Jamaican Coat of Arms
The Jamaican diaspora observes this day of national pride on the 6th August, where 2021 marks the 59th year of independence. A celebration of the island's heritage and accomplishments that have impacted the world in multiple ways throughout the years, ranging from music to sportsmanship and international political campaigns. In 1962, when the island gained independence the official coat of arms for the country was established. The motto ‘Out of many, One people’ was selected to demonstrate the diverse unity of the Jamaican people that is evident through food, music and language, producing their unique culture as seen today.
The Caribbean Island has undergone significant transformations throughout the centuries. Originally inhabited by the Tainos, a native group of people who named the land Xaymaca meaning: land of wood and water. Their diet consisted of cassava and sweet potatoes; they cultivated the land to sustain their livelihood. Their time came to a sharp end when the Spanish conquered the island, causing their entire population to almost go extinct from diseases, slavery and genocide. By the 1600s, the Spanish had trafficked thousands of west Africans to the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations across the island. The colony was quickly taken over by the British who continued the barbaric trafficking of Africans via the transatlantic slave trade until its abolishment in the 1800s. Many slave owners were compensated in millions, after losing their slaves, who were considered property after the abolishment. They later invested in the British economy where these profits can be clearly seen today. Since the abolishment, Britain continued to profit from indentured servantship of Chinese and Indians, who were sent to the Island to fulfil the call for cheap labour on the plantations until the country’s independence in 1962. In spite of the horrific imperialism, forced migration and forced labour, the country still managed to maintain and develop its culture throughout it all. Language has been the most evident representation of the fight to preserve identity and leave a cultural legacy.
Although Jamaica’s current official language is English, it is mainly known for its creole, Patois. Due to the island's colonial past the official language used in systems and governance remains to be English. However, the country’s historical journey influences the language overall. Words like cassava, barbecue and hurricane which all sum up the Caribbean experience are words originating from the Taino language which were later introduced into the English language. These have also remained a major part of Caribbean day to day discourse. Transferring from Spanish colonial rule to British colonial rule in the 1600’s saw Spanish vocabulary seep into the country’s current creole, such as pickney which is used to refer to a child, this derived from the word pequeño meaning little. The takeover of solely British slave masters resulted in the main and only form of communication being English. Slaves who were separated from their families and ripped from their homes were forced to communicate with each other and their masters. A common tongue soon developed, Twi (a Ghanaian language) became the foundation for the creole, which reflected the mass populations of slaves who were from the Akan/Ashanti tribe.
The West African tongue is clearly apparent in Patois when considering the syntax and grammatical rules that it follows. Patois has traditionally had a bad reputation when used in academic and formal settings and often been branded ‘broken English’. This is largely due to a lack of understanding when considering the origins of the creole from African languages. The doubling of words to emphasise the subject and the distinct pronunciation are common things shared in all African derived dialects ranging from the continent to African diasporic communities. Words like ‘nyam’ meaning to eat and ‘duppy’ meaning ghost remain integral to Jamaican’s vernacular today. Considering eating was perhaps the only intimate and decent activity preserved for families on the slave plantations, it would be no surprise this word would remain connected to their homeland. And likewise for the latter word ‘duppy’, where death seemed to be the most permanent escape from the trauma they faced, a word to reference life after death perhaps provided some solace.
African languages have also left a legacy in the country through literature and arts, such as the maintenance of fables such as the Anansi stories that depict moral values whilst remaining largely entertaining for younger audiences. Poets like Ms Louise Bennet have made historical contributions to Jamaican literature encouraging the utilisation of the creole in daily life and to sustain the verbal heritage of the island. She wrote and recited all of her poems in patois as a way to immortalize it. With the written language in Jamaican schools being mostly academic English the need to sustain the creole remains strong. Through arts and media, the creole continues to shape the nation significantly.
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