J A M A I C A N H E R I T A G E Feyoneisha McGrath
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TABLE OF CONTENTS FOOD * THE NATIONAL DISH
* JERK * LOCAL EATS
MUSIC
* REGGAE * DANCEHALL * MUSIC LEGENDS
PEOPLE * RASTAFARIAN VS. CHRISTIAN
* LIFESTYLE
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THE NATIONAL DISH
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ACKEE & SALTFISH
THE FRUIT
The fruit has to be taken through a few steps before it can be enjoyed. After it has been ripened on the tree, the fruit must be huxed and cleaned, removing the huge black seed and a red membrane that is said to be very poisonous if ingested. People who consume the unripe or improperly cleaned fruit sometimes suffer from ‘Jamaican vomiting sickness syndrome’ (JVS) allegedly caused by the unusual amino acid components, hypoglycin A and B. While there have been many incidence of fatality in the past, this is no longer the case as Jamaicans are more aware of the signs and symptoms of JVS.
The Jamaican national dish is a very simple dish, it’s main ingredient is the fruit ackee. This ackee fruit is not a native Jamaican fruit, the fruit travelled the slave route from West Africa in the 1700’s and made it’s way to the island. There are two annual bearing seasons: between January to March and June to August. the fruit takes some time to ripen as the pods must be completely opened on the tree before picking. As a child, I was told stories about the possibility of ackee being very poisonous if it is forced open, undercooked or improperly cleaned. The fruit has a red membrane that must be removed before cooking and is said to be the source of the poison. In spite of this negative reputation, the fruit and it’s dishes have followed Jamaicans globally.
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WHAT IS JAMAICAN JERK? Jerk is a particular style of cooking in Jamaica. Jerk is mostly about the way the meat is seasoned. Traditional jerk is very spicy, the spice is contributed by one of the main ingredients in the jerking process - scotch bonnet pepper. Scotch bonnet pepper is very popular in Jamaican cooking as a whole. The jerk process requires food to marinate in a range of spices as well as wet and dry rubs. Many locals make thgeir own wet rub by simply blending garlic, onions, the scotch bonnet, escallion, thyme, all spice (pimento to the locals) to create a thick mixture.
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THE SEASONING Jerk is traditionally applied to chicken and pork, but is now being used in seafood and other meats such as lamb. Whatever the meat, the process is the same. The intended meat or fish is is thoroughly cleaned and washed in lime juice of vinegar, drained and seasoned. The wet rub is applied first followed by the dry rub, which is a mixture of dried herbs, salt and other powdered seasonings.
Along with local Jamaican based companies, international companies have been trading the secrets of jerk. Fron the Noodle company in the United Kingdom to America’s very own McCormick spice company.
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THE TECHNIQUE The jerking technique can be traced back to the 1600’s, the technique initially involved fire pits or brick ovens. As the years evolve, fire pits became absolete as entrepreneurs developed an easier, very portable way of achieving the same smokey flavor without the pit. They began making elongated cuts in oil drums and empty propane cylinders. They put small drill holes in the bottom and the side of each drum to allow air flow. Each drum is given a hinge, a handle, legs, a rack and in some cases an exhaust pipe. These are called jerk pans.
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The seasoned meat is slow cooked over coal burned from pimento trees. Due to the social and religous stigma surrounding pork, it is never cooked in the same jerk pan. While the meat is being cooked, it is doused with red stripe beer to maintain its moisture and add flavor. Some jerk men add some all spice and fresh thyme to the red stripe for extra flavor. Well done meat is served with harddough bread, fried dumpling or festival as well as alongside a mold of rice and peas with a cabbage slaw on the side.
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LOCAL EATS The typical non-Jamaican hears the word ‘JAMAICA’ they immediately thinks ‘JERK.’ A person that was born and raised on the island don’t live on just jerk chicken. Jamaica is very big on agriculture, hence we eat most of the things we grow. Ground provisions can be found on the dinner plate one or two times for the week with some different type of meat or fish. As the seasons change so does the food we eat as majority of our crops are seasonal. Typically different days have a particular meal for that day like rice and peas on Sundays and Wednesdays, Fridays are eat out day and Saturdays and rainy days are definately suop days. The enntire island is a tropical island, however the climate is very different throughout the island. Fruits like mangoes bare accordingly - certain types only grow in the hills where it is much cooler. Scotch bonnet peppers only grow in the countryside, Trelawny is known for the best yams as well as sugar cane and the best fishes are caught off the coast of St. Elizebeth. Pork is a favorite to many on the island, it is jerked, roasted, salted and the intestines cured and dried for preservation. The second most popular pork meal in Jamaica is stew peas - it made with the satlted pig head, feet and tail as well as another meat like oxtail or salted beef and lots of red kidney beans.
