Preview

Jamaican Culture Research Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
997 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jamaican Culture Research Paper
Each and every country has its own unique culture or tradition. So does Jamaica. Jamaican culture encompasses religion, Jamaican lifestyle and Jamaican society as a whole. Jamaican culture is what defines its people .Their past is full of fascinating stories. Whether they were part of enslavement and oppression, the Jamaicans are survivors. Jamaican traditions are passed on or carried out over a long period of time. They celebrate their traditions at special events throughout the year. Jamaican culture can be divided into several aspects. Jamaican culture is made up of the many ethnicities. The majority of citizens are African, Indian, and Chinese. The mixture of ethnicities is fundamental in defining …show more content…
Jamaican music has long been a powerful force on a global scale. The islands wealth of extraordinarily popular genres such as dancehall and dub, as well as having a long history of folk music and even mento. Mento draws from many of Jamaica’s folk music styles, and primarily began as the music of slaves on the plantations, it was the sound of rural Jamaica in the 1940s. A new genre arose in the music world in Jamaica in the 1970’s. Reggae brought Jamaica’s roots to the core, including the rock steady beat with the mento shuffle. With the great hits that this music was getting, it was also getting people into trouble. It even got some of the Jamaican citizens into mistrusts with the authorities. That led to a group called Rastafari. Rastafarians are those who dismiss politics as “politricks”. Reggae music preaches the message of rebellion and defiance of authority. This is where Bob Marley comes in. He made his play on the world stage. He started out his career with ska and a rock steady group The Wailers. The producer Lee Perry recognized their talent. From there his career started to kick off big time. So big that he placed Reggae and Jamaica on the world map as a symbol of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Rastafarian theology developed from the ideas of Marcus Garvey, a political activist who wanted to improve the status of fellow blacks, according to the BBC. It began to spread globally in the 1970’s due to the fame and music of Bob Marley, who actively and faithfully, preached Rastafarian into his music. In the song, ‘Get Up, Stand Up’, which deals with the Rastafarian faith, has become an anthem for sufferers everywhere. As Bob Marley was quoted in ‘Catch a Fire’ saying “Facts an’ facts, an’ t’ings an’ t’ings: dem’s all a lotta fockin’ bullshit. Hear me! Dere is no truth, an’ that is de truth of Jah Rastafari.” This is an example of one of the cultural and human elements of religion that had an impact on his music.…

    • 1046 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginnings of the Ska genre can be traced to the island nation of Jamaica in the mid 1950s. Initially, it was defined as “a kind of ham-fisted combination of American rhythm and blues and Caribbean folk styles, such as calypso and mento” (Selvin). This melting pot of sounds was credited to the fact that post World War II, the inhabitants of Jamaica were able to listen in on American radios due to American soldiers’ stationings. Tourism and other outside forces have always had an influence on Jamaican music, with textbooks coining that “Caribbean musics have participated in significant ways in globalized networks of music-making… that have historically emerged in response to travel in the Caribbean” (Nettl 345). With Jamaica’s music culture being accepting and adapting to outside instrumentation and styles, they were able to create a genre that appealed the to United States as well.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Boi-Bumba In Brazil

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The urban youth at this time also wanted a modern sounding music, since the “country mento” played at the time was not very popular. Building off of American R&B, the Jamaican youths created a “shuffle beat” based dance genre in which guitar and piano stabs were heard on the off beats, which was never heard previously. Due to poor economic environment at the time the music was hard to be heard, since there were no records stores and only a select few of Jamaicans had record players. It was even hard for local ska bands to play at clubs since they didn't have proper technological equipment. However, ska began to take off with the invention of the sound system. The sound system consisted of “one or two turntables, a powerful amplifier and speakers.” Deejays also became popular around this time by hyping up the crowd and talking over the instrumental tracks. During these performances, armed thugs were on stage in order to protect the sound equipment. Large groups of people began to watch these performances in urban areas which began to increase the popularity of…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jamaica Research Paper

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages

    No doubt that, Jamaica’s culture is fascinating. For acute square miles, Jamaica has to have more houses of God than any other country. Some practice ancient rituals of voodoo (Nelson). Jamaica has a wide variety of races, from Chinese to Spanish people live in this fine country (Glennie, Alex and Laura Chappell). Food in Jamaica is usually spicy because of the Spanish religion (FIU College of Business…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Reggae is one piece of entertainment that I, my family, and a lot of other people enjoy. It is more than just entertainment because it is also culture. Reggae isn’t something new or a trend; it is a type of musical entertainment that has existed for a very long time. It is very popular; not mainly in America, but other countries. One famous person involved in reggae music is somebody you may know about: Bob Marley. His songs are known by many reggae lovers and people who don’t like reggae. His songs and music is loved by many people and is popular and known around the world. Reggae is faced with many stereotypes. Most people believe that a lot of the people that listen to reggae music or compose reggae music are potheads. That is not true,…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Caribbean Research Paper

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It is not as evident, however because as time went on and as slavery ended, each island, or country, began to adapt their own uniqueness. In carnivals the costumes, dresses, and acts were all different. Carnival in the Caribbean region was colorful, fun, and filled with music. The connection with how these Caribbean people expressed their culture through carnival can correlate perfectly with Caribbean identity. When you think of the Caribbean you usually picture nice weather, fun activities, and diverse…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jamiaca S Gully Queens

    • 1150 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Most countries no longer tolerate homophobia; sadly Jamaica is not one of them. According to Williams, there are three influential institutions that encourage homophobia in Jamaica: the church, the government, and the music industry. The very religious people of Jamaica use the passages from the Bible to justify their homophobia, and most of the church does nothing to aid homosexual people. The majority of the officials in the Jamaican government are homophobic, so they care little for the welfare of the homosexual population and often run very anti-gay political campaigns. In Jamaica, music is very much a part of the national identity. Unfortunately the popular music in Jamaica, specifically dancehall music, is very homophobic. One of the biggest hits in Jamaica is Boom Bye-Bye by Buju Banton; the song contains lyrics advocating the shooting and burning of “batty boys” which is slang for gay men. The almost universal homophobia in Jamaica forces homosexual people to hide their homosexuality in public. Those who refuse to hide their homosexuality are overwhelmingly and violently ostracized from society.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Culture is your way of life. Your beliefs on how you think you should live and conduct yourself. Culture is not limited to race or ethnic background because several groups of people regardless of race can be from the same culture.…

    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, reggae music is a powerful social force that represents the pressures of everyday life. Music in general is about bringing certain important issues to the forefront for people to think about. It is not an overstatement to say that almost the whole world has been culturally influenced by reggae music. The research that I have gathered did demonstrate how reggae’s emotional message has changed over last several decades. What I learned is that the names and styles of reggae have changed over the years but the traditions and intentions of the music has not.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reggae is a form of music that was originated from Jamaica. The messages in Reggae are very positive. Reggae inspires others across the world. It supports and enlightens people to accept diversity. Reggae is a great genre of music and brings people together.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Welcome to Jamrock

    • 1892 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The late nineteen-sixties and the nineteen-seventies was a substantial period in Jamaican history. The general election of nineteen eighty between the PNP and the JLP plagued Jamaica with violence, corruption, and chaos. During this time period reggae music was used as a medium for Jamaicans, particularly Bob Marley, to express their feelings and attitude toward the conditions of their homeland. Approximately forty years later, artists such as Damian Marley have re-mastered the genre of roots reggae with relevance to the very foundation it was built upon. In Damian Marley’s track “Welcome to Jamrock”, he incorporates themes of political corruption and violence as his father had under the very principles of roots reggae.…

    • 1892 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reggae is a mixture of rock, soul, calypso and Latin music. The king of Reggae was Bob Marley. Other styles more in rocks borders, since Reggae was more latin than rock, were created in the middle of this century, like: bubble gum rock, a funny playful music directed to the youngest fans, Punk Rock, "a loud, hard rock style derived from acid rock and marked by its extremes of costume and staging" ("Rock Music", Encarta, p.1), and Heavy Metal, which continued the approach to Acid Rock but with a simpler musical dimension but relying upon the power of repetitiveness, loud volume, and electronic distortion.…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rastafarianism has been globalized through music, practice, and symbolism. One could argue that the main catalyst behind the globalization movement was through the music of Bob Marley. He popularized reggae music, and thrust it to the world stage during his musical career. He sang songs that carried the morals of a Rastafarian, and that spoke on social issues of his birthplace in Jamaica. He sang to many about the culture of Ethiopia in which he called “Zion”, and about the resistance of western culture and society, which he called “Babylon”. These songs that contained Rastafarian messages were recorded and distributed by Island records. Island records was founded in Jamaica, but then reached out to offices in the United Kingdom and the United States, because of the success of Bob Marley’s records. This led Marley to tour the world and become an international icon. He was then awarded the “Peace Medal of the Third World”, educated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and awarded the Grammy Lifetime achievement award, for his music and lyrical content. This resulted in a mass acceptance, and adoption of the Rastafarian religion. The music of Bob Marley and reggae music has impacted the lives of people around the globe. In turn, the people who were influenced by Marley have integrated, and built businesses from the Rastafarian culture. Many shops around the globe sell Rastafarian paraphernalia such as incense, giant Jamaican flags, articles of clothing that bear the colors of the Jamaican flag, and marijuana clinics based around Rastafarianism. Although, these shops seem to only support the most basic elements of Rastafarianism instead of the meat of the culture. Many people will purchase these items to portray the image or “look” of the Rastas. They will wear the colors of the Jamaican flag, smoke marijuana, grow their air into dreadlocks, and even use the word “Irie”, the Jamaican word for powerful, pleasing, or feeling good. Many places of cultural diversity seem to…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Jamaican History

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Jamaica is a tropical island, located in the heart of the Caribbean Sea. Around the coastlines are beautiful beaches with crystal clear blue-green water. In some respects, this is the majority of what people know about Jamaica. In this orientation text you will better understand Jamaica's history, the people who live there, the many different religions, geography, and governments that have ruled the land.…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    rastafarian movement

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Thirty-six years spanned Bob Marley 's life and involvement with the Rastafarian movement and left an impact still felt around the world. Marley 's music was a result of what he saw in himself, what he loved, and how he saw his people get treated. Followers of the Rastafarian movement are known as Rastafarians, the movement is named for Ras Tafari Makonnen, who was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia in 1930. The Rastafarian movement began with the teachings of Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), a black Jamaican who believed that blacks were the true Israelites and taught hatred toward whites as well as declaring revenge on the whites for enslaving the African Americans. “Blacks to overcome their feelings of inferiority and build upon their own unique and evolving culture, and ultimately return to Africa to redeem their homeland and to build a future”(Dubb. Pg2). Things took a twist in the 1960s when Bob Marley one of the most influential and significant Rastafarians ever was playing music of peace and love among all colors. “Me only have one ambition, y 'know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together - black, white, Chinese, everyone - that 's all.” (Marley.RollingStone.1976).…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics