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Looking for the 'laama'
BARBARA GLOUDON
Chrissmus a come, mi waan mi laama...
Chrissmus a come, mi waan mi deggeh-deh
<span style="font-weight: bold">ONE OF THE most incomprehensible, yet most delightful of
our uniquely Jamaican Christmas songs is this one which has us looking for the elusive "laama". </span>All things equal, we should be scouring the slopes of the Andes to bring back the furry beast said to be a relative of the camel bearing the name which sounds similar to the object of old-time Jamaican yuletide expectation.
In the Dictionary of Jamaican English, FG Cassidy and RB LePage wrestle with the origin of our "laama". They seem to have come to the conclusion that it is an amalgamation of two words - "Lawks" and "ma" - a creolisation of "Lord" and "mam" said to have been an exclamation of delight uttered by the peasantry in response to bounty.
Alas, not everyone will have the pleasure of "laama" during this season. Despite ecclesiastical urgings for us to see Christmas as a time for giving rather than receiving, people are looking for their "Lawks, ma". However, with layoffs in vital sectors of the economy and bad news blowing down from the North, the spirit of celebration seems a little tentative.
High society might still be on show in the latest fashions, with cocktail glasses in hand, but for many others, at home and abroad, the water is definitely more than flour. In any case, with the best will in the world, the cost of both flour and water is trending up, out of the reach of the less fortunate. Until recently, in some areas of leadership, there seemed to be a determined effort to give the impression that we are not being touched by the global economic crisis. Not even a Christmas duppy could really believe that we would remain insulated from the economic wildfire being experienced across the world.
It seems that everybody is treading water. The attempts to bail out the failing motor vehicle industry in the US have become as intriguing as a soap opera. There's little "peace on earth" as politicians debate to bail or not to bail, with irate taxpayers in revolt at being called upon to pay for the mistakes of inept leadership.
We, in the meantime, have our own troubles. Warnings of difficulties to come in bauxite and tourism were sounded long ago but the reality is finally here. When even the powerhouse Sandals hotel chain has to send home some workers on the eve of the start of the winter season, then we know it is time to wake up. Other properties are reported to be taking similar decisions to preserve such business as they have.
OVER THE YEARS, we have grown accustomed to the hoop-la which accompanies December 15, when the tourism high season begins. This time, ritual forecasts about "bumper season" are being tempered with caution. The downturn is all over the Caribbean. Our minister of tourism had been "playing the tune" that every lickle ting will be all right, but this is reality, not a Marley moment. It is going to take every ounce of resilience and utmost co-operation to steer a path through the difficulties of these times. We have no choice.
In fairness to Minister Bartlett, he has not resiled from the challenges, even if his determined air of great expectations and glad tidings can be irritating sometimes because of its seeming naivety and over-heated optimism. There is no way we can prettify this one.
Yet, we must commend Mr Bartlett for pounding the pavements with the rest of the tourism team, to get the attention of the marketplace.
In broadcasts during the hardly noticed Tourism Week (last week), he rode the theme of co-operation culminating with the Obama-style rallying cry "Yes, we can", but even he must admit that whatever we achieve will depend to a great extent on how the US is able to weather their storm. Let us hope that the costly ads on CNN, in the midst of the Larry King Show, for example, bring in some good "laama".
THE OTHER Christmas "party pooper" is the bauxite situation, Windalco's lay-off of 150 "semi-permanent" workers might not be big in numbers but it is a significant warning of things which could come. Like tourism, there has been indication before now of rocky times in the offing. We have seemed reluctant, however, to accept that a day could come when the bauxite industry might diminish significantly or leave us altogether.
For some time now, the industry has not been treated with the "reverence" of the past, some say. Values have changed, but even so the value of bauxite earnings to communities where operations are located and to national revenue is undeniable. A new awareness of environmental issues has brought tension in some areas but this has to be handled with greater sensitivity, towards attaining the best results for all concerned.
South Manchester Member of Parliament Michael Peart, who not only represents a bauxite community but has worked in the industry, says there have been failings from many sides. The handling of the funds which were to be set aside by government over the years for the resuscitation of bauxite communities is a sore point with him. The objectives have never been pursued adequately, he says. What is needed now, therefore, is co-operation and the realisation that if the industry were to be shut down, the fallout would bring serious consequences.
In that spirit, the committees involving representatives of the industry and citizens of the communities where mining and plant operations are located, will have to work together with heightened sensitivity, to protect their mutual interests. In other words, we have to do everything to protect "the laama".
LAST SUNDAY NIGHT Prime Minister Golding unwrapped a gift package of sweeteners in a sour time... incentives for the business sector, some tax relief for the struggling wage earner, loans for small business, etc. While there has not been dancing in the streets since then, the government must be commended for responding (at last, some people say) to alleviate the sense of despair which has been permeating the society. So, Santa Brucie bring de laama and we get de deggeh-deh. Some people may have a better Christmas after all.
HARTLEY: Story-teller, communicator, journalist, author... son of Four Paths, old boy of Jamaica College, witness at close range to the evolution of political leadership in modern Jamaica, keeper of the memory of how civilised we used to be... fabulous father... good friend... gone... Walk good, Hartley Neita.
[email protected]
BARBARA GLOUDON
Chrissmus a come, mi waan mi laama...
Chrissmus a come, mi waan mi deggeh-deh
<span style="font-weight: bold">ONE OF THE most incomprehensible, yet most delightful of
our uniquely Jamaican Christmas songs is this one which has us looking for the elusive "laama". </span>All things equal, we should be scouring the slopes of the Andes to bring back the furry beast said to be a relative of the camel bearing the name which sounds similar to the object of old-time Jamaican yuletide expectation.
In the Dictionary of Jamaican English, FG Cassidy and RB LePage wrestle with the origin of our "laama". They seem to have come to the conclusion that it is an amalgamation of two words - "Lawks" and "ma" - a creolisation of "Lord" and "mam" said to have been an exclamation of delight uttered by the peasantry in response to bounty.
Alas, not everyone will have the pleasure of "laama" during this season. Despite ecclesiastical urgings for us to see Christmas as a time for giving rather than receiving, people are looking for their "Lawks, ma". However, with layoffs in vital sectors of the economy and bad news blowing down from the North, the spirit of celebration seems a little tentative.
High society might still be on show in the latest fashions, with cocktail glasses in hand, but for many others, at home and abroad, the water is definitely more than flour. In any case, with the best will in the world, the cost of both flour and water is trending up, out of the reach of the less fortunate. Until recently, in some areas of leadership, there seemed to be a determined effort to give the impression that we are not being touched by the global economic crisis. Not even a Christmas duppy could really believe that we would remain insulated from the economic wildfire being experienced across the world.
It seems that everybody is treading water. The attempts to bail out the failing motor vehicle industry in the US have become as intriguing as a soap opera. There's little "peace on earth" as politicians debate to bail or not to bail, with irate taxpayers in revolt at being called upon to pay for the mistakes of inept leadership.
We, in the meantime, have our own troubles. Warnings of difficulties to come in bauxite and tourism were sounded long ago but the reality is finally here. When even the powerhouse Sandals hotel chain has to send home some workers on the eve of the start of the winter season, then we know it is time to wake up. Other properties are reported to be taking similar decisions to preserve such business as they have.
OVER THE YEARS, we have grown accustomed to the hoop-la which accompanies December 15, when the tourism high season begins. This time, ritual forecasts about "bumper season" are being tempered with caution. The downturn is all over the Caribbean. Our minister of tourism had been "playing the tune" that every lickle ting will be all right, but this is reality, not a Marley moment. It is going to take every ounce of resilience and utmost co-operation to steer a path through the difficulties of these times. We have no choice.
In fairness to Minister Bartlett, he has not resiled from the challenges, even if his determined air of great expectations and glad tidings can be irritating sometimes because of its seeming naivety and over-heated optimism. There is no way we can prettify this one.
Yet, we must commend Mr Bartlett for pounding the pavements with the rest of the tourism team, to get the attention of the marketplace.
In broadcasts during the hardly noticed Tourism Week (last week), he rode the theme of co-operation culminating with the Obama-style rallying cry "Yes, we can", but even he must admit that whatever we achieve will depend to a great extent on how the US is able to weather their storm. Let us hope that the costly ads on CNN, in the midst of the Larry King Show, for example, bring in some good "laama".
THE OTHER Christmas "party pooper" is the bauxite situation, Windalco's lay-off of 150 "semi-permanent" workers might not be big in numbers but it is a significant warning of things which could come. Like tourism, there has been indication before now of rocky times in the offing. We have seemed reluctant, however, to accept that a day could come when the bauxite industry might diminish significantly or leave us altogether.
For some time now, the industry has not been treated with the "reverence" of the past, some say. Values have changed, but even so the value of bauxite earnings to communities where operations are located and to national revenue is undeniable. A new awareness of environmental issues has brought tension in some areas but this has to be handled with greater sensitivity, towards attaining the best results for all concerned.
South Manchester Member of Parliament Michael Peart, who not only represents a bauxite community but has worked in the industry, says there have been failings from many sides. The handling of the funds which were to be set aside by government over the years for the resuscitation of bauxite communities is a sore point with him. The objectives have never been pursued adequately, he says. What is needed now, therefore, is co-operation and the realisation that if the industry were to be shut down, the fallout would bring serious consequences.
In that spirit, the committees involving representatives of the industry and citizens of the communities where mining and plant operations are located, will have to work together with heightened sensitivity, to protect their mutual interests. In other words, we have to do everything to protect "the laama".
LAST SUNDAY NIGHT Prime Minister Golding unwrapped a gift package of sweeteners in a sour time... incentives for the business sector, some tax relief for the struggling wage earner, loans for small business, etc. While there has not been dancing in the streets since then, the government must be commended for responding (at last, some people say) to alleviate the sense of despair which has been permeating the society. So, Santa Brucie bring de laama and we get de deggeh-deh. Some people may have a better Christmas after all.
HARTLEY: Story-teller, communicator, journalist, author... son of Four Paths, old boy of Jamaica College, witness at close range to the evolution of political leadership in modern Jamaica, keeper of the memory of how civilised we used to be... fabulous father... good friend... gone... Walk good, Hartley Neita.
[email protected]
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