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STREET SIDE MINI MARKET
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RICE & PEAS WITH STEW CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES
e with tart - mad ing le p p a e Pin le fill d a pinap gar. dough an brown su h it w d e k coo
Pean uns ut drop a coo lted pe s - raw ked a with nuts ar suga e coo r. The d brown led r on b ops is ana na l eaf. d - cooke . t drops gar Coconu r and su t, ginge a leaf. coconu n on bana Cooled
Pink pon e from to base mad cooked w p - shreaded co a d a z iz G con ith granu ing fron lated sug ut dough and the fill onut The cook ar. ed eaded coc r h s and pink coconut is sepa d e k o co rat ger coloring ar and gin added to ed batch th g u s h it w at is the used to c a pink laye reate a r on top of the w hite.
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M U S I C
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MUSICAL MELTING POT Jamaican music is not just ‘REGGAE,’ there is an array of other genres wrapped in the musical banner. Jamaican music genres include mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, ska, reggae fusion and other related styles. Our music has been influenced by Jamaican folk, rhythm and blues and other caribbean music like soca and calypso. However the biggest influence in Jamaican music to this day is those we obtained from our African Descendants. These African musical elements formed the basis of Jamaican music as we know it. The onedrop rhythm, which is the defining rhythmic element of reggae music, is definateley from our African roots. The call-andresponse style of singing is very common in West African music and is strongly reflected in many our genres today. The toasting is of also of African influences and forms the basis for rap music. Reggae music is the first thing that a forigner associates with the word’JAMAICA’. Reggae music burted on the scene in the late 1960s, and went on to become the genre of music that most people identify with the music of Jamaica. Reggae, particularly roots reggae, was and still is heavily influenced by Rastafarianism, both lyrically and musically, with the drumming of nyabinghi and socially conscious lyrics are the hallmark or reggae music. Dub music is an offshoot of reggae, which features remixes of reggae songs, usually adding heavy bass lines and re-processed instrumental and vocal tracks. The biggest, most influencial names in reggae music are Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Lee “Scratch” Perry.
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DANCEHALL MUSIC Like reggea music, dance hall music is another musical hallmark of the island. Dancehall imerged in the 1970’s, it has a more raw lyrical content than reggae. Dancehall music is characterized by a faster, more digitalized rhythms. The faster rhythms paved the way for the birth of dance moves, professional dancers, sound systems and a number of stage shows as new talents kept popping up. Some singers showed their versatility as they were able to transition between the slower paced reggae and the fast pace of dancehall music. The emergence of dancehall brought about many collaberations between local and international artists. Dancehall music places great focus on women and the activities of day to day street life, this genre of music is also very homophobic. After the popularizing of Buju Banton’s dancehall hit “Boom Bye Bye” in the early 1990s, dancehall music came under heavy criticism over anti-gay lyrics in a lot of songs. Dancehall music has evolved tremendously since the 1970’s and has given birth to musicians like Shaggy and Sean Paul; groups and duos like Voicemail and T.O.K, many others that have made their names both locally and internationally. Dancehall music synthesized the beginning of street dances like ‘weddy weddy’ and ‘passa passa’ as well as countless street slangs. The word ‘bashment’ is used as an adjective suggesting something is really good. The word ‘ragga’ is also an adjective suggesting that something is particularly raw.
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While dancehall music is very raw, it brings unity and comeradery to many communities.
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MUSIC LEGENDS
Jimmy Cliff OM - Jamaican reggae and ska musician, instrumentalis, singer and actor. Mr. Cliff in the only living musician to hold the ‘Order of Merit,’ the highest honour to be awarded for achievements in the arts and sciences. Jimmy Cliff ’s hit ‘The Harder They Come’ helped to streamline reggae music around the world, he also starred in the film ‘The Harder They Come.’ His cover of Jonny Nash’s “I can See Clearly Now” is the soundtract in the Jamaican film “Cool Runnings.” Jimmy Cliff was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Wailers - initially called Bob Marley and the Wailers. After the passing of Bob Marley in 1981, the band was lead by Junior Marvin with members Aston and Carlton Barrette alongside ‘The Upsetters.’ The Wailers kept touring well into the 2000’s. In 2008 Junior Marvin and Al Anderson began touring in a band called The Original Wailers.
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p e o p l e
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CHRISTIAN VS RASTAFARIAN Jamaica is a very religeous country. The nation is pretty much split between christians and rastafarians, the members of each thinking the other is crazy. Though their Messiah may be different there are aspects of one that was clearly influenced by the other.
