Culture of Jamaica
Encyclopedia
Jamaican culture represents a rich blend of cultures that have inhabited the Greater Antilles
island, Jamaica
. The original Taino
Settlers, followed by their Spanish
conquerors (who were in turn conquered by the British
), all made major contributions. However, it is the blacks and slaves
who became the dominant cultural force as they suffered and resisted the harsh conditions of forced labour. After the abolition of slavery, Chinese
and India
n migrants were transported to the island as indentured workers, bringing with them ideas from the Far East. The official national language is English
, heavily spiced with local idioms. The primary local language is patois, or Jamaican Creole
.
The original inhabitants of the Caribbean region, including Jamaica, were the Arawaks, sometimes referred to as Taino
s. While it appears that some Arawak survived the arrival of the Europeans
, there are no self-identified Arawak communities living as such in Jamaica, and recovering traces of their original culture requires sophisticated archaeological techniques.
is a derivative of the larger Christian culture, likely influenced by Ethiopian Coptic culture. There are also a small number of Jewish synagogues in Jamaica, dating from 17th century. Elements of ancient African religions remain in remote areas throughout the island, most of which practices are described generally as Obeah
,
Kumina
or Pocomania. Though the congretations are small, they are visited by many Christian and non Christians seeking traditional solutions that cannot be found in churches or other religious organisation. It is estimated that as much as 80% of the population secretly seek the services of the African traditional religious healers when confronted with serious problems that conventional society cannot remedy.
Other religions practised in Jamaica include Bahá'í Faith
, Buddhism
, Hinduism
and Islam
.
begins with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá
, then head of the religion, in 1916 as Latin America
being among the places Bahá'ís should take the religion to. The community of the Bahá'ís begins in 1942 with the arrival of Dr. Malcolm King. The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of Jamaica
, in Kingston
, was elected in 1943. By 1957 the Bahá'ís of Jamaica were organized under the regional National Spiritual Assembly of the Greater Antilles
, and on the eve of national independence in 1962, the Jamaica Bahá'ís elected their own National Spiritual Assembly in 1961. By 1981 hundreds of Bahá'ís and hundreds more non-Bahá'ís turned out for weekend meetings when Rúhíyyih Khánum
spent six days in Jamaica. Public recognition of the religion came in the form of the Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Howard Cooke
, proclaiming a National Baha'i Day first on July 25 in 2003 and it's been an annual event since. While there is evidence of several active communities by 2008 in Jamaica, estimates of the Bahá'ís population range from the hundreds to the thousands.
music. In the 1970s and early 1980s Bob Marley
became the most high-profile exponent of the Rastafari culture and belief system. His reputation as an innovative musician devoted to his faith has continued to grow since his death, so that by 2004 his greatest hits compilation Legend
had sold 20 million copies worldwide, making him arguably the world's most famous Jamaican, and certainly the nation's biggest-selling recording artist.
Rastafari itself is a monotheistic belief system, based on teachings found in the Old Testament
and the New Testament
- particularly the Book of Revelations. However, what distinguishes Rastafari from Christianity
, Islam
and Judaism
(which also cite Abrahamic beliefs) is that Rastas believe in the divinity of the Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia
.
Hailed by Rastas as H.I.M. (His Imperial Majesty), Haile Selassie I is regarded as God
himself, the true descendant of Solomon
, and the earthly embodiment of Jah
(God) - in what believers see as a fulfillment of prophesy regarding the second coming of the Messiah
.
It should be noted that those Rasta beliefs which are not explicitly mentioned in the Bible (such as the specific name of H.I.M. 'Haile Selassie') are not gathered into a single holy text. Instead, Rasta beliefs are primarily shared through a community of songs, chants and oral testimonies, as well as in written texts (including websites). The extensive use of song makes Rastafari a particularly musical source of Jamaican culture.
Rasta cultural traditions include wearing their hair in uncut, uncombed strands known as dreadlocks
(in adherence to the Nazarite vow ), as well as eating unprocessed (natural) foodstuffs which are known as Ital
. However, neither tradition is regarded as compulsory - many people who wear dreadlocks are not Rastas and many Rastas do not wear them.
