plans for her
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With regard to why I do not watch the Ross Kemp video
on Jamaica, even though I have to click the link
I am aware he has made such films across the world, not only about Jamaica.
Ross Kemp is an ‘ordinary’ actor who appeared in a cheesy soap opera in the UK called ‘Eastender’. In this show he played teh role of a villain/thug etc, somewhat similar to the peopel his documentary about – but obviously not as violent.
He did not become a celebrity until his time in eastender. Furthermore he did not undertake any academic research as far as I know.
Since his role in Eastenders finished (I think he was murdered in the show). He has not obtained a regular acting spot on British TV… as far as I know.
Until the series of films Ross kemps and Gangs.
I hope this may provide some insight why I am very reluctant to click the mouse.
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“I am not quite sure what if my family is from Jamaica, then I should go back then?? Its a bit presumptuous to be saying such things, when you do not know me, and more importantly my personal circumstances.”
J,
I never said you should go back to Jamaica…I believe you mentioned in a previous post that you had family from Jamaica…if this is the case, then I was infering that you are then aware of the Jamaican immigrant mindset.
I gather from this conversation that you are not Jamaican born and bred…which has no relevance to our conversation..but being that I am Jamaican born and bred..you presume to teach me…I do love to learn…and read your words with open-mindedness.
I cried when Jimmy died…he remains a true son of Jamaica in most of our minds…but Vladimir in Russia doesn’t know who the hell he is–but Vladimir has heard of Bob Marley….
you never asked me if I believe in the Rasta philosophy of living…so you cannot assume that I do not like them…
My views on Rastas are not anti…I am just stating my view, as a Jamaican, that Rastas have unwittingly created a stereotype of Jamaicans in the foreign mind.
As a proud Jamaican, I don’t appreciate the image of my country being reduced to Reggae, dreadlocks, and ganja, when tourists visit our beautiful sandy shores…
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As for the music, Jamaicans of all faiths had a hand in developing Jamaican music from ska to dancehall…no one is disputing the religion of the musicians…”Rivers of Babylon” was really about the Jews but Jamaicans embraced it as a homage to our African ancestors …perception is a wonderful thing…
The point is and remains: Bob Marley put Jamaica on the map as far as the international community is concerned then and today…
He was also a Rasta–so the Rasta religion became synonymous with Reggae, and Reggae is synonymous with Jamaica…in the eyes of Foreigners (Europeans, Americas, Canadians, Asians, Africans) …where is the anti-sentinent….stop fighting the obvious….
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Being born and bred has nothing to do with knowledge…Rather humility is more likely to lead to it first.
As for my mis-interpretation of your words then I apologise for that.
As some would be aware here my short-sightedness is becoming an apparent feature…very worrying I think.
Still no excuses and here is a second apology.
With regard to:
“My views on Rastas are not anti…I am just stating my view, as a Jamaican, that Rastas have unwittingly created a stereotype of Jamaicans in the foreign mind”.
This is fine and the ‘audience’ knows were you stand. I am not going to go any further into the merits of the argument, whether Rastas created teh stereotype of themselves, or others created it for Rastas?>
Its not my aim to affect change here.
However,what I would say here is that there are many people here puting forward ‘facts, ‘positions’, sometimes ‘assumptions’ not because they are ‘true’, but rather because there are some other factors at work ie dislike, eurocentric, religio-centric
I also do the same but the exception is I make my perspective clear and at the same time I will show that their can be different perspective as with the role of Chris Blackwell which I sighted.
I sense our conversation has thus come to a natural progression, since you have explicitly revealed the underlying assumptions behind your thoughts
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Then let me plain:
We’ve been talking “at” each other and not “to” each other because it seems you and I are not discussing the same issue..
which to me is: how Jamaicans are viewed abroad (internationally) and my opinion is that this stereotype became prevelant due to the international success of Bob Marley.
You are trying to discuss or infer that Rastafarians have made Jamaica famous prior to Bob Marley’s success—this is your opinion and I disagree with your opinion.
You disagree with my opinion and that’s all good
I do admit that I am a nationalist…I am arrogant about my nationality–just like most Jamaicans–this is not an assumption but a fact 🙂
I am proud of my little island and it’s accomplishments outside of music “Bigup Usain”–just like most Jamaicans…I take nothing away from the Rastas because as you mentioned, they also added to the collective…
do I appreciate foreigners reducing us to “splif smoking dreads”–absolutely not…nor do I like fake Rastas playing up the stereotype for profit…that’s my personal feelings…
I’ve read everything you had to say with an open-mind…I didn’t dispute anything you had to say about the evolution of Jamaican music because the things you mentioned are relevant and have merit…even if you attained the knowledge via personal experience, reading a book, or Google (not saying that you did), I am still respective of what you contributed to this discussion.
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Anyway, J, “one Love”
as you said our discussion has ran it’s course…
I appreciate you educating the masses on the Jamaican music scene…
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and J,
as the resident music historian, you should have corrected me when I said..Jimmy Cliff died…I meant Peter Tosh..
Jimmy, forgive me!
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I do not undertstand I am afraid…
So I am going to try to use your own words here.
You say the following:
a. “how Jamaicans are viewed abroad (internationally) and my opinion is that this stereotype became prevelant due to the international success of Bob Marley.”
There seems to be a shift in emphasis here. This point seems to hint at Bob Marley the ‘man’ being responsible since, and I repeat again. You say:
“my opinion is that this STEREOTYPE became prevelant due to the international success of Bob Marley.”
Following this reason to its logical end, if any one is to be blamed for the stereotype of the smoking of ganga, saying the phrase ‘irie’, unkempt hair and presumably not washing it, having countless babies etc then it is with Bob Marley himself.
Since as you say:
“…I am just stating my view, as a Jamaican, that Rastas have unwittingly created a stereotype of Jamaicans in the foreign mind”.
Again
“The Rasta culture somehow ended up becoming synonymous with Jamaican culture in most foreigners minds”
And again
“…BOB MARLEY WAS A RASTA, who revolutionized Jamaican music and brought reggae music to the masses…HE INTRODUCED REGGAE TO THE WORLD – THIS WAS HOW RASTAFARIANS WERE INTRODUCED TO THE WORLD…no foreigners would have cared about “dreadlock Rastas” if not for Bob Marley being the international star that he was”
further still
“..Credit for what? what did the Rastas do for Jamaica except play up to the white peoples perception of “Irie” and ganja”
and once again
“…it was Bob Marley the world loved, and the Rasta culture went along for the ride…”
Hmmm!!
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what’s your point, J?
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With regard to:
and J,
as the resident music historian, you should have corrected me when I said..Jimmy Cliff died…I meant Peter Tosh..
Jimmy, forgive me!
I saw that mistake but in my ‘humilty’ I decided not to point it out to you and/or others here. And perhaps its a good job too.
If in my ‘humility’ I chose not to point it out, and I am called the ‘resident music historian’ . Then I dread (forgive the pun here) to think what other appellation you would have chosen to designate IF I HAD CHOSEN TO HIGHLIGHT YOUR MISTAKE.
Its not clear to me. Why you could not have simply come back on here and said I made a mistake in an earlier post. and leave me out of the equation.
However, as I said previously, many posts have an underlying force often hidden that motivates them – but not the facts’
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For you to take offense at being called the “resident music historian” shows that you have no sense of humour
and if you do, then in your humility–you’re keeping that underwraps as well…
you have basicly analyzed and stomped this topic to death!
With a huge smile on my face I say: J, peace out and one love…
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Lynn Taitt, the Jamaican guitarist widely credited with creating the “rocksteady” bassline ie the intermediary between Ska and Reggae music passes away
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/LYNN-TAIT_7347330
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And a good way for me to sign out.
It being Bob Marley’s earth-day, a fact that nearly escaped me.
“So Much Trouble in World”…So true!!!
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@ Bulanikgirl,
trust me, most people have no idea there are other ethnic groups in the whole caribbean, let alone jamaica. even most asians (indians AND chinese) know nothing about their diasporas in the islands. most asians don’t even know the caribbean is not in africa! if you’re concerned about asian-caribbeans’ acknowledgement in the international scene you have a LOOOOOOOOOOT of ignorance to overcome.
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honestly it’s so much i don’t know how to properly quantify it, thus the generic LOT with however many extra Os. LOL
are you asian-caribbean by any chance?
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It was an education for me, It was a beautiful island Dunns riverfalls was fun. I like the ghost story about the witch of Rosehall. The food was good.
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“Bulanik @ However, my grandmother has often told me that as far as Jamaica is concerned, the war-like Ashanti have cultural ascendency on the island.
This is regardless of the presence of other African ethnicities and co-habitation within Jamaica’s s Afro-Jamaican population. The Ashanti’s combative and irrepressible nature impactd slave importation practices in this way:
the British started their slaving on the Coromantee coast (today’s Ghana), and had most trouble with the Ashanti, and related groups., who would not be subdued, and always fought back. Yet, their physiques and fitness made for excellent slave fodder.
She’s also adamant that “Myal” — the more “religious” form of Obeah is Ashanti as well. ”
Linda says,
I actually made a very similar comment a few years ago:
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2006/08/29/jamaica/#comment-35490
“Linda @ Also, pay attention to the ethnic African tribes that each European country had liked to bring over–the French liked the Wolofs (Senagal coast), both the Spanish and French liked the Yorubas–since Spain dominated Jamaica first, the Yorubas where probably the Africans that mixed with the Tainos. The British liked the Coramantees (mostly Ashanti) but the French and Spanish did not, they believed the Ashantis to be too tempermental and prideful aka troublemakers.”
I don’t know… I think the Igbos don’t get enough attention– they’ve certainly been overshadowed historically by the Akan (aka Ashanti or Coramantee) — famous for their dominant personalities, aggressiveness, and leadership abilities in war and politics (as seen when they joined up with the Maroons)
but the other groups– Igbo, Kongo {Angola} and Yoruba also left their mark in the language and music. The act of “kissing your teeth” is said to be Igbo. From what I read, it seems the Igbo and Yoruba gave Jamaican culture many of our very colourful proverbs:
Igbo: “He who will swallow udala seeds must consider the size of his anus”
Jamaican: “Jonkro must know what ‘im a do before ‘im swallow abbe seed”
and my personal favorite, “Cockroach nuh fi business inna fowl fight” 🙂
I think west African Vodun itself was already a “mixture” because the Dahomey were able to conquer certain Akan groups and before them, the Yoruba – so the Fon, Yoruba, and Akan probably were probably practicing facets of each others religions even before the Dahomey sent them overseas as slaves. It was common for a conquered Ethnic group to adopt the “Gods of the conquerors,” — switching religious “allegiance” was considered a tool of survival tool.
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@ Linda, great comment. This is so interesting.
Sorry, didn’t see your post earlier.
Perhaps my maternal grandmother feels this way for a couple of reasons.
One, she is a Portlander.
Two, the African half of her family are Asante and some Igbo.
As you know, even though the Asante were a minority among other Africans, the Asante lived in various pockets throughout the island, Portland being one stronghold. I would venture to say that they, and their dominant influence in the Parish remained and filtered through, long after Nanny’s settlement was blown apart by the British.
She remembers that her grandmother’s mother was born in slavery of Asante parentage. This woman, somehow, learned to read at a time when she could have faced torture and even death for it. She was midwife and herbalist, organizer, counsellor and Scientist (in the Jamaican sense). She passed all she knew onto her daughter, my grandmother’s grandmother, who was allowed to marry an red-Igbo man, which was agreeable because … it was really the mother’s line that really mattered to them! lol.
Matrilineal and matrilocal practices appear to be Asante ones, so when she says this element of the Afro-Jamaican population was “culturally ascendant”, her bias — and it is a bias — may be understandable.
