TitBits on Jamaica

Long ago, the homes of wealthy gentlemen who lived in town areas were called PENS.

These homes were surrounded by a lot of land. The owners would raise cows and horses on these lands. The names of some old pens or properties are still used. For example: Grants Pen, Tawes Pen and May Pen.

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The PATOO is the Jamaican name for the owl. The Patoo is feared by some and there are some superstitious beliefs concerning this bird. It is believed that when the Patoo cries someone is going to die. The bird is also thought to be ugly and the expression “you ugly like Patoo” is a common saying among Jamaicans.

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Coronation Market in downtown Kingston was once called Solas Market. The folk song “Come we go down a Solas Market” is about this market.

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St. William Grant Park at Parade, downtown Kingston was first known as Victoria Park named after Queen Victoria of England. The name of the park was changed in 1977.

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The village of New Market in Westmoreland started out as a market. After Emancipation, a new market was set up in that area, and it grew into a town. The market remained and for many years, it was one of the largest markets in western, Jamaica.

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There is a custom in Jamaica for family and friends of someone who has died, to hold a ceremony on the ninth night after death. This ceremony is called a ‘Nine Night’. It is believed that a Nine Night gives a dead person a good send off from this world so that their spirit or duppy will not stay here and haunt the living.

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Up to the early nineteenth century Jamaica had 22 parishes – Hanover, Westmoreland, St. James, St. Elizabeth, Trelawny, Manchester, St. Ann, Clarendon, Vere, St. John, St. Thomas in Vale, St. Mary, St. Dorothy, St. Catherine, Metcalf, St. George, St. Andrew, Kingston, St. David, Port Royal, Portland, and St. Thomas in the East.

Source: Jamaica Information Service in commemoration of National Heritage Week 1998.

ISBN 976-633-028-X

Submitted by Keisha Brissette

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