Jamaican/ Trinidadian Culture

I am Jamaican and Trinidadian and it's a very interesting mix of cultures in my household. My mom is Trinidadian and my father is Jamaican- The reunions make for interesting entertainment. Here's a little information on my culture and how my brother and I are raised. 

Jamaican Culture

Food

Jamaican food consists of a mix of spices and savory foods, my family mainly eats jerk chicken, goat curry, oxtail, beef patties and plantains with jollof rice or couscous. We also mix in a little soul food such as fried chicken, collard greens, potato salad and baked mac & cheese. 

Jerk Chicken with Caribbean rice & beans

Celebration

In Jamaica we have a thing called Carnival, just like the one in Rio. It happens every Easter  in Kingston, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios Jamaica. Carnival was started by the late Bob Marley- a famous Caribbean reggae singer. There's Soca music, Soca parties and Soca acts! There's street dancing and a parade with overly designed costumes for women to wear that show off their voluptuous figures.

Jamaican Carnival (Link to a Carnival video) 

I've only been a Carnival in Jamaica once but there are a lot of Carnival in Texas too because there's a lot of Jamaicans that live in Texas so there's usually a smaller Carnival there, some entertainers from Jamaica fly out to Texas to perform, dance, cook, do whatever they want basically. 

Language

The official language of Jamaica is English but a lot of the residents speak different languages and it varies from village to village. There's Spanish, African, English (including Irish, British and American idioms), Rastafarian and Patois.
On my mom's side of the family they speak Patois and Rastafarian.

Clothes

Jamaican woman often make their clothes with Calico fabric, they traditionally wear skirts, blouses and head scarves but when it is a hotter season they usually wear short-sleeved blouses. The men pants and shirts but it's made with natural and organic fabric. 

Trinidadian Culture

In Trinidad there's a vast mix of cultures and citizens- it resulted from many colonizers as well as laborers and slavery. As a result out traditions  and culture have been greatly influenced by Amerindians, Africans, Indians, Europeans and the Chinese. Recently, there has been a surge of foods that originated in the Syrian and Lebanese Community. 

Food

Trinidadian food consists of many mixes of cultural dishes and traditional dishes that originated from the times when there was slavery. The food that is traditionally made in Trinidad is based from Creole food, East Indian food and Chinese food. 

Creole dishes: Pelau, Callaloo, Chicken and stew peas

East Indian dishes: Roti, Doubles, Aloo Pies, Chokas and Pholourie

Chinese food: Cha Chee Kai, Jerk Chow Mein, Curried Duck Roti

Pelau Chicken & Pigeon Peas

In my household we've eaten Pelau, Jerk Chow Mein and Pholourie. Three different dishes but such unique and similar ingredients. 

Celebration

Similarly in Jamaica there is Carnival in Trinidad also. Before Ash Wednesday Carnival is celebrated Monday & Tuesday every year. There's thousands of masqueraders that roam the streets and follow the floats and women in their specialty designed outfits. There's professional stilt dancers, people toss out beads, kind of like in New Orleans. There's tons of events going on too, my dad's favorite the "wine" (basically Soca dancing but rougher) competition. 

Trinidad Carnival (Link to a Carnival video)

I've never been to a Trinidad Carnival because apparently, they're more hectic than the ones in Jamaica. 

Language

Just like in Jamaica there's a mix of languages spoken in Trinidad and Tobago. The official language is English but there's more than that such as: Creole, Patois, French, Bhojpuri and Chinese. 

On my dad's side of the family they speak Creole, Patois and French. 

Clothes

Most Trinidadians wear modern Western-style clothing. Members of the Asian-Indian population wear men's turbans and women's saris. 

If there's anything else you would like to know, please comment and ask!