Though the Asante’s numbers were small in relation to the other ethnicities, the influence is remarkable depending on region.
Although the island is far from large, there are, naturally, regional differences. My grandmother recalls that in the 1930s the people from the mountains would come down and drum and the vigorous dance of women was called “ru-gu”. (She doesn’t buy into the “reggae” word at all!) The other dance was “bong-goh”, which she was not allowed, as a child, to watch because it was performed near-naked and too sexual. She also uses words such as “check-ken” for breakfast, “chamu-chamu” for not don’t speak, among other words that may be Coromantee in origin?
The people that she always says are most like her ole African (her words) are the African-descended people of Suriname. She can’t put her finger on it, but their ways and manners are Asante ways and manners, according to her. I believe her of course, but there’s so much we don’t know.
The Igbos don’t get enough study or attention, agreed.
But, do any of the other ethnicities get adequate and appropriate focus? There are a couple of books by Rex Nettleford that make reference to this, but I haven’t looked at the Prof’s work in a long time. I have my eye on a book by Kwasi Konadu, though: “The Akan Diaspora”.
The blurb about the very interesting book says:
….Konadu demonstrates how this cultural group originating in West Africa both engaged in and went beyond the familiar diasporic themes of maroonage, resistance, and freedom. Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Akan never formed a majority among other Africans in the Americas. But their leadership skills in war and political organization, efficacy in medicinal plant use and spiritual practice, and culture archived in the musical traditions, language, and patterns of African diasporic life far outweighed their sheer numbers. Konadu argues that a composite Akan culture calibrated between the Gold Coast and forest fringe made the contributions of the Akan diaspora possible. The book examines the Akan experience in Guyana, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados, former Danish and Dutch colonies, and North America, and how those early experiences foreground the modern engagement and movement of diasporic Africans and Akan people between Ghana and North America. Locating the Akan variable in the African diasporic equation allows scholars and students of the Americas to better understand how the diasporic quilt came to be and is still evolving.
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I did notice that when we were there, the young gentleman that was our driver was educated, and the other tour guide was educated.The education system must be excellent, compared to our poor education system. Yet, the people were living in extreme poverty. I was a tourist. The people are hard working. The young brother who was our driver said that the educated people the government trys to keep them on the island, and he said it was hard for him to obtain a visa.
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I want to do more reading about Nanny of the Maroons. She was an interesting historical figure, I enjoyed reading about her.
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I like Nalo Hopkinson’s stories, she is mostly science fiction, but I like reading about duppys. Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, and Ting were my favorite beverages.
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One of Jamaica’s dancehall pioneers has died — Wayne Smith, who made song and unforgettable beat/rhythym , “Under Me Sleng Teng” , popular
It’s weighing my brain, no cocaine, I don’t want to go insane …
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjw7m-BKmQ8)
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About Jamaican patois
Click to access jcpp.pdf
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continued from coolie thread
What I’m trying to say is that if you close your eyes and listen to Jamaicans, of any race/ethnicity speak, there is no major distinction that can be detected based on race — accents can change based on region, I would even add that class can also make a difference, because in Kingston, uptown speaks different than downtown.
I can imagine that if someone is a recent immigrant or foreigner (like American born children of Jamaican parents) to the country from UK, India, or China, then definitely, they will have inflections in their speech that not only will be obvious, but expected….When I hear British Jamaicans speak patois, their British accent is Very obvious– that’s what gives them away when they are in Jamaica.
but Jamaican Indians, Syrians, Chinese have been in Jamaica for 100+ years…to me, they sound just like everyone else.
Butch Stewart (white Jamaican who owns Sandals) sounds just as Jamaican as anyone when speaking–I’ve also been to a few events where he was present, and when he speaks patois, you couldn’t tell if Butch was black or white with your eyes closed.
Here is a clip of Jamaican business people of all races/ethnicity, which Butch Stewart is hosting:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVHK3ps0kDk)
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I am adding this video because I thought it was very funny (and on the mark)
Jamaican spelling bee: spell the word “At” — the first time I watched the video, I just knew he was going to start the word with an “h” 🙂
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Linda,
I understand what you’re saying, but we aren’t talking about the same thing.
Your point is about accent. Mine was about a nasal inflexion.
Nor do I believe I said that Indo-Jamaicans don’t have Jamaican accents.
What I said was that a nasal inflexion is discernible by and among Indians (mostly family), that is not discernible among non Indo-Jamaicans.
Thank you for the video of the meeting, but as white male Jamaicans go, Butch is not the first I’ve heard. And as I’ve also heard Jamaicans of practically every race/ethnicity, class and educational background speak before, I would not expect or be listening out to any difference in pitch, cadence or intonation in a filmed, chaired and public debate of this kind.
The clip you provided shows people of one nationality and milieu speaking in public about matters of business and politics. But you know as well as I do that people control the way they speak, and vary their accent depending on who they are speaking with and who is listening*. Most of the time that’s done consciously and sometimes it’s unconscious. There’s nothing surprising about that: practically everyone I know shifts their accent depending on situation. “Ethnolects” exist and some of them can last for generations.
What I said in the “Coolies” thread was this: within a largre family (and close-knit ties with some other unrelated Indo-Jamaicans), a nasal inflexion is sometimes noticed. It is, quite possibly this: a Indic linguistic carryover from the previous generations before them, but it is not this: the Jamaican accent of the country they grew up in. Those are 2 different things!
A common belief might be that the Indians that came, after 100-plus years, none, anywhere on or from the island, would retain any form of original cultural traces, let alone a linguistic habit of any type, being so utterly assimilated.
But, among, and within, family, it’s another story.
A way of speaking is a fluid thing.
Whenever in the States (Florida, for example) it is very obvious who the Jamaicans are, not matter how Americanised their accents or even if they went there from their early teens: and they don’t have to be at home or mad to reveal that because they give themselves away right away by their accents.
The accent or tell-tale linguistic cadences of the generation that follows the first wave in a new country is harder to detect. Yet when those children are not around their peers, and with their parents, isn’t it possible to hear something of their family’s origins in their speech pattern?
We discussed this before (in the Mock Ebonics thread).
I’ve seen (or heard) this with the British-born grandchildren of Nigerians or Ghanaians, themselves the children of British-born parents. Everyone speaks English at home, grandparents, parents, but sometimes, the grandchildren retain a West African cadence.
Someone can lose their accent if they try hard enough to fit in.
But it doesn’t always happen by the 2nd generation: the Amish have speech inflexions that can be heard by some and the Amish have been in the US since the mid-1700s. But, I am not suggesting this is “the same” situation as among Indo-Jamaicans. Not at all. I am saying that a speech pattern may be retained within families and close-knit groups.
*“How accurate people are in knowing about you from your accent depends not only on the features of your accent, but also on who the listener is, and what they know about the other people who speak with a similar accent to you.”http://blog.linguistlist.org/ll-main/ask-a-linguist-what-is-an-accent/
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I need to kwon the area and part were my yoruba tribe live and stay. So that I teach them power of delverance from provit,from power darkness,claim there blessing stonling from them.
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“A few practise the old African black magic called obeah, which works through evil spirits. It comes from the Yoruba in Africa and is something like the voodoo of Haiti.”
@abagond
This is a very problematic statement. I don’t know much about obeah, but ‘voodoo’ is not about evil spirits. Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, Claudine Michel, Zora Neale Hurston, Katherine Dunham, Karen Richman, Gina Ulysse, and many other scholars have written about Haitian Vodou and show it’s not about ‘evil spirits’ or sorcery. A good introduction to Haitian Vodou is Mama Lola by Karen McCarthy Brown.
Vodou is just as much a religion with its own theology and history like Catholicism, and not about witchcraft or evil. There’s also a fluidity of religious identity in places like Haiti, so one can practice Vodou and serve the lwa while also being Catholic.
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