hi i'm doing a report on Jamaica here it is please feel free to edit it and give suggestions too. thanks

Jamaican Culture and life.
By: Monica Jonen


My inspiration for this writing piece is simple. Ever since I saw the movie “Cool

running”. I’ve wanted to know more about the Culture and people of Jamaica. “Cool

running” is a movie about some Jamaican guys who decide they want to learn how to

bobsled. Which is a sport that requires you to slip and slide around ice on a sled that

holds five. A total unorthodox sport to be played in the hot sun of Jamaica.


As a teenager I was excited to learn about what types of food they ate. It all

sounds delicious. Since they live in such a tropical and warm climate, most of the

cooking includes tropical fruit and exotic spices. Some famous and might I add,

delicious, foods are papaya garlic shrimp, Ackee (a fruit that is a popular breakfast food),

Breadfruit, Cassava, yam, star fruit, salt fish, coconut, goat, guava, beans and peas,

lobster, mango and passion fruit. Some famous spices for Jamaica are Pimento, Nutmeg,

and peppers.


Another thing I wanted to know about was what type of music they listen to. Well

the most popular would be Reggae or classical. Bob Marley and the wailers comes to

mind when you think Reggae. They were the people that brought Reggae to the rest of

the world in the 70’s. Most of the songs were originally about oppression, slavery,

poverty, human rights and struggles with the poor people. Dreadlocks were the trend of Bob

Marley and his followers. An interesting religion that is closely tied to Bob Marley is the

Rastafarians. They honor a black man who was the emperor of Ethiopia. He is,

apparently, the God of all black people. The Rastafarians use the bible for guidance, but

interpret it their ways. Most of there population in this religion are Jamaicans



whose origins are from Africa where the way of life started. There hair is especially

different. The dreadlocks are to change the established look of the white man and they also

found a verse in the bible that explains about the way a man’s hair should be. As natural

as it can be, like lion’s hair. This religion is pretty common among Jamaicans. Well if

not the religion, the dreadlocks still are.


Now most people think Jamaica either has it’s own language or speak just

English. Well there wrong. Jamaica has kind of it’s own unofficial language called

Patois. It’s a mix of, well, a lot of different languages. English, German, Swedish,

French, Spanish, Chinese and Russian. There are a lot of languages there, but Jamaica is

made up of a lot of different ethnic backgrounds too. In the 18th century there were a lot of
traders that traded various things, including slaves, goods, food, spices, tea, rum and

many other things to. These traders had traveled all the way from Europe. The majority

of Jamaican’s ancestors were slaves in the huge slave trade. There were also many people

who traveled to Jamaica when the great immigration from Europe happened, also. Just

like America, when Christopher Columbus discovered the Jamaican islands he found a

thriving Arawak Indians.


Jamaicans are highly religious. They celebrate Christmas which (unlike most

U.S Christians) include all-night prayer meetings, annual lighting of hundreds of colored

bulbs on the tree in Kingston and a fireworks display. Then there is the usual singing of

carols and communion services. The Christmas meal includes ham and the traditional

Christmas food tidings. In slavery times pimento was overly used in the meat because

meat was so scares. Now it is an important family practice for those who can afford it.

There is also a special drink called sorrel that is refreshingly delicious and shared at

Christmas time.



Although I’ve never been there. Rumor has it that the people there are extremely

nice and friendly. With all the culture and all the diversity of people I

would love to go there and experience it all.