Jamaican Culture

Jamaica is as rich in culture as it is diverse in population. The national motto 'Out of Many ...... One People.' says it all.

Each of the nationalities that contributed to Jamaica's vibrant history brought with them the beliefs and traditions of the their home country.
Jamaican culture today is a brand new cloth uniquely woven from these many traditions.

As tourism is a major industry in Jamaica, the visitor is well catered for, and hotel and restaurant staff are generally friendly and efficient.

Music and African culture are very apparent as are old British colonial influences. Signs can be seen on the island claiming 'Jah lives', Jah being the name given to God by the Rastafarians.

Music

Jamaica reverberates to the soul-riveting sounds of calypso, soca (a soul-calypso fusion) and reggae. Music is everywhere.

Although its sound is timeless, reggae -- often called Jamaica's greatest export -- is a style of music with a fairly short history. What we think of as 'reggae' today is actually younger than rock 'n' roll, however its development stretches back hundreds of years and incorporates many of the same influences (African slave songs, popular tunes, big band, R&B) that helped shape rock.

The roots of reggae are generally traced back to mento, a style of music that first surfaced in Jamaica in the 19th century. It was a popular type of folk music, often played at dances on homemade instruments such as drums and flutes. Like the blues, it had a heavy sexual component, but could also incorporate stories and more serious messages.
After the turn of the century, big band jazz became popular in America, and Jamaican audiences likewise embraced this new style -- but big band and mento musicians would sometimes play together and the two styles of music became intermingled. This hybrid frequently led to mento bands adding horns, and for a period during the 1950s the term 'mento' became nearly synonymous with calypso--at least to many Jamaican listeners.

Danceable double-time ska was adopted by the poor and dispossessed, who later turned to the soulful, beat of reggae music and its political, social and religious messages full of metaphor, expressions of anger and praise of Jah (God). Reggae is associated above all with one man: Bob Marley, who helped spark a 'Third World Consciousness' by being both a musical superstar and a consistent voice against racism, oppression and injustice.

Although he died in 1981 this legendary Jamaican still lives on as one of the greatest musical philosophers of all times, evidenced by the fact that his name was recently enshrined in the American Rock and Roll of Fame.

Other music forms include Jazz, which is becoming more recognised in Jamaica and Rock Steady. Classical, though not widely popular, has its own audience. Gospel is not as established as Reggae but is very popular with a large audience.

Soca/Calypso has been adopted from the Eastern Caribbean. It has become very popular especially since the introduction of the Jamaica Carnival.

Language

Officially English is the spoken language in Jamaica but, nearly all Jamaicans, however, speak Patois. Patois is a unique Creole dialect that is a mixture of English and African with words from other languages occasionally mixed in.

Sports

Starting with the London Olympic Games in 1948, when Jamaica first competed in the Summer Olympic Games, this tiny Caribbean nation has racked up an astonishing number of Olympic medals. A feat unmatched by any other destination its size.

Jamaica's summer Olympic athletes have competed in boxing, yachting, swimming, and are a force to be reckoned with in the area of track and field. In 1988, Jamaica entered the Winter Olympics for the first time, with its now legendary Bobsled Team. Like a tropical wind, they breezed through the 1988 Winter Olympics and won the hearts of people around the world. Songs were sung in their honor, Disney brought their story to the big screen with their blockbuster hit, 'Cool Runnings', and they proved anything is possible, even when the odds are stacked against you.

In 1998 another milestone was achieved, when Jamaica's national soccer team, the Reggae Boyz, qualified for the 1998 World Cup in France, making Jamaica the first English speaking Caribbean country to compete in this prestigious event. Their name, coined by the people, is drawn from the rich musical heritage of Jamaica

Arts

Jamaican art has blossomed into an internationally respected movement.

The paintings and carvings of Jamaican artists are finding their way abroad, and are on view in Kingston's National Gallery, where you'll see works by prominent Jamaican artists, including artist and sculptress Edna Manley, matriarch of Jamaica's cultural arts, and other soulful works such as that of Carl Abrahams and Barrington Watson. Jamaican made arts and crafts items are featured regularly at fairs, festivals and special seasonal exhibits throughout the island, and of course, ware available at shops island wide should you wish to take home a memento with