One of the most controversial cultural traditions is Rastas' use of ganja
as a sacrament
which is smoked to aid in reasoning (contemplation
and discussion). Cannabis
is a strictly prohibited substance in Jamaica so its use by Rastas means the movement is in a more-or-less permanent state of tension with police agencies.
In its Jamaican homeland, Rastafari is a minority culture and receives little in the way of official recognition. Jamaica is an overwhelmingly Christian country, so Rasta beliefs and practices - such as the divinity of H.I.M Hailie Selassie - are sometimes regarded as pagan by Christian Jamaicans (although some Rastas can also express hostility towards aspects of Christianity). Nevertheless, the artistic contributions of the movement, particularly Bob Marley are widely respected. The rasta singer was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit
in 1981 and there are two official monuments to him.
Rastas can be found in many countries outside Jamaica and among many non-Jamaicans. Because it is not a centrally organised religion, there is no way of knowing how many devotees there are.
, particularly dancehall
styles.
More than 30 distinctive Jamaican dances have been identified. According to the National Library of Jamaica, traditional Jamaican dances fall roughly under three categories: African derived, European derived and Creole. The Africa derived dance tradition is divided into two types: religious dances and social dances. Religious African dances, such as the ritualistic Kumina
, Myal and Pocomania, are integral parts of worship ceremonies. The aim is to bring the dancers into the realm of the spiritual and heighten their readiness for possession. This part of Jamaica's African heritage has mainly been preserved by the Maroon Communities
. Social African derived dances include Etu Quadrille
.
The Jamaican Creole dances integrate elements from both European and African cultures. Examples are Maypole, (originally religious but now mainly social). Jonkonnu, Bruckin's, Revival, Pukkumina (possibly the best-known Revival (religious) style which still exists today) and Dinkie mini, a dance in the Wake Complex of traditional dances. Social dances that are European derived include those that accompanied work songs and ring games.
Dance is also represented during the Jamaican Hosay
, a Caribbean East Indian festival. Jonkonnu and Hosay are considered secular dances, despite the performance of Jonkonnu around Christmas time.
Dance theater is also growing in importance. Rex Nettleford
, Eddy Thomas, Olive Lewin
, and Edna Manley
are four Jamaicans whose influences on the arts - music and dance in particular - has been extremely important. Nettleford, Thomas, and Ivy Baxter formed the National Dance Theatre Company in the 1950s. Other important Jamaicans in dance theater have included the Tony-Award
-winning choreographer Garth Fagan
(The Lion King on Broadway).
Dancehall, or ragga
, music has inspired a number of dance styles as well. To understand the evolution of popular dance, it helps to understand the musical progression. Ska
music, with fast beats, also had fast dances. The slow to rocksteady
also developed slower dances, allowing dancers to stay on the floor longer. Reggae
is associated with many things, including the Rastafarian movement, but influenced the newer styles. Dancehall
music often creates its own dances based on moves in the lyrics of the songs themselves. Soca music
from Trinidad and Tobago
is popular with most of the popular artists from Trinidad, but many soca Jamaican artist such as Byron Lee
, Fab 5
, and Lovindeer are famous but also represent Jamaican music.
After the abolition of slavery, Jamaicans began fusing music, humor, and dance into public theatrical performances. Although it took many years for true Jamaican styles to develop, eventually they became more prevalent than European works. Today's most popular theatrical form in Jamaica, pantomime
, began in the 1940s as a fusion of English pantomime with Jamaican folklore. Another popular style, "roots" theatre, evolved in the 1960s and 1970s. These riotous bawdy tales full of sexual innuendo remain crowd favorites in Kingston's open-air theatres.
