JAMAICAN FUNERALS
Until recently, I've never been to many funerals or experienced death much until 2021. I lost 3 very close and inspiring people to me that year, and one of them was my great-grandmother. My great-grandmother was about 87 years old and she lived in Jamaica. I've never been to a family funeral, let alone a funeral outside of the United States. My expectations for a typical American funeral was for the people to wear black, for the music to be songs of remembrance (most times sad), and maybe a few tears. People may sing songs at the burial site or maybe not.
But in Jamaica, people wear their most colorful clothing, people bring their drums or shakers, and there is a lot of drinks-from bottled water to bottles of rum- to keep hydrated and somewhat cool for the long day ahead. My great's funeral started from early morning till the 9pm curfew that the Prime Minister had set because of COVID, and the event was outside the whole service.
This video shows an example of the kind of music that was sung at my great's funeral.
The drums and shakers and hand clapping was so loud that neighbors from nearby houses would come to sing and dance along, but also to eat the food that we had made for the event. People sung and dance to celebrate Mama (what most of my family called my great grandmother), and they sang happily, for my family, and many Jamaicans, believe that having lived a long life should be celebrated and not mourned.
By midday, once the burial is complete, the music and dancing does not stop. People stay to dance and sing all day long; I know that the stray dogs and goats that were always in the streets of Jamaica loved that we were out all day long, feasting on scraps that people discarded.
My grandmother beside her mom (Mama)
Most of the music that is sung at Jamaican funerals are either Reggae/Gospel mix from the late 1900's with the drums loud enough for everyone to hear and feel the beat so that everyone is moving to the beat. My grand-uncle is a fire dancer and even he used the beat of the drum and the shakers to dance around to continue the celebration of Mama's life
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your great grandmother. I just lost my grandfather after this past Thanksgiving, so I know how you're feeling. I had no idea how Jamaican people did funerals, and I think it's so cool to see how they celebrate the person's life all day. I really like the music they play for it; I feel as though it probably has everyone dancing or at least swaying their head or tapping their foot.
ReplyDeleteI hate to hear that you lost your great grandma, but looking at your post it was an experience you won't forget. I know going through that is hard, but you were exposed to a world you've never experienced. I had to do a research paper on different forms of funerals, so I had a little prior knowledge on how Jamaica did them. I truly enjoyed learning about the Jamaican ritual a lot. I also enjoyed how you put how happy not just the people but the scavenging dogs and goats. The main thing I love that the Jamaican ritual has is up beat, happy moments, and bright colors. It is not dark, gloomy, and sad it is a celebration of life which it should be. Again, I'm sorry to hear about your lost, but at least you were able to experience more of your own culture.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about your loss. When I think of funerals, like you, I think of dark clothes, sad songs, and lots of tears. I love how at a Jamaican funeral everyone wears color and sings and dances. A funeral is a celebration of life, we should do more celebrating here.
ReplyDeleteHi Amora---
ReplyDeleteI'm just popping in here to see if I can successfully comment on your blog-one of the other students is having difficulties with it.
I'm sorry to hear about your great grandmother passing, she sounds like she was a lovely woman. I really enjoyed reading your blog and learning about Jamaican funerals. It's really interesting to see how different they are from typical American funerals. I really like the approach of a celebration for a life well lived.
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry to hear about your loss, I have also lost someone and it's one of the worst feelings ever. I loved reading about how different our cultures are and how powerful and vibrant a Jamaican funeral can be to celebrate the dead in comparison to a traditional American funeral. It was also nice to read people singing happily to honor her.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you for sharing this experience and I am sending love and positivity your way. I enjoyed reading about how other cultures celebrate death. Also, I Like how Jamaican music at funerals are more upbeat rather than slow and sad unlike funerals in America.
ReplyDeleteAmora, I am so sorry for your loss. I found reading your blog very interesting. I have never really thought about how different cultures hold funerals. I too have not been to very many funerals, and the one I have been to was a traditional American one. I find it very interesting how in Jamaica they wear colorful clothing to the funeral and that it lasts all day. I also found it interesting how neighbors would come to sing along and celebrate and how people brought shakers and drums for music and dancing.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear about your lose and sending my love towards you and your family. I really liked learning about the difference in how your cultures celebrate death. I think that it's cool how it's looked at as a celebration for living life well instead of a more sad way of thinking about losing a loved one.
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