By Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance WriterIN TRUE testament to the idea that Jamaica's culture comes out of many peoples 'Heritagefest 2004', presented by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and Capital and Credit Financial Services, showed more than Jamaica's African heritage. The lawn at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on Hope Road, St. Andrew housed the annual Heroes Day and Heritage Week celebrations, beginning last Sunday.
Possibly because of the battle that had to be waged to earn adequate respect for the Afrocentric aspects of Jamaica's heritage, it is easy to overshadow the other contributors to the island's diversity. Heritagefest presented signs of only a few of the many that have left their footprints on Jamaica's culture. However, it remained an interesting tribute to the diversity of Jamaica's heritage. The multicultural aspect of the presentation largely came through the events on the stage, as well as through food.
INDIAN HERITAGE
The strongest additional influence presented throughout the day was from Indian heritage. The earliest sign of India in Jamaica at Heritagefest was in the booths selling food. For a taste of India one could indulge in curried goat, roti, gulab jamoon (a very sweet dessert made of milk powder and sugar syrup) and samosas. A taste of Chinese heritage also came out through the food on sale. Chicken and pork sou bow, sweet and sour chicken and mallah chicken were all available.
These foods vied for stomach space with freshly made candies, dukunnu, potato pudding, asham, coconut drops, peppered shrimps, jerked chicken, snow cones, fried fish, bammy and festivals. The tastebuds could have easily went on a cultural exploration with the foods available.
Indian culture pervaded the day in several ways. Along with the stage performances was a drumming session by the Tassa drumming group out of Clarendon. After their rousing drumming session the group also played supporting music for a demonstration of an Indian wedding ceremony.
The art of dance via India was also explored during the showcase segment. The Gallow sisters (Kamillah and Shereeza) presented a duet. They were the second group which explored Indian dance heritage. The first was a group of cousins who called themselves the Ratnavali dancers who performed 'Bole Chudiyan Remix'.
The African and European retentions in Jamaican heritage were largely covered through the award winning dances from the JCDC's traditional folk forms competition. However, these were not the sole source. The day's event was combined with a storytelling festival which drew on the storytelling traditions of Jamaica and other countries.
Along with Amina Blackwood-Meeks who wove a hilarious tale about Anancy, drawing on Jamaica's strongest storytelling traditions, there were also storytellers from Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, Nigeria and Greece.
Additionally, Gele demonstrations performed by Mrs. Iolowi Folarim of the Nigerian High Commission showed those interested how to create elaborate head dresses in the Nigerian tradition. Though she started out with three volunteers on the stage, at the end of her demonstration Mrs. Folarim invited anyone interested to come to her for another demonstration. She was quickly flocked.
The result was that the day managed to reflect on the cultures influencing our past and those which influence the present.