One artist involved in root plays is Winsome (code name), a Jamaican writer and producer chronicled in Deborah Thomas' book "Modern Blackness". Winsome handled all the publicity for her plays herself, and ended up putting them on in the rural areas surrounding Kingston - the city theaters refused to house her plays because of their controversial nature. In her plays, Winsome explores how sex, money, and power interact everyday for Jamaicans. In 1997, Winsome wrote and produced a root play entitled Ruff Rider, in which family, sexual abuse, love, work, and friendship all intersect. According to author Thomas, author of, “In all of her work, the sympathetic characters are those she portrays as struggling to balance their own pursuit of individual gain with ‘living well together’ with others. As they negotiage the fine lines between egalitarianism and hierarchy, her characters also contribute to the public debate regarding the gendered dimensions of respectability and reputation.”
Other notable root play figures include Ralph Holness, Ginger Knight, Balfour Anderson, Michael Denton, Ian Reid, Paul Beil, Everton Dawkins, Buddy Pouyat and the late Hyacinth Brown.
, a Nobel prize
laureate, born and educated in St. Lucia, attended college in Jamaica. Other significant writers from the island include Claude McKay
and Louis Simpson
. Plays and works in Jamaican English, or patois, attract special attention. Louise Bennett, Andrew Salkey
and Mikey Smith
have contributed to this phenomenon by writing works in patois. Ian Fleming
wrote his famous James Bond
novels while living in Jamaica. Jean Rhys
is also well-known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea
, which was set in Jamaica. Jamaican authors are always faced with the decision of writing in standard English for a huge worldwide audience, or in the local patois, for a much smaller, but more trendy, audience. Jamaican films with patois sound-tracks such as The Harder They Come
require sub-titles for export to general markets. In general, the use of patois severely limits the potential audience for the otherwise universal Jamaican message. Pauline Wills, author of the book, "The Imperils of the Maxfield Terrain," sections written in patios about the garrison community of Maxfield Avenue. She was born in the parish of St Andrew, Jamaica and a past student of Immaculate Conception High School.
Jamaica's film industry is not widely known, but it is growing. The Harder They Come
, Shottas
, Third World Cop
, "Rockers", "Countryman" and Dancehall Queen
are a few of the best-known Jamaican movies. However, many popular Hollywood movies have also been filmed in Jamaica. A short list includes The Blue Lagoon
, Cocktail, Cool Runnings
and James Bond
films, Dr. No
and Live and Let Die
.
Jamaica's leading annual film event The Reggae Film Festival takes place each February in Jamaica's capital city, Kingston. Members of Jamaica's film industry gather here to make new links and many new projects have grown from the event.
Jamaica has many talented film makers but there is a great lack of available funds and resources for film makers. Since the creation of the Reggae Film Festival there have been many new films made in Jamaica and the event has given the industry a real boost, this combined with the recent CARICOM European film treaty which enables Jamaican film makers to seek fuding in Europe, has opened up a new door for film makers looking to apply for funding and this will hopefully make a real difference to the future of the industry.
Other more recent feature films made in Jamaica are: 'Almost Heaven', 'Roots Time', 'Wah Do Dem', 'Concrete Jungle', 'Redemption Paradise', 'Real Ghetto Youths', and 'Smile Orange'
was exported to the metropolitan countries.
Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
island, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The original Taino
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
Settlers, followed by their Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
conquerors (who were in turn conquered by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), all made major contributions. However, it is the blacks and slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
who became the dominant cultural force as they suffered and resisted the harsh conditions of forced labour. After the abolition of slavery, Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n migrants were transported to the island as indentured workers, bringing with them ideas from the Far East. The official national language is English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, heavily spiced with local idioms. The primary local language is patois, or Jamaican Creole
Jamaican Creole
Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patois or Jamaican, and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English-lexified creole language with West African influences spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of...
.
Arawak (Taino) natives
The original inhabitants of the Caribbean region, including Jamaica, were the Arawaks, sometimes referred to as Taino
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
s. While it appears that some Arawak survived the arrival of the Europeans
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
, there are no self-identified Arawak communities living as such in Jamaica, and recovering traces of their original culture requires sophisticated archaeological techniques.
Religion
By far the largest religion in Jamaica is the Christian faith. The Anglican Church and the Church of God are throughout the country. Many old churches have been carefully maintained and/or restored. The Rastafari movementRastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
is a derivative of the larger Christian culture, likely influenced by Ethiopian Coptic culture. There are also a small number of Jewish synagogues in Jamaica, dating from 17th century. Elements of ancient African religions remain in remote areas throughout the island, most of which practices are described generally as Obeah
Obeah
Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo...
,
Kumina
Kumina
Kumina or Cumina is a cultural form indigenous to Jamaica. It is a religion, music and dance practiced by, in large part, Jamaicans who reside in the eastern parish on St. Thomas on the island. These people have retained the drumming and dancing of the Akan people. Like the Kongo practitioners...
or Pocomania. Though the congretations are small, they are visited by many Christian and non Christians seeking traditional solutions that cannot be found in churches or other religious organisation. It is estimated that as much as 80% of the population secretly seek the services of the African traditional religious healers when confronted with serious problems that conventional society cannot remedy.
Other religions practised in Jamaica include Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith in Jamaica
The Bahá'í Faith in Jamaica begins with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, in 1916 as Latin America being among the places Bahá'ís should take the religion to. The community of the Bahá'ís begins in 1942 with the arrival of Dr. Malcolm King. The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual...
, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith in JamaicaBahá'í Faith in Jamaica
The Bahá'í Faith in Jamaica begins with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, in 1916 as Latin America being among the places Bahá'ís should take the religion to. The community of the Bahá'ís begins in 1942 with the arrival of Dr. Malcolm King. The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual...
begins with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
, then head of the religion, in 1916 as Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
being among the places Bahá'ís should take the religion to. The community of the Bahá'ís begins in 1942 with the arrival of Dr. Malcolm King. The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, was elected in 1943. By 1957 the Bahá'ís of Jamaica were organized under the regional National Spiritual Assembly of the Greater Antilles
Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
, and on the eve of national independence in 1962, the Jamaica Bahá'ís elected their own National Spiritual Assembly in 1961. By 1981 hundreds of Bahá'ís and hundreds more non-Bahá'ís turned out for weekend meetings when Rúhíyyih Khánum
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
spent six days in Jamaica. Public recognition of the religion came in the form of the Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Howard Cooke
Howard Cooke
Sir Howard Felix Hanlan Cooke, ON, GCMG, GCVO, CD, K.St.J was the Governor-General of Jamaica from August 1, 1991 until February 15, 2006 when he became the first governor-general to invest his own successor, Professor Kenneth Octavius Hall...
, proclaiming a National Baha'i Day first on July 25 in 2003 and it's been an annual event since. While there is evidence of several active communities by 2008 in Jamaica, estimates of the Bahá'ís population range from the hundreds to the thousands.
Rastafari
Originating in the 1930s, one of the most prominent, internationally known aspects of Jamaica's African-Caribbean culture is the Rastafari movement, particularly those elements that are expressed through reggaeReggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
music. In the 1970s and early 1980s Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
became the most high-profile exponent of the Rastafari culture and belief system. His reputation as an innovative musician devoted to his faith has continued to grow since his death, so that by 2004 his greatest hits compilation Legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
had sold 20 million copies worldwide, making him arguably the world's most famous Jamaican, and certainly the nation's biggest-selling recording artist.
Rastafari itself is a monotheistic belief system, based on teachings found in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
- particularly the Book of Revelations. However, what distinguishes Rastafari from Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
(which also cite Abrahamic beliefs) is that Rastas believe in the divinity of the Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
.
Hailed by Rastas as H.I.M. (His Imperial Majesty), Haile Selassie I is regarded as God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
himself, the true descendant of Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
, and the earthly embodiment of Jah
Jah
Jah is the shortened form of the divine name YHWH , an anglicized version of the Tetragrammaton . The name is most commonly associated with the Rastafari movement or within the word hallelujah, although Christian groups may use the name to varying degrees. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses use a...
(God) - in what believers see as a fulfillment of prophesy regarding the second coming of the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
.
