We are a proud people. We pride ourselves to holding our culture and people to a certain standard of what we consider authentically Jamaican. The problem is what represents Jamaican culture varies to persons from different socio-economic backgrounds.
For example, some Jamaicans prefer eating foreign fruits (fruits you wouldn't normally find growing in our country. Give them a kiwi or strawberry and they're happy, but give them a nice, sweet, juicy firm East Indian mango and they tell you, "No sah dat cyan stay."
Now granted as the name suggests "East Indian" would mean that type of mango came from somewhere else, in fact many of our delicious varieties are imported just like the kiwis and granny smith apples, but mangoes have been around since the early colonial period in Jamaica and has become a staple item on the Jamaican food basket, so I think it is as much a part of our culture/food culture as ackee and salt fish.
Kiwis however, are a recent introduction to the Jamaican palette and expensive too. You can only find them in the more established supermarkets in St. Andrew. While mangoes grow here all year round, and quite different varieties too, kiwis have to be imported continually. Our climate is too hot and tropical for it to 'ketch' here.
What is my point? We don't appreciate the blessings we have here. I have seen mangoes on trees ripe and fall off, and become spoilt. Myriad of vegetables spoiling in our vegetable and ground provisions markets. Local fruits going to waste, which by the way are much cheaper because they are grown by our own farmers, while persons line-up to buy the expensive foreign foods that we have no idea if they are GMO (genetically modified) foods or not.
Some foods I agree as staples to out diet such salted cod fish (salt fish) are ok to be imported but foods such as fruit especially the expensive ones can be excluded. I have never tasted a kiwi and I lack no key nutrient in my diet. I occasionally buy a granny smith apple but just for kicks. My main stay are pineapples, melons and ripe bananas. I also find mangoes, pomegranates (when I get them), jimbalines, cherries, grape fruit and oranges. Very nourishing stuff!
There is something else I fear we take for granted and I fear its authenticity is slipping away from the next generation, and that is our music. The pulsating, heavy bass beat are being replaced by techno-pop sounding fluff. Dancehall has turned into a gimmicks thing where people walk with cooking gas cylinders on their backs or leap over or jump into fires (yes literal fire) at a street dance.
The lyrics are atrocious, it doesn't seem our young reggae/dancehall artistes take the time to write songs that make sense, that lift the culture and challenge the status quo. Well, there's Koffee, a breath of fresh air. Maybe her youthful but sticking to the tenets of Reggae music sound and lyrics approach is why she won the Reggae Grammy for 2020, this year!
Everyone says they are making music that the people want, but I don't think so, if that were the case they would be the ones nominated for a Grammy and recognised across several Reggae festivals like Koffee has.
Next time I'll talk further about our music and also the Jamaican language - patois, and how stupid we have been towards our own native tongue.
For example, some Jamaicans prefer eating foreign fruits (fruits you wouldn't normally find growing in our country. Give them a kiwi or strawberry and they're happy, but give them a nice, sweet, juicy firm East Indian mango and they tell you, "No sah dat cyan stay."
Now granted as the name suggests "East Indian" would mean that type of mango came from somewhere else, in fact many of our delicious varieties are imported just like the kiwis and granny smith apples, but mangoes have been around since the early colonial period in Jamaica and has become a staple item on the Jamaican food basket, so I think it is as much a part of our culture/food culture as ackee and salt fish.
Kiwis however, are a recent introduction to the Jamaican palette and expensive too. You can only find them in the more established supermarkets in St. Andrew. While mangoes grow here all year round, and quite different varieties too, kiwis have to be imported continually. Our climate is too hot and tropical for it to 'ketch' here.
What is my point? We don't appreciate the blessings we have here. I have seen mangoes on trees ripe and fall off, and become spoilt. Myriad of vegetables spoiling in our vegetable and ground provisions markets. Local fruits going to waste, which by the way are much cheaper because they are grown by our own farmers, while persons line-up to buy the expensive foreign foods that we have no idea if they are GMO (genetically modified) foods or not.
Some foods I agree as staples to out diet such salted cod fish (salt fish) are ok to be imported but foods such as fruit especially the expensive ones can be excluded. I have never tasted a kiwi and I lack no key nutrient in my diet. I occasionally buy a granny smith apple but just for kicks. My main stay are pineapples, melons and ripe bananas. I also find mangoes, pomegranates (when I get them), jimbalines, cherries, grape fruit and oranges. Very nourishing stuff!
There is something else I fear we take for granted and I fear its authenticity is slipping away from the next generation, and that is our music. The pulsating, heavy bass beat are being replaced by techno-pop sounding fluff. Dancehall has turned into a gimmicks thing where people walk with cooking gas cylinders on their backs or leap over or jump into fires (yes literal fire) at a street dance.
The lyrics are atrocious, it doesn't seem our young reggae/dancehall artistes take the time to write songs that make sense, that lift the culture and challenge the status quo. Well, there's Koffee, a breath of fresh air. Maybe her youthful but sticking to the tenets of Reggae music sound and lyrics approach is why she won the Reggae Grammy for 2020, this year!
Everyone says they are making music that the people want, but I don't think so, if that were the case they would be the ones nominated for a Grammy and recognised across several Reggae festivals like Koffee has.
Next time I'll talk further about our music and also the Jamaican language - patois, and how stupid we have been towards our own native tongue.
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