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Rastafarianism in jamaica
The importance of rastafarianism in jamaican riligous culture
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The original inhabitants of Jamaica are believed to be the Arawaks, also called Tainos,,, Jamaica was originally named the island Xaymaca, which meant ““land of wood and water”. Tobacco became their biggest crop, making smoking a popular pastime. Beneficial of being an island is the ocean surrounding providing an excellent source of fish. On Christopher Columbus second voyage to the Western Indians he landed upon the islands. The well know Rastafari Religion was founded in Jamaica during the 19030’s, popular for unique style. Similar to Chinese food and other non American traditional restaurants, Jamaican restaurants are popular in the U.S. You must not forget to mention reggae music. A highly popular music industry listened to globally.
addition, after WWI, there were many waves of Jamaican peoples that would come to America.
The earliest inhabitants to come to Jamaica were the Arawaks. They came at about 600 B.C. About sixty to one-hundred thousand people immigrated to Jamaica. While they were here they invented the ...
Jamaica's government is based on the British model of democracy. Even though Jamaica is independent place, it’s part of the commonwealth of Nations and saw Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as its head of state. She is represented in Jamaica by a governor-general. The governor-general names the leader of the majority party as prime minister, who is the head of government. Representatives are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. Elections must be held around every five years. Arawak Indians lived in Jamaica when the explorer Christopher Columbus got there in 1494 and claimed the island for Spain. The Spaniards enslaved the Arawak and later brought Africans to the island as slaves. Disease killed almost all the Arawak. British invaded Jamaica in 1655, and they gained possession in 1670. They continued to fight African slaves called Maroons, who had escaped into the hills when the British arrived. The British and the Maroons signed a peace treaty in 1738. Fun Fact: Jamaica’s agricultural products are sugar, bananas, coffee, coconut, cocoa, citrus, pimento,
Although there is not much evidence regarding the Spanish involvement of Jamaica, the Spaniards were supposedly the first to arrive on the island, and settle it shortly thereafter. Christopher Columbus veered off his path and came upon the small island in the Caribbean on his second voyage in may of 1494. The island was already inhabited by the indigenous people called the Arawaks, who supposedly came from Venezuela and had already named the island Xaymaca. Not unlike the other Caribbean islands the Spaniards inhabited, their presence decimated the indigenous population. The influx of disease and mistreatment of the indigenous people by the newcomers led to their eventual demise, 70-80 years after the Spanish arrival. (Musgrave). Only a few artifacts remain of what was once the Arawak culture, a people that at one point numbered 60,000. (Barrett, p. 20).
Jamaica’s fighting spirit can be seen even in its early days with the Maroons. The fighting spirit is not uncommon with people who are oppressed or forced against their will. The Maroons came in two waves, the first are slaves that fled during the Spanish rule, the second wave was during British control. The Maroons used the highlands of Jamaica to seek refuge, establish colonies and attack plantations when needed. Even today the beliefs and herbal practices of the Maroons are still evident in Jamaican culture. Their trouble past has made their life difficult but even today they are a presence in Jamaica.
"In the last election Prime Minister X went to Ethiopia and met with the King of Kings and had a conversation with him. He came back to Jamaica and showed the people a Rod, which he said was given to him by the King, Haile Selassie the First, to bring freedom to the Black People of Jamaica. He carried that Rod all around during the campaign. The Rastafarians heard this; the Dreadlocks heard this; and this rod caused him to win a landslide victory for the Party. Well, I and I welcome that, because the former government did nothing for the cause of Africa, Rastas, or no one. As you know, we Rastas do not vote, because you cannot take out a rat and put in a cat, but the Prime Minister came to power talking like a Rastafarian. He started some progressive moves on behalf of the African peoples of this country. But after a while he forgot the Rod; he forgot to talk about Africa; he forgot to talk about the Rastafarians. What we now know, is that if the Prime Minister even wanted to do something good for the African peoples of this country, his lieutenants will not allow him to do it.
The music of Jamaica began five centuries ago, when Columbus colonized the land of the Arawak Indians. This dates the start of oppression by first the Spanish and then the English in this area of the Caribbean. Blacks were brought in as slaves by the English, and although Jamaica has had it's independence since 1963, the tension of authority and control still reigns. Jamaica is a story of injustice, international influence, ineffective governing, and unequal distribution of wealth; all of these elements provide a solid base for the theme of oppression and the need for a revolution and redemption in Jamaican music. Reggae in particular reflects these injustices, and the feelings, needs and desires to change the lifestyle that Jamaicans have historically lived.
Living in two different places is an experience that opens people’s mind to a new way of thinking. The diversities of each country has its own appeal and often times, we find ourselves comparing and contrasting these nations based a variety of aspects. Despite bearing some minor similarities, the differences in geography, climate, tradition, and economy between the two countries, Jamaica and the United States of America are extensive.
...ike Jamaica is Brazil. There is masses of poverty and famine when you visit there and part of it really looks like a ruined land as Jamaica does, although all the shocking things you see there, the people are making the place to be magical like he is through their music, the way they dance the Samba, their passion for life and the love that surrounds the country. A country can be beautiful not just by her landscape and nature, but also the people who giving a good atmosphere to the place like the Jamaicans do in their manner of singing all the time and giving a pleasant feeling to be there, those people make the place special and unique. They give you the true color of the country through their ideals and beliefs of freedom and happiness and by singing Bob Marley songs they express themselves through his words which interpret who they are and what they believe in.
United States and Jamaica have many similarities such as they were both under British rule for several years, and they both elect officials to govern the country. However the differences between the two are quite vast when it comes to the quality of education, government, and healthcare. When the three are compared it is clear to see that in terms of where is a better place for a child to grow up the United States is a better place to be.
The people of Jamaica are not as diverse as the people of the United States. The first settlers most likely came from the Andes Mountains in South America around 700. Now, Jamaica is one of the most densely populate...
When we think of Jamaica, we immediately go to pictures of an ideal vacation spot, white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water; we rarely take into consideration what the workers go through, how their economy is, how people are affected everyday by income, poverty, manufacturing and jobs; hopefully this paper will give some insight into the lives of not only the workers, but everyone living in Jamaica at this time.
Jamaica, located in the Caribbean and south of Cuba, has a population of 2,706,500 according to the 2011 census and the area of 4,243 square miles, their capital is Kingston which has about a quarter of their population . They are the 49th most densely populated country on the earth with 656 people per square mile and the life expectancy of 71. For currency one USD (US Dollar) would equal 107.95 JMD (Jamaican Dollar) but a dozen eggs would cost 253.78JMD which would equal to about $3 for us. But what are they like and what do they eat? That’s what I’m going to tell you.
Cultures are a system of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. It includes a system of shared beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors. No two cultures are the same. We are living in a mixed culture setting where a wide variety of nationalities exist together. I interview my friend from class, Cynthia Wilder, who is Jamaican and compared myself to her since I am an Indian. Although Indian and Jamaican cultures are not the same, they share many things in common.
Black is for its people, Yellow is for the sunshine and Green represents the vegetation of this beautiful 10,990 sq km (4,243 sq mi) island called Jamaica otherwise Known as the pearl of the Caribbean according to (McCormick C., 2017), with its white sandy beach, and chilling island vibe, the populace is made up of 2.89 million people from numerous ethnic groups (Jamaica Census 2011): 92.1% African (Black); 6.1% Mixed; 0.8% Indian; 0.4% Other. The purpose of this paper is to educate and inform you about Jamaica’s culture, some of the points that will be explained are Music/dance, Food and Language /literature.