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anthropology final assignment. .. This received full marks ...

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SSA 101 12/1/19 The Jamaican Bandana The Jamaican Bandana is a cotton material recognized as the national costume of Jamaica therefore, it is an important part of the culture of the country. The bandana is not originally from Jamaica and its ancestors were forced to wear it as a uniform to differentiate however, the people has claimed it proudly as their own and chose for it to be a part of the country’s heritage. Globalization plays a large role in the upcoming of the fabric being that it wasn’t first made in Jamaica and travelled from a different country, then became known as Jamaican. I’ll be focusing on why the Jamaican chose to claim the Jamaican Bandana after it was forced upon them at a time way before now. The Jamaican Bandana often referenced to as the national costume of Jamica or the national fabric, is a red, white and black somethings with yellow plaid fabric made from cotton. The Jamaican Bandana is recognized as a Quadrille Dress. A Quadrille Dress is a bespoke dress worn by women in Caribbean countries; in this case the ruffled bandana skirt, with a white cotton skirt and the head tie to match in Jamaica. The fabric is often used to make skirts, head ties or scarfs, dresses and shirts. It was used to make head ties for female Jamaican farmers and vendors selling their crops in markets and town, but now mostly worn for celebrations. The form of dress is usually worn of August 6th which is the Independence Day and also on August 1st is the Emancipation Day of Jamaica but mostly worn by children going to school on Heritage Day. The fabric was originally from India in the 18th century and was made from silk then later copied

by British manufactures in the time of imperialism and brought back to Jamaica then put into mass production using cotton instead because it was so easy to come by in the Caribbean because of the warm climate. Because the fabric was inexpensive and easy to make the colonizer made the enslaved wear it as an uniform while they were working on the plantations. Even though the bandana was forced onto its people they still chose to wear to proudly up to this day because it is a part of their upbringing. After interviewing my father and asking him questions about the object, I asked him “why do we wear and celebrate the Jamaican Bandana so proudly today when it was forced onto our ancestors to wear in the days of slavery? ” he replied with “slaves fought for their independence while wearing the cloth and credits it for their victory.” The Jamaican bandana was Originally Indian then copied by the British and brought to Jamaica and claimed by its countrymen. Since the fabric was made in the India from silk one process which has changed over time is the material that is used to make the fabric. The change in political use of the fabric has changed drastically, it went from being made to use as clothing for the enslaved to wear while working, to being made to wear for celebrations and adored. The economic change in the consumption of the fabric went from being forced on to an individual to being wanted without any pressure. The Jamaican Bandana has been exchanged along different countries and along with these exchanges came new meanings to the different groups of people. In India they just used the fabric to wear as clothing which was made from silk at the time, then when the British took it, they made it out of cotton instead and used to the differentiate workings slaves however when Jamaican claimed it, they used it as a symbol of their independence and something to be proud of.

The bandana relates to the wearer’s today identity because it connects to how it was worn when their ancestors first gained their independence. The represents a symbol of freedom and liberty for the countrymen. Children wearing the fabric to school on Heritage Day, or dance groups performing in it on Independence or Emancipation Day do so because it shows a up come of that it used to mean to the British and what it means now. It connects people along the line of ethnicity because it was worn by people we came long before the one that are here now. Jamaican wear the bandana proudly knowing that there was a struggle behind how to become ours. The late Louise Bennett- Coverley, also known as “Miss Lou”. Miss Lou was a folklorist, poet, and actress was well-known for her poems in Jamaican patois always wore the Jamaican Bandana when she performed or made presentations for schools. Miss Lou spoke of the meaning behind why she wears in the speeches she made and even in certain songs of hers. The fabric wouldn’t be as recognizable as it is now in Jamaica if it wasn’t for her pride in wearing it while performing and her influence. Globalization is the refers to the transmission of ideas and values arounds around the world in such way as to extend and intensify social relations, connecting two distant worlds. Being that the idea of the Jamaican Bandana was created in India in the 18th century, it had no connections to Jamaica which was half- way around the world. Jamaica was a newly found country apart of the ‘new world’ a term given to countries found in the western Hampshire which contained the Americas and certain Atlantic and Pacific islands which was first coined by the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci. The British was the connection that made it fully possible for the creation of the Bandana. In the 18th century, when the British ruled Colonial India where India was under the control of British in imperialism. They took their resources and valuable items. At the time silk was very expensive therefore it the deemed valuable and sent back the England. The

idea of the Jamaica Bandana travelled in and out of international borders from India to England then until it reached Jamaica and found a new meaning. It became culture for the enslaved to wear the cotton fabric for years until their freedom was secured, then before that it was clothing in India for most likely the wealthy because of the value of silk in that time. I am connected to the Jamaican Bandana because it is a part of my culture and heritage. I grew up wearing costumes made from the fabric going to school on Heritage Day and performing the concerts and dance groups on Emancipation Day or Impendence Day. The Jamaica Bandana is meaningful to me because it a very symbolic representation of my country and its freedom and to be a part of a society that is proud to wear it and celebrate it’s meaning. “While the bandana was a symbol of inhumanity and indignity throughout the colonial era, what is most important is that it identifies who we are as a people, it identifies our strength, our dauntlessness and the chutzpah we possess as African descendants and the living xerox of our ancestors.” Manning Sophia (2017). The facts I learned while doing research for about the Jamaica Bandana has changed my outlook on why I used to wear it wearing up for the better. From my research I’ve learned that the Jamaican Bandana idea was orientated in the India in the 18th century and bought to Jamaica by the British to be made into a different version so that slaves could wear it as an uniform. The research I did while doing this assignment definitely changed my thinking and my understanding of why I wore the it as a child growing up and the real meaning the fabric is so symbolic to Jamaicans and also the reason why it is acknowledged as the national costume of Jamaica.

Annotated Bibliography

Sophia Manning “The Significance of the Jamaican Bandana to the Jamaican Culture.” 2017 https://jablogz.com/2017/07/the-significance-of-the-bandana-of-the-jamaican-culture/ Sophia Manning explains that even though slaves were forced to wear the bandana as a uniform in the colonial era which better portray the mark of separation between slave and owner, the slaves wearing the bandana found a sense of pride in wear it after they rioted and caused revolutions to fight for injustice and everything that opposed equal rights.

Jamaica Museums “The Bandana” 2015 https://museums-ioj.org.jm/p=5687 In this article it explains how the Jamaican bandana was originally from far off Chennai in Easter Indian. Then was India fell under British control in 19th century it provided a cheap fabric for enslaved people to wear so it was bought to Jamaica. The bandana travels show the idea of globalization in its own way.

F, Josã. "Caribbean Islands: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Lesser Antilles Islands." 2013, 12130. In this article the author describes the Jamaican Bandana (the national costume of Jamaica), its colors and patterns and how and when it is worn. He also explains the pride which is taken in it when being wore by the people of the island....