Jamaica's Ethnic Heritage

Jamaica's Ethnic Heritage
The ethnic composition of Jamaica is largely reflected in its motto, ‘Out of Many, One People’ and is inextricably linked to the nation’s socio-economic history, especially that concerning enslavement and colonization, which resulted in mass immigration and started from as early as the sixteenth century. Until the 1500s, Jamaica’s inhabitants were predominantly Amerindians, that is, Tainos. However, with the arrival of the Spaniards in 1494, the aboriginal population drastically declined. Today there are no Tainos in Jamaica (Roberts, 1979, p.30).
The Spanish population significantly decreased following the arrival of the English in 1655. For over three centuries, the island was a colony of the England until it acquired independence on August 6, 1962. Throughout English rule, the occurrence of particularly periodical mass immigration by coerced and contractual means served to introduce other ethnic groups into the island.  Such migratory movements are to a great extent historically responsible for the mélange of different ethnicities that is seen in Jamaica today; African, European, Chinese and Indian. Although these ethnicities exist to varying degrees in the society, they have all contributed to its ethnic heritage. 
The Tainos
The Tainos, previously referred to as the Arawaks, have often been described as the earliest inhabitants of Jamaica and the first to have come into contact with the Spaniards. It is said that they originated from mainly Venezuela and Guyana in the Orinoco region of South America and were related to the Tainos of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico (Sherlock, 43; Bercht et al, 18).
Existing knowledge about the culture of the Tainos is largely based on archaeological evidence and the written records of Europeans (Spanish and English) who colonized the island. This is mainly a result of the decimation of the Taino population by enslavement, warfare, as well as diseases. Prior to Spanish encounter in 1494, the Taino population, though possibly exaggerated, is estimated to have been between five and six hundred thousand, a figure that was recorded by Fray Bartholome de las Casas (Bercht et al, 18). By the end of Spanish colonization, the population was reduced to what many have termed extinction. Nonetheless, the Tainos are considered to be a part of Jamaica’s historical heritage.  The Taino society was primarily agrarian and fishing based.  They cultivated maize, squash, papaya, custard apple, hog plum, pineapple, sweet potato, and cassava, in addition to other food crops. Cassava, however, was their main staple and was an essential part of various rituals and observances. It was also used to make cakes called cazabe and in making these cakes, the Tainos processed the staple and removed the toxins from it (Bercht et al, 20). Today, cazabe is a part of Jamaican cuisine, but it is more popularly known as bammy.
With the abundance of sea water on the island, it is not surprising that fishing was common among the Tainos. They harvested conch, oysters, crabs as well as other edible sea creatures. This, of course, was facilitated by their fishing techniques and navigational and canoe making skills.                                                                  
In terms of social organization, the Taino society was stratified and matrilineal (inheritances were passed from mothers and grandmothers rather than fathers and grandfathers). Nevertheless, the head of the society was a male who was called a cacique ((Bercht et al, 21).
Where religious life was concerned, Tainos had various religious and ancestral representations—what some have referred to as gods—that were of critical importance to them. Such representations were made in the form of wood, petroglyphs and pictographs, which symbolized different aspects of their life including: social status, political power, fertility and productivity (Bercht et al, 21).
In general, the Tainos were a simple, but also generous and peaceful people who were skillful.
Interestingly, the name of the island ‘Jamaica’ is believed to be of Taino origin as it was derived from their reference to the island as Xaymaca—land of wood and water. Besides, the Jamaican coat of arms bears the images of two Tainos, as well as the symbols of the pineapple, a fruit that was common part of Taino diet.  Among the other remnants of the existence of the Tainos that have become a part of Jamaica’s historical heritage are:
  • Artistic objects- pottery, shell implements, mealing stones, ornaments, wooden images, and celts (Sherlock, 1939). These and other objects can be found at the Taino museum in   White Marl, St. Catherine.
  • Apellatation- hammock, hurricane, canoe, and tobacco (Senior, 7).
  • Geographical landmarks- Mountain River Cave in St. Catherine, Arawak Cave in Trelawny, and Green Grotto Caves in St. Ann.   
Sources
Arawak Vibrations: Homage to the Jamaican Taino. Kingston: Jamaica National Heritage Trust, and National Gallery of Jamaica, 1994.
Bercht, Fatma, Brodsky, Estrelita, Alan, John & Dicey Taylor. Taino Pre- Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean. NY: Monacelli Press & E Museo del Bario, 1997.
Senior, Olive. A-Z of Jamaican Heritage. Kingston: Heinemann Educational Books and ‘The Gleaner’, 1987.
Sherlock, Phillip M. The Aborigines of Jamaica. Kingston: Institute of Jamaica, 1939.
Sherlock, Phillip & Bennett, Hazel. The Story of the Jamaican People. Kingston & London: Ian Randle & Markus Weiner, 1998.