Jamaican Folklore

    In Jamaica, folk tales are really taken seriously by some people. Some of these stories are originally from Africa and some of them are taken more seriously than others. While ones are only for entertaining people as the Anasi Stories, some involving supernatural creatures such as Duppies and Rolling Calves are truly believed in or just speculated about by many.

     Here are some Jamaican tales, but if you believe or not, it is up to you:

  · Ol' Heige: She is a witch who sucks people’s breath when she sheds her skin and turns into the form of an owl. She is specially dangerous to babies. If you find an Ol' Heige's skin you just need to put salt and pepper on it and she will be incapable to put her skin back on because it will burn her. Without it she can be killed. You can protect the babies by placing an open Bible in their cradle or using some charms.

  ·   The White Witch of Rose Hall:

       Annie Mae Patterson and her parents (an English woman and an Irish man) moved to Haiti when she was 10 years old. While in Haiti, she got interested in voodoo and learned about it from her nanny who was Haitian. When her parents died she was raised by her nanny until she turned 18, and then her nanny died too. As she was growing, she was becoming an expert at Voodoo.She moved to Jamaica in order to find a rich husband to make her fortune and as she was very pretty, she found one fast. 

          She met and married John Palmer. He was the owner of the Rose Hall estate, but just a few months after their wedding she was growing tired of her husband. Because of that, she had a lot of affairs with slaves that worked for John. One day he caught Annie with a slave in bed, he beat her but she didn't let that be. She killed John and inherited his possessions. Annie was very cruel with the slaves who worked at the estate. She would kill or torture any slave who didn't please her and sometimes she would only do that to show to the other slaves what she was capable to do. She married twice after her first wedding and like her other husband, they died, presumed murdered by Annie who was after their wealth. The husbands were buried by some slaves and before they came back to the estate she already had killed them. The name White Witch of Rose Hall was given to her because of her cruel behavior and her Voodoo rituals.

          Annie wanted to win the love of a man called Robert Rutherford, however he was in love with Millicent, the granddaughter of an Obeah( Jamaican word usually used to denote witchcraft) man. Trying to have Robert, she cursed Millicent and little time after that Millicent died. Outraged by Millicent's death the Obeah man with many angry slaves killed Annie brutally then buried her in a very deep hole. The slaves burned Annie’s things, afraid of being haunted by her spirit. A Voodoo ritual was made when she was buried but it is said it was not made correctly and her spirit still haunts the house on the Rose Hall estate.

    Jamaican people also have some unusual customs and beliefs that may be interesting to other people, here are some of them:

·         It is bad luck to marry on yout birthday;

·         To dream of losing a tooth means someone is going to die;

·         The best day of the week for beginning a journey is Monday as one should never travel on Sunday. However, the best day to go looking a job is Tuesday. If a person fails to get a job on Tuesday, he should not try again until the following Tuesday;

·         Just before the last breath leaves the body, water must be put in the mouth of the dying person to help them on their journey.

Jamaican Dance & Music

The history of Jamaican music is absolutely intertwined with the history of the Jamaican people. The large number of African slaves and their descendants helped to maintain a high level of cultural elements from Africa including musical styles. These elements are the basis of Jamaican music as we know it, even the language is reflected in it, sometimes sung in patois. English and other European influences appear in Jamaican music and dance too.

Dance:

·    Quadrille: During the colonial era black slaves musicians played the popular music of Europe for their owners and performed the Quadrille and other dances and song styles to amuse them. Quadrille features the mento music which is played with acoustics instruments such as banjo, guitar and rumba box. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agIqGccZaQY

·    Kumina: This is an indigenous religion, dance and music. Its beat is largely influenced by the drumming and dance style of the Akan people. It is a folk Jamaican dance very similar to Candomblé, a religion here in Brazil. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcOgi1e-ihs

Music:

·   Reggae: It is considered the genre that represents the Jamaican music. It was influenced by the Rastafarianism, both musically and lyrically. Important artists of Reggae like Bob Marley and Eek-a-Mouse were born in  Jamaica. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kx6OW3AufM

·  Ska: It combines elements of mento music and American R&B featuring danceable rhythm and harmony singing. It is one of the basis of the Skinhead Movement. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ZrHMY5Cso

·      Dancehall: It is a reformed kind of reggae with electronic beats. At the beginning its lyric content was about violence and impoverishment in Jamaica. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ4TW5Z8eu0

Jamaican Cuisine

A mixture of cooking techniques, flavors, spices and influences from the indigenous people on the island, and many people from other countries who lived in Jamaica make Jamaican cuisine diverse. It includes many dishes from different cultures.Added together with some ingredients from Jamaica, many foods have been introduced and are now grown locally. A wide variety of seafood, tropical fruit and meats can be found.

Some Jamaican dishes are variations of cuisine and cooking styles brought to the island from other places. These are often modified to incorporate the local produce.

The national dish of Jamaica is Salt Fish and other popular Jamaican dishes are Curry Goat, Fried Dumplings, Ackee, etc.  Jamaican Cuisine is the result of African, Indian, British, French, Spanish and Chinese influences in Jamaica. Jamaican patties, various pastries and bread are also popular, as well as fruit beverages and Jamaican rum.

Jamaican cuisine has been spread by emigration, especially during the 20th century, from the island to other nations while Jamaicans sought economic opportunities in other areas.

Some popular ingredients that are part of the Jamaican cuisine are: different kinds of pepper, rum, tropical fruit like coconut and banana, ginger, rice, beans etc.

Jamaican Celebrities

    Jamaica is a “barn” of celebrities. Most of these famous people are artists, but we can find Jamaican celebrities in politics and sports too.

     Certainly, the most Jamaican famous artist is Bob Marley. He was a reggae singer who sang about love, peace and happiness in his songs. One of the most popular Bob Marley’s songs is Three Little Birds. Who never sang or heard someone singing: “'Cause every little thing is gonna be alright tututututuuuuu”? We can also find: Sean Paul (musician), Grace Jones (singer and model), Damian Marley (singer), Jimmy Cliff (singer, musician and actor), Stephen Hopkins (director), Eek-a-Mouse (singer), Heavy D (singer), etc.

   In politics, we can find: Norman Manley (Jamaican national hero), Portia Simpson-Miller (Prime Minister), Patrick Allen (General Governor) and there are many Jamaican politics in the USA government too, but the majority just have Jamaican parents, like Ivette Clarke.

  About sports, we can cite Usain Bolt, the Lightning (World and Olympic record holder 100m and 200m). After Bolt exceed the record (London, 2012), running speed gained fame in Jamaica that promises form new sprinters for the future. Other sport stars: Patrick Ewing (former NBA star), Mike McCallum (champion boxer), Melanie Walker (sprinter, 400m Olympic record holder in Beijing, 2008), etc.

   

    Many celebrities are born of Jamaican parents, like Naomi Campbell (model), Corbin Bleu (actor, singer), Sean Kingston (singer), Will.I.Am (singer), etc.