Our unbounded influencence

Very few people appreciate the role music played in lightening the load of our ancestors during slavery better than Colin Smith. 

Smith who was awarded a Badge of Honor by the Jamaican government in 2025 for his role in the preservation of Jamaican culture, is not only the Chairman of the Louise Bennett Heritage Council but is also founder/leader of  the Miami based Tallawah Mento Band. It's in that role that he was recently invited to Costa Rica in April 2026 to address the 2nd Marcus Garvey  Symposium on the topic "How enslaved Africans used music to lighten their burden."

The heart of Jamaican culture in Costa Rica is in the province of Limón where it is estimated that of the over 65,000 population there, 75% have Caribbean ancestry, and also in nearby Puerto Viejo (translation Old Harbour!) where Jamaican colors and food dominate. 

Some Tallawah band members pose beside the sign.

Like so many other places in Central America, thousands of Jamaicans moved there and settled after working on the Panama Canal and they retained their culture.

I first visited Limón decades ago after hitching a ride on a Jamaica Producers vessel which used to go there to fill up with bananas to meet its British quota.

What stood out in my mind then was not only how most people could switch from our patois to grammatical Spanish seamlessly but also how our favorite traditional dishes were easily available everywhere. 

On my second visit, I learned that Hon. PJ Patterson, Prime Minister was honored there in 2001. 

What I never knew then was that Garvey was held up in such high esteem there that each year on the 18th April, they put on activities to honor him. 

He had been working there as a timekeeper and between 1910-1911. When he saw the exploitation of the black workers on the banana plantations there, he not only established a branch of the UNIA but also a hub there for his Black Star Liner.

In 2023, Costa Rica declared Garvey an honorary citizen for his contributions to culture and human rights.

It was no doubt a great honor for the Tallawah Band, one of the last surviving mento bands, to be included in this year's festivities.  

They even performed on their first  night in Costa Rica at La Caribena in the Capital San Jose, before going  

on to Limón. 

The performance there  received overwhelming applause. 

I really don't know that too many of our countrymen really appreciate how our culture is revered in so many corners of the globe and the fact that we may even still have many relatives in diverse places that we know little about.

Below are snippets of Tallawah's performance in Costa Rica. 

Nb. Pics and videos contributed by Anette Smith.

A site to behold! 🙏

I took the train (all by myself😊) on what should have been a 5 hour trip to Anuradhapura. For some reason the trip took close to 7 hours, but I am not complaining.

It's around 127 miles north of Colombo and is an UNESCO World 🌍 Heritage Site, both for it's religious and archeological importance.

I have visited many religious sites all over the world, from Vatican, (christian), Istanbul (Muslim) Bangkok (Buddhist) etc, but I don't think I have ever seen anything as spectacular as this.

Had to buy a shawl to cover my white sleeveless top. No such requirement at the Golden Temple in Dambulla. Different towns, different cultures.

And when you consider that most buildings in Anuradhapura are over 2500 years old, it makes it more amazing.

My first image of one of the Temples. I arrived at night.

According to Wikipedia:

 "Anuradhapura is the cradle of the Hydraulic Sinhalese civilisation, Theravada Buddhism, and the longest-serving ancient capital of Sri Lanka that has survived for 1500 years. 

The networks of ancient temples and monasteries now cover over 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of area of the city today.

The founding of the city is around 437 BCE, but the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement on the island for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Asia, a cradle of Sinhalese civilization.

It's also longest-serving ancient capital of Sri Lanka  and has survived for 1500 years.

The city was mostly destroyed and largely deserted after 993 CE, with the Chola invasion from South India.[2] Although several attempts were made by later Sinhalese kings to return the capital to Anuradhapura, it was not reestablished as a major population centre of the island until the British colonial era in the 19th century CE. Despite its decline as a political centre, Anuradhapura remained a vital pilgrimage site for Buddhists throughout the medieval period and continues to be a significant spiritual destination today.[3][4] The modern revival of Anuradhapura began in the 1870s under British colonial rule, with infrastructure and urban planning initiatives aimed at supporting administration and accommodating pilgrims.[5] The contemporary city, much of which was moved during the mid-20th century to preserve the site of the ancient capital, is a major road junction of northern Sri Lanka and lies along a railway line. The city is the headquarters of Sri Lanka's archeological survey, and tourism is a significant factor in its economy."

(I was all decked out in my white sleeveless blouse to take the tour but had to cover my "mawga" arms. Also, I bought the bottom to enter a temple in Thailand but had to pin the split down to the knee, as too much leg was showing.🥴

Not complaining, just pointing out that different areas have different cultures in the same way even siblings can differ in their beliefs and practices.)

