Voices of the West Indies

Can music play a role in the construction of both an individual and a collective identity and thus be called a significant cultural practice? Can something that is oftentimes considered merely a leisure time activity be a socio-political statement? This book investigates the phenomenon of Reggae Music in its historical development as a distinct form of constructing and preserving a cultural heritage and as a vehicle of voicing and transporting a sense of self. The title of this book “Voices of The West Indies” has been chosen to reflect the multifaceted aspects which feed into something as seemingly trivia as music and furthermore to point out the rich cultural heritage of the West Indies and in particular of the island Jamaica by depicting phenomena from the field of music, politics, religion and public life.