It should be noted that those Rasta beliefs which are not explicitly mentioned in the Bible (such as the specific name of H.I.M. 'Haile Selassie') are not gathered into a single holy text. Instead, Rasta beliefs are primarily shared through a community of songs, chants and oral testimonies, as well as in written texts (including websites). The extensive use of song makes Rastafari a particularly musical source of Jamaican culture.
Rasta cultural traditions include wearing their hair in uncut, uncombed strands known as dreadlocks
Dreadlocks
Dreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata , are matted coils of hair. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing...
(in adherence to the Nazarite vow ), as well as eating unprocessed (natural) foodstuffs which are known as Ital
Ital
Ital or I-tal is food often celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. The word derives from the English word "vital", with the initial syllable replaced by i. This is done to many words in the Rastafari vocabulary to signify the unity of the speaker with all of nature...
. However, neither tradition is regarded as compulsory - many people who wear dreadlocks are not Rastas and many Rastas do not wear them.
One of the most controversial cultural traditions is Rastas' use of ganja
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
as a sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
which is smoked to aid in reasoning (contemplation
Contemplation
The word contemplation comes from the Latin word contemplatio. Its root is also that of the Latin word templum, a piece of ground consecrated for the taking of auspices, or a building for worship, derived either from Proto-Indo-European base *tem- "to cut", and so a "place reserved or cut out" or...
and discussion). Cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
is a strictly prohibited substance in Jamaica so its use by Rastas means the movement is in a more-or-less permanent state of tension with police agencies.
In its Jamaican homeland, Rastafari is a minority culture and receives little in the way of official recognition. Jamaica is an overwhelmingly Christian country, so Rasta beliefs and practices - such as the divinity of H.I.M Hailie Selassie - are sometimes regarded as pagan by Christian Jamaicans (although some Rastas can also express hostility towards aspects of Christianity). Nevertheless, the artistic contributions of the movement, particularly Bob Marley are widely respected. The rasta singer was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit
Jamaican Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is part of the Jamaican honours system and is the third highest honour conferred by the nation of Jamaica. The Order of Merit is conferred upon Jamaicans or on distinguished citizen of another country who has achieved eminent international distinction in the field of science,...
in 1981 and there are two official monuments to him.
Rastas can be found in many countries outside Jamaica and among many non-Jamaicans. Because it is not a centrally organised religion, there is no way of knowing how many devotees there are.
Dance
Dance has always been important on Jamaica - from colonial times until the present. Early folk rhythms and movements often enhanced Christian religious celebrations, or were associated with Christian holidays. More recently, dances have become associated with the music of JamaicaMusic of Jamaica
The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles. Jamaica's music culture is a fusion of elements from the United States , Africa, and neighboring Caribbean islands such as...
, particularly dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
styles.
More than 30 distinctive Jamaican dances have been identified. According to the National Library of Jamaica, traditional Jamaican dances fall roughly under three categories: African derived, European derived and Creole. The Africa derived dance tradition is divided into two types: religious dances and social dances. Religious African dances, such as the ritualistic Kumina
Kumina
Kumina or Cumina is a cultural form indigenous to Jamaica. It is a religion, music and dance practiced by, in large part, Jamaicans who reside in the eastern parish on St. Thomas on the island. These people have retained the drumming and dancing of the Akan people. Like the Kongo practitioners...
, Myal and Pocomania, are integral parts of worship ceremonies. The aim is to bring the dancers into the realm of the spiritual and heighten their readiness for possession. This part of Jamaica's African heritage has mainly been preserved by the Maroon Communities
Maroon (people)
Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...
. Social African derived dances include Etu Quadrille
Quadrille
Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...
.
The Jamaican Creole dances integrate elements from both European and African cultures. Examples are Maypole, (originally religious but now mainly social). Jonkonnu, Bruckin's, Revival, Pukkumina (possibly the best-known Revival (religious) style which still exists today) and Dinkie mini, a dance in the Wake Complex of traditional dances. Social dances that are European derived include those that accompanied work songs and ring games.
Dance is also represented during the Jamaican Hosay
Hosay
Hosay or Tadjah is a West Indian commemoration, in which multi-colored model mausoleums are paraded, then ritually offered up to the sea, or any body of water...
