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Dance to Buss an Ethnographic Study of Dancehall Dancing in Jamaica

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Dance to Buss An ethnographic study of Dancehall Dancing in Jamaica Johanna Sjövall Department of Social Anthropology Stockholm University Master’s thesis, 2013 30 Credits Supervisor: Helena Wulff Department of Social Anthropology 2013-09-04 Stockholm University Master Thesis Table of content GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................... 4 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 6 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Background............................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Personal experience ................................................................................................................................................ 9 1.3 Anthropology of Dance ........................................................................................................................................ 11 2. METHOD ................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Documenting fieldwork through visual material ............................................................................................... 21 2.2 Human relationships and ethical difficulties ..................................................................................................... 23 2.3 Layout of the thesis .............................................................................................................................................. 25 3. DANCEHALL ............................................................................................................ 26 3.1 The actors.............................................................................................................................................................. 29 3.2 The dance .............................................................................................................................................................. 31 3.3 Dancers Unite at Uptown Mondays .................................................................................................................... 34 3.4 Dancehall as resistance ........................................................................................................................................ 36 4. DANCING .................................................................................................................. 39 4.1 Dancehall dancing ................................................................................................................................................ 40 4.2 Learning to dance with feeling ............................................................................................................................ 41 4.3 Latest developments ............................................................................................................................................. 44 4.4 Communication .................................................................................................................................................... 46 4.5 Organization of dancers ...................................................................................................................................... 47 4.6 Dancehall Queen .................................................................................................................................................. 48 5. BLACK EAGLES ...................................................................................................... 51 5.1 Technological possibilities and social media ...................................................................................................... 52 2 Department of Social Anthropology 2013-09-04 Stockholm University Master Thesis 5.2 Growing up dancing ............................................................................................................................................. 55 5.3 Black man and dancehall ..................................................................................................................................... 55 6. GHETTO LIFE ........................................................................................................... 59 6.1 Widening the ghetto concept ............................................................................................................................... 64 6.2 Survival strategies in the ghetto .......................................................................................................................... 66 7. “TO BUSS” ............................................................................................................... 68 8. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................ 72 9. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 75 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 78 Webpages .................................................................................................................................................................... 81 Youtube Links ............................................................................................................................................................ 81 Photos from the field .................................................................................................................................................. 83 3 Department of Social Anthropology 2013-09-04 Stockholm University Master Thesis Glossary Most people in Jamaica speak the Jamaican creole language Patois. Patois is the language of the dancehall, and within the dancehall, new slangs and expressions are developed constantly. In this glossary I explain a few of the words that are used within the dancehall and that I will mention in this thesis. “To Buss” To get a better life. Succeed and make it in the entertainment industry. Gaining enough financial resources to be able to move around, travel and support ones family. Big up An expression of support given to a person or group of people. Dance A dancehall event where a sound system plays and different dancehall actors come together to listen to music, socialize, dance and in other ways practice dancehall culture. Deejay/DJ (1) Either referring to the main artists in the dancehall who entertain through “deejaying” or “toasting”, which is a play with words and sounds that are orally performed and recorded on a dancehall riddim. (2) It can also be used to refer to a sound system Deejay/DJ who works together with the selector and introduces songs and host dances, talking to the crowd through a microphone. To avoid confusion I will use “deejay” for meaning (1), and “DJ” for meaning (2). Gallis A man who has sexual relations with many women and thanks to this safeguards his masculinity and superior position of being a straight male. Gully ghetