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The Plantain Garden River in St Thomas is the only river in Jamaica that flows to the west. |
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 Religion is omnipresent in Jamaica – everywhere you go it permeates academic debates, ceremonies, business and political life. We are a predominantly Christian country, with large groups of Baptists, Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Other religions, such as Islam, and Judaism are also represented on a small scale, adding to the diversity of our nation’s heritage.
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The Guinness Book of records documents Jamaica as having the most churches per square mile. We have wide and varied religious beliefs; religion is the moral fibre of our nation, and most Jamaicans hold fast to something – a belief in a higher power and in man’s mortality. Many Jamaicans spend a large part of their formative years in church, squeezed into pews with parents, siblings and grandparents, infused with (at the very least) a healthy respect for faith.
On Sunday mornings, you can see the influence of various aspects of our religious heritage. At meetings in churches still European in character, you will find men dressed in felt hats, starched shirts and dark suits, their polished shoes reflecting the glint of the morning sun. Women adorn themselves in colourful dresses, trims and frills showcasing the handiwork of the local seamstress.
In the rural areas, the influence of our African heritage is noticeably present in the Revival sects. Members dressed in white robes, heads wrapped in blue, red, white or green, chant and move to the rhythm of drums and tambourines. The music is almost hypnotic, inducing hips to gyrate to the steady beat, an individual form of self-expression with minds attuned to sounds only each can hear.
Our storied past and rich cultural medley has also led to the rise of such religious forms as Rastafari and Pocomania (Pukkumina), largely viewed in traditional religious circles as vehicles of rebellion in colonial times, and against the status quo. Pocomania ‘bands’ gravitate towards the holy or ‘sealed’ ground denoted by bamboo poles topped with flags, to offer libations to the deities under the leadership of the ‘Shepherd’ or ‘Mother’. Elaborate ceremonies and feasts, consisting of tables or ‘altars’ laden with fruit, sweet breads, ground provisions and coloured candles, are often held in thanksgiving or as pleas for blessings in the form of protection, healing or renewal.
Across the island, there are communities of Rastafarians. Brethren may be identified by their flowing ceremonial robes, turbans, tams and staffs trimmed with the red, green and gold of the Ethiopian flag. These colours, an outward expression of their identity, are worn in respect for the “mother land”. Rastas drum and chant to renew their connection with Ras Tafari (Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia), the poignant message of repatriation always ripe on their lips.
While many pure forms of major religions still exist on the island, Jamaica is also home to a fusion of African and European influences. Visitors are often amazed to find the staid Methodist Church only steps away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Nazareth of the First Born of the Virgin Mary and in close proximity to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, all using the same Bible but with differing interpretations and physical manifestations of worship in the ceremonies.
While you are here, worship with us. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Rasta, whatever your religious conviction, there is a place for you to celebrate here in Jamaica. |
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