, a Caribbean East Indian festival. Jonkonnu and Hosay are considered secular dances, despite the performance of Jonkonnu around Christmas time.
Dance theater is also growing in importance. Rex Nettleford
Rex Nettleford
Ralston Milton "Rex" Nettleford, OM ,FIJ, OCC, was a Jamaican scholar, social critic, choreographer, and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of The University of the West Indies , the leading research university in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Born in Falmouth, Jamaica, Nettleford...
, Eddy Thomas, Olive Lewin
Olive Lewin
Dr. Olive Lewin is a Jamaican author, social anthropologist, musicologist, and teacher. Dr.Lewin is probably best known for her recorded anthologies of old Jamaica folk songs, researched and collected over her lifetime. Olive Lewin studied music and ethnomusicology in the United Kingdom...
, and Edna Manley
Edna Manley
Edna Manley OM was a sculptor and contributor to Jamaican culture, as well as the wife of Norman Manley, the founder of the Jamaican People's National Party. She is often considered the "mother of Jamaican art". She is the daughter of English cleric Harvey Swithenbank and a Jamaican woman by the...
are four Jamaicans whose influences on the arts - music and dance in particular - has been extremely important. Nettleford, Thomas, and Ivy Baxter formed the National Dance Theatre Company in the 1950s. Other important Jamaicans in dance theater have included the Tony-Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning choreographer Garth Fagan
Garth Fagan
Gawain Garth Fagan, CD is a Jamaican modern dance choreographer. He is the founder and artistic director of Garth Fagan Dance, a modern dance company based in Rochester, New York.-Early years:...
(The Lion King on Broadway).
Dancehall, or ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
, music has inspired a number of dance styles as well. To understand the evolution of popular dance, it helps to understand the musical progression. Ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
music, with fast beats, also had fast dances. The slow to rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
also developed slower dances, allowing dancers to stay on the floor longer. Reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
is associated with many things, including the Rastafarian movement, but influenced the newer styles. Dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
music often creates its own dances based on moves in the lyrics of the songs themselves. Soca music
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
from Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
is popular with most of the popular artists from Trinidad, but many soca Jamaican artist such as Byron Lee
Byron Lee
Byron Lee OD, OJ was a musician, record producer, and entrepreneur, best known for his work as leader of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.-Biography:Lee was born in Christiana in Manchester Parish to an Afro-Jamaican mother and a Chinese father Byron Lee OD, OJ (born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee, 27...
, Fab 5
FAB 5
FAB 5 is a Greek reality TV show. The show is based on the American show, Queer Eye. In each episode, the team of five men known collectively as the "Fab Five" perform a makeover on a man, revamping his wardrobe, redecorating his home and offering advice on grooming, lifestyle and food.The show...
, and Lovindeer are famous but also represent Jamaican music.
Theatre
Jamaica's earliest theatre was built in 1682. Several more theatres opened in the 1700s and 1800s, attracting performances by both professional touring companies and amateur groups. But performances weren't limited to official venues. Many took place in houses, stores, court houses, and enclosed outdoor spaces large enough to hold them. During this period, classic plays such as Shakespeare were most often produced. However, the Jewish and French communities became large enough to merit productions aimed at them, too.After the abolition of slavery, Jamaicans began fusing music, humor, and dance into public theatrical performances. Although it took many years for true Jamaican styles to develop, eventually they became more prevalent than European works. Today's most popular theatrical form in Jamaica, pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
, began in the 1940s as a fusion of English pantomime with Jamaican folklore. Another popular style, "roots" theatre, evolved in the 1960s and 1970s. These riotous bawdy tales full of sexual innuendo remain crowd favorites in Kingston's open-air theatres.
One artist involved in root plays is Winsome (code name), a Jamaican writer and producer chronicled in Deborah Thomas' book "Modern Blackness". Winsome handled all the publicity for her plays herself, and ended up putting them on in the rural areas surrounding Kingston - the city theaters refused to house her plays because of their controversial nature. In her plays, Winsome explores how sex, money, and power interact everyday for Jamaicans. In 1997, Winsome wrote and produced a root play entitled Ruff Rider, in which family, sexual abuse, love, work, and friendship all intersect. According to author Thomas, author of, “In all of her work, the sympathetic characters are those she portrays as struggling to balance their own pursuit of individual gain with ‘living well together’ with others. As they negotiage the fine lines between egalitarianism and hierarchy, her characters also contribute to the public debate regarding the gendered dimensions of respectability and reputation.”
Other notable root play figures include Ralph Holness, Ginger Knight, Balfour Anderson, Michael Denton, Ian Reid, Paul Beil, Everton Dawkins, Buddy Pouyat and the late Hyacinth Brown.
Literature and writing
Derek WalcottDerek Walcott
Derek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...
, a Nobel prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureate, born and educated in St. Lucia, attended college in Jamaica. Other significant writers from the island include Claude McKay
Claude McKay
Claude McKay was a Jamaican-American writer and poet. He was a seminal figure in the Harlem Renaissance and wrote three novels: Home to Harlem , a best-seller which won the Harmon Gold Award for Literature, Banjo , and Banana Bottom...
and Louis Simpson
Louis Simpson
Louis Aston Marantz Simpson is an American poet. He won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his work At The End Of The Open Road.-Life:...
. Plays and works in Jamaican English, or patois, attract special attention. Louise Bennett, Andrew Salkey
Andrew Salkey
Andrew Salkey was a novelist, poet, freelance writer and journalist of Jamaican and Haitian origin. Salkey was born in Panama but was raised in Jamaica...
and Mikey Smith
Mikey Smith
Michael Smith, usually referred to as Mikey Smith , was a Jamaican dub poet. Along with Linton Kwesi Johnson, and Mutabaruka, he was one of the most well-known dub poets. In 1978, Michael Smith represented Jamaica at the 11th World Festival of Youth and Students in Cuba. His album Mi Cyaan Believe...
have contributed to this phenomenon by writing works in patois. Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
wrote his famous James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novels while living in Jamaica. Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys , born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a mid 20th-century novelist from Dominica. Educated from the age of 16 in Great Britain, she is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea , written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.-Early life:Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica...
is also well-known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial parallel novel by Dominica-born author Jean Rhys. Since her previous work, Good Morning, Midnight, was published in 1939, Rhys had lived in obscurity. Wide Sargasso Sea put Rhys into the limelight once more, and became her most successful novel.The novel...
, which was set in Jamaica. Jamaican authors are always faced with the decision of writing in standard English for a huge worldwide audience, or in the local patois, for a much smaller, but more trendy, audience. Jamaican films with patois sound-tracks such as The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell.The film stars reggae singer Jimmy Cliff, who plays Ivanhoe Martin, a character based on Rhyging, a real-life Jamaican criminal who achieved fame in the 1940s...
require sub-titles for export to general markets. In general, the use of patois severely limits the potential audience for the otherwise universal Jamaican message. Pauline Wills, author of the book, "The Imperils of the Maxfield Terrain," sections written in patios about the garrison community of Maxfield Avenue. She was born in the parish of St Andrew, Jamaica and a past student of Immaculate Conception High School.
Film
Jamaica's film industry is not widely known, but it is growing. The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell.The film stars reggae singer Jimmy Cliff, who plays Ivanhoe Martin, a character based on Rhyging, a real-life Jamaican criminal who achieved fame in the 1940s...
, Shottas
Shottas
Shottas is a 2002 Jamaican crime film about two young men who participate in organized crime in Kingston, Jamaica and Miami, Florida. It stars Kymani Marley, Spragga Benz, Paul Campbell and Louie Rankin and was written and directed by Cess Silvera...
, Third World Cop
Third World Cop
Third World Cop is a 1999 Jamaican action-crime film starring Paul Campbell, directed by Chris Browne and produced by Chris Blackwell of Island Jamaica Films.- Plot synopsis :...
, "Rockers", "Countryman" and Dancehall Queen
Dancehall Queen
Dancehall Queen is a 1997 independent Jamaican film starring Audrey Reid who plays Marcia, a street vendor struggling to raise two daughters.Detailed item informationDescriptionA street vendor discovers dancehalls and begins to live a double life....
are a few of the best-known Jamaican movies. However, many popular Hollywood movies have also been filmed in Jamaica. A short list includes The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)
The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 American romance and adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser. The screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart was based on the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The film stars Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins...
, Cocktail, Cool Runnings
Cool Runnings
Cool Runnings is a 1993 comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub. It is loosely based on the true story of the Jamaica national bobsled team's debut in the bobsleigh competition of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. It stars Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba, and Rawle D...
and James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films, Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
and Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (film)
Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
.
Jamaica's leading annual film event The Reggae Film Festival takes place each February in Jamaica's capital city, Kingston. Members of Jamaica's film industry gather here to make new links and many new projects have grown from the event.
Jamaica has many talented film makers but there is a great lack of available funds and resources for film makers. Since the creation of the Reggae Film Festival there have been many new films made in Jamaica and the event has given the industry a real boost, this combined with the recent CARICOM European film treaty which enables Jamaican film makers to seek fuding in Europe, has opened up a new door for film makers looking to apply for funding and this will hopefully make a real difference to the future of the industry.
Other more recent feature films made in Jamaica are: 'Almost Heaven', 'Roots Time', 'Wah Do Dem', 'Concrete Jungle', 'Redemption Paradise', 'Real Ghetto Youths', and 'Smile Orange'
Woodwork, furniture, and metalwork
Jamaicans have a long history of fine craftsmanship in wood and metal. Jamaica was home to many excellent furniture factories dating from colonial times, and Jamaican "Georgian' furnitureJamaican Georgian architecture
Jamaican Georgian architecture is an architectural style that was popular in Jamaica between c1750 and c1850. It married the elegance of Georgian styling with functional features designed to weather Jamaica's tropical climate...
was exported to the metropolitan countries.
See also
- Religion in JamaicaReligion in JamaicaAccording to the most recent census , the population's religious affiliation consists of Church of God, 24 percent; Seventh-day Adventist, 11 percent; Pentecostal, 10 percent; Baptist, 7 percent; Anglican, 4 percent; Roman Catholic, 2 percent; United Church, 2 percent; Methodist, 2 percent;...
- Music of JamaicaMusic of JamaicaThe music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles. Jamaica's music culture is a fusion of elements from the United States , Africa, and neighboring Caribbean islands such as...
- National Gallery of JamaicaNational Gallery of JamaicaThe National Gallery of Jamaica, in Kingston, Jamaica, is Jamaica's premier art collection. It is located in the Kingston Mall, a commercial and cultural center on Kingston harbour....
- Jamaican literatureJamaican literatureJamaican literature is internationally renowned. The island has been the home or birthplace of many important authors. One of the most important aspects of Jamaican literature is the local patois, a variation of English...
- Rastafari movementRastafari movementThe Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
- Jamaican EnglishJamaican EnglishJamaican English or Jamaican Standard English is a dialect of English spoken in Jamaica. It melds parts of both American English and British English dialects, along with many aspects of Irish intonation...
- Jamaica Independence FestivalJamaica Independence FestivalThe Jamaica Independence Festival is a celebration of Jamaica's independence, a status gained in 1962.-History:The festival was initiated in 1962 by then Minister of Community Development Edward Seaga, to showcase literary, fine, and performing artists, and to celebrate "things Jamaican"...
Further reading
- Mordecai, Martin and Pamela. Culture and Customs of Jamaica. Greenwood Press. 2001.
- Hill, Errol. The Jamaican Stage, 1655-1900: Profile of a Colonial Theatre. University of Massachusetts Press. 1992.
External links
- The Company Dance Theatre Jamaica
- Jamaica National Heritage Trust
- Embracing their African roots -- More Jamaicans identifying with African culture — PoliticalArticles.NET
- Jamaican art and culture in the tourism sector, an interview with Jane Issa