Peter Espeut

"A people without a heritage is like a tree without roots." It is our heritage and our culture which anchor us, which ground us in a constantly changing world. If we become disconnected from our roots, we will lose our identity, and have to find another.

Not everyone cares much about our Jamaican heritage. For some, heritage is looking backward, while they want to go forward. For many, considering our heritage causes us to look at what we desperately want to forget: our rural roots, Africa vs. England, being descended from both slaves and slave-owners at the same time, religion and superstition, the cross and the obeahman. We are in love with technology, the Internet, Skype, cellphone cameras, DVD movies and all things American and European; and Anancy, Miss Lou, riddles, Ring Ding and rolling calves, Pantomime, and all things Jamaican seem like romantic backwardness.

At base it is really an identity crisis. What does it mean to be Jamaican in an age where the gospel of globalisation is preached in almost every forum? Is it worth being Jamaican in a world where the centre of power is elsewhere? Why seek to deepen our connection with Jamaican culture when the way up seems to be out? Isn't it better to go for American culture? To follow basketball rather than cricket; to listen to Fifty Cent rather than Kip Rich; to watch American Idol rather than Rising Stars? Won't we 'fit in' better if we look and sound American?

Pervasive materialism

Some of us are not comfortable with American culture, with its pervasive materialism, individualism, selfishness, where things are more important than people; and with the religion of prosperity which backs it up - Christianity without the cross.

In truth our own culture and heritage should make us squirm with discomfort, because it is full of contradictions. We want to celebrate Sam Sharpe and Blackwall because they fought for freedom from slavery; but for every Blackwall and Sam Sharpe there is a (slave) traitor who betrayed a rebellion that might have destroyed slave society or brought Emancipation sooner. Paul Bogle and Tacky were not caught by European soldiers or the creole militia, but by the Maroons - flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone! We celebrate Bustamante and Manley as National Heroes, but they created a divisive and corrupt Jamaican political system filled with thuggery, armed militias and bloodshed. Yes, they are the architects of modern Jamaica - of both good parts and evil parts.

Truly our history and heritage is ambivalent, because we humans who create history are ambivalent and full of contradictions. The Rastafarians who cry "Fire for the Pope," consider Marcus Garvey to be John the Baptist to Haile Selassie - the same Garvey, the great thinker, who became a Roman Catholic as an adult and was baptized by the American Jesuit priest in St. Ann's Bay, and seriously practiced his faith until his death; his Jamaican funeral took place at Holy Trinity Cathedral. And Bob Marley, the archetypal Rastaman, converted to the Ethiopian Orthodox Catholic faith and was buried with those rites in the National Arena. Let us this week celebrate our heritage, recognizing that we have a lot to be grateful for - and a lot to be ashamed about. We all have skeletons of whatever complexion in our Heritage closets. And as we take a bittersweet look backwards, let us resolve to work hard at making things better in the future.

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and is executive director of an environment and development NGO.