Winston SilL/Freelance Photographer
Edward Seaga (left), Distinguished Fellow at the University of the West Indies (UWI), greets Dr. Olive Lewin while Professor Trevor Munroe (centre), Juan Carlos Espinosa and Sue McManus (partly hidden) look on. The occasion was the inaugural lecture delivered by Mr. Seaga at the Mona Visitors' Lodge, UWI, Mona on Thursday night.
Former Prime Min-ister Edward Seaga on Thursday night gave his inaugural lecture as a distinguished fellow of the University of the West Indies (UWI)'s School for Graduate Studies and Research (SGSR).
For his first lecture, and in the presence of a large gathering of current academic and former political colleagues at the UWI Mona Visitors' Lodge, Mr. Seaga chose to focus on the folk roots of Jamaican cultural identity.
As a topic close to his heart, and which he has addressed on previous occasions, Mr. Seaga highlighted the traditional cultural ideas and realities that mould the identities of Jamaicans who have both flourished and fallen by the wayside on the local and international stage.
competitive influence
Among the realities Mr. Seaga pointed to was the struggle for space as a competitive influence in the poorest households of the inner city, where one large bed generally accommodates several family members.
"Inner-city children face a struggle for yard space which spills out on to the streets," Mr. Seaga said.
"Insufficient food, overcrowded schools and inadequate desk space add to the competing demands of an aggressive environment producing aggressive responses," he added.
The former Jamaica Labour Party and Opposition Leader also argued that the indulgent nature of child-rearing practices and the informal pattern of family life, as well as the absence of regimentation, allow creative forces to blossom.
The blossoming of those creative forces, he said, has led to the stylistic flourishes evident in music and sports.
Pointing to the labelling of Bob Marley's album, Exodus, as Time magazine's 'Album of the Century', Mr. Seaga said: "No greater tribute could be paid to the creative talents of Jamaican traditional society."
The lengthy lecture held the quiet attention of all those present, except for brief bursts of laughter when Mr. Seaga injected his infamous dry humour.
At one point, Mr. Seaga sought to highlight the dependence on 'faith' in the traditional culture.
"A friend of mine, an attorney, who was very pleased with the outcome of a very difficult case on which he had used his best legal skills, was gratified to hear the accused, on being freed, proclaim the genius of the man responsible for his release," Mr. Seaga said.
But, he added: "The attorney's pride was utterly deflated when the accused ventured further. 'If me mother nevah go a country to de obeahman fe me, I woulda neva get weh'."
See details of Mr. Seaga's
lecture in the Sunday Gleaner.