The young caretaker at Airbnb I stayed, gave me these petals. I thought they were for my room so left them at home.

I should have taken them to one of the shrines to use them to pay tribute to Lord Buddha.

 I live and learn.🫢.

Adherents putting gifts all around Lord Buddha's reclining image. They even bring cooked food!🤔.

Drummers leading some worshipers.

Loads of flower blossoms are given to worshipers to put on the altars at the Temples and Pagoda at the holy site.

The bottom of the main temples are wrapped with the Buddhist flag. It's quite a ritual performed by the monks.

While some of us are busy debating whether Buddhism is a religion or a way of life, to the thousands I saw there in May 2025, it is definitely a religion. 

They came to meditate, pray, pay homage to  Lord Buddha, give him gifts and get blessings.

And as part of this ritual, they bring (cooked) food, flowers and gifts for his monks and the smell of incense is all over, pleasant and calming. 

To me it was kind of surreal, especially since I have never witnessed such a crowd at a religious site a before.

Once a baby becomes 3 months old, he/ she is taken to a Temple to be blessed.

This is a man-made lake near the main Temples. Some adherents go there to cool off after a day of meditation and prayer.

One of the large rooms where incense are burned.

Despite the thousands moving through the large area, it is spotless as, workers ( volunteers?) are all around always cleaning up.

I tell you, the beauty of the artistry, carvings, sculptures is really overwhelming.

I have also been learning about the unlimited generosity of ardent Buddhists, but I was still surprised to see the truckloads of foods and fruits that local farmers brought there to give away free to those who were at the Temples🙏.

As I passed through one exit, I got a hand of ripe, bumpy bananas aka chiney banana, my absolute favorite.😊

 I was so tired after walking miles just to see what was taking place at the religious sites that I didn't even bother to visit the ruins.

They said this lady was a Hindu priestess who was performing some kind of a healing ritual there! 

Links. 

https://youtu.be/3mOwnITV3A0?si=joM-RF96EtluXgg3

https://youtu.be/80AuEBrPUsA?si=LxbG3X63mb_rLqHq

It's raining!

I have been very happy for a week in Ghana as we had been told it was the rainy season, but we never had a drop.

Well all that changed as we undertook the 4 hour journey to Kakum National Park yesterday, as it rained all the way there, non-stop after we arrived and all the way back!

It was a pleasant outing though.

This park covers approximately 145 sq miles and was the initiative nitiative of the local people

It has a canopy walkway which is over a thousand feet long, rising atop some of the tallest trees I have ever seen.

As one who is unashamedly scared of heights I refused to do more than one of the 6 walkways.☺

The theory is that you can see some Ghanaian wildlife from above, but the animals are smarter than us though, for they stay home on the rainy days, so we saw none.

There is a tree house there for those who want to overnight and try their luck the next day.

 I did see a mad human though.

He had his passport and wallet with money , credit cards id etc in hand while trying to take a picture with his phone.

Then somehow everything fell overboard into the thick forest below. 

 A guide did say he would go down (he marked the spot) and try to find it, but I would be shocked if they found anything under that thick undergrowth.

My daughter, her friend and and my granddaughter loved the canopy walk and did the entire circuit.

Good for them.

They didn't have a sign which says I 'partially' survived the walk, so I was allowed to stand under it anyway.😷

I learned a few interesting things on this trip though. 

1) Most of the trees, foods and plants they have, we have them too. (In Jamaica)

I didn't see any breadfruit though and in describing it, I concluded that they have never seen or heard of ii.

2) They make wine from palm but although am an unapologetic wine drinker, didn't try it and was told I was wise as it was bitter and tasted weird. 

And it explodes if you don't drink it right away!😡

3) They tend to use plantains more like how we use bananas and only use the banana as a fruit. (ripened)

4) Although we Jamaicans imported Anancy from them, they haven't taken scamming to heart wholeheartedly as we have.  So for example, praedial larceny ( stealing farmers' crops) is non-existent.

5) Ghana has no natural disasters. No earthquakes, no hurricanes, no volcanic eruptions. 

All that happens is that sometimes they have a little landslide and some flooding during the rainy season.

We got a great experience in how disciplined they are as drivers. On our return trip there was a landslide that affected our side of the dual carriageway and all drivers simply  turned around and took the lane on the other side of the carriageway. 

No serious boring, no impatience, no honking of horns, no fights, no pulling of weapons, no cursing and swearing at others, no mishaps etc. 

It was an amazingly disciplined operation although there were no police there to maintain order or give directions.

I was  very impressed.