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CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE AND HISTORY The faith and the belief may be the same, but the denominations, delivery methods and lifestyles creates a distinction between the major churches in Jamaica. Majority of the country firmly believes in God the father, Jesus the son and the power of the trinity. The doctrines of the bible that states that a sinner must repent, confess all their sins in order to enter the kingdom of God. The major denominations on the island are: Pentecostals, Church of God, Baptist, Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Seventh Day Adventists (SDA). The lifestyles are what set these churches apart - pentecostals on the island live within very strict lines that borders the prohibition of permed or processed hair, the wearing of pants, shorts on mini skirts or even piercings; this makes them very conspicuous in a croud. Seventh Day Aventist followers only worship on a saturday and like the Jews are not allowed to participate in any activities after 6pm friday evening. They also do not eat pork as they live the part of the bible that said Jesus drove the demons into the pigs on the hills. The other churches are pretty lenient with the prohibitions of the pentecostal and the SDA churches. The different denominations have all contributed to the island’s infrastructure in one way or another. The Anglican church was introduced to JAmaica by the British in 1664 and is the oldest continuous place of worship on the island. The baptist church was started by a former African enslaved in America, the baptist community grew rapidly and gave birth to believers like Sam Sharpe who led the slave rebellion of 1831 that emancipated the country. The SDA made many contibutions to the island in their growth. The SDA movement introduced rooms called “Massage and Hydropathic Treatment Rooms” providing healthcare services as the need grew in the 1900’s. Today those rooms are known as the Andrews Memorial Hospital that provides a full range of services as well as RN training for students of NCU.
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Todays Northern Caribbean University was initially called West Indian Training School when it was opened by the Adventist movement in the 1900’s. The school was later renamed West Indies College until it was relocated and renamed to its present name. The University now has 64 bachelors programs, 11 masters programs and 4 doctorial programs and is just one of over thirty schools opened on the island by the Seventh Day Adventist.
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RASTAFARIAN LIFESTYLE AND HISTORY The Rastafari movement is A relatively new religion which
developed in Jamaica in the 1930s, following the crowning of the Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I as in 1930. The followers of the Rastafari movement worship Haile Selassie I the same way christians pray to Jesus. They view him as their messiah and percieves Ethiopia as the Promise land. Members of the Rastafari movement known as Rastas, Rastafari, Ras or Natty. The Rastafari movement is not just a new religion, it is the way of life for thousands in Jamaica and around the world. Like some of the churches in Jamaica, Rastas do not eat meat, do not drink alcohol beverages, do not mix with things that are of the government as they are deemed unclean, they also have their own dialect. Like christians Rastas believe is a God they call Jah. They believe that there is a promise land much like heaven aclled Zion. The word ‘babylon’ is associated with anything negative such as oppression, materialistic nature and sensual pleasures. Rastafarians uses marijuana as a spiritual meditation medium. Unlike christains many Rastas do not have a place where they go to meditate, they instaed encourage each other to searh for their spirituality within. Many took to the rastafarian movement as their messages are always about the upliftment of ones self. Bob Marley was one of the biggest Rastafarian advocate, his beliefs were expressed through his music. The dialect of Rastas refer to themselves as ‘I.’ Rastas associated the lion with strength and confidence, the lion is the symbol on the Ethiopian flag in the reign of Haile Selassie I, hence the lion is a very important symbol to Rastas. The growing of the locks is also a symbol of strength for Rastas and is reference to the story of King Solomon who lost his strenght after his hair was cut by his wife.
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LIFESTYLE
The Jamaican way of life is a pretty simple one. The atmosphere calls for relaxation. The breeze from the ocean, the fruits in season, the laughter of adults and children as they echo throughtout the streets and the music paints a haven to the surface observer. My country is beautiful, our people is devine and our lanscapes are breath taking. However this doesn’t mean that as a country we have no issues, cost of living in Jamaica is very high and is not very affordable to the majority. Careers are within the traditional boundaries of nurses, teachers, lawyers, bankers and pharmacists even though school is expensive. The majority of the flock are self made entrepreneur - cooks, cab drivers, musicians, disc jockeys and vendors. Skills are very big is the island, the skilled people help to build communities - the mason, the carpenter, plumber, the electricians and the jack of all trades. The streets in the major towns have many street vendors - mobile and stationary. The hustle and bustle of a typical day in town is much like time square in the winter.
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No matter what one does in the day time, when the day winds down so do we. You will find people conversating at their neighbor hood shops and bars, playing board games, dominoes, watchin tv or simply just having a red stripe. The popular phrase ‘JAMAICA NO PROBLEM’ embodies us a people because no matter how difficult things get, we never pass up a trip to let it all wash away at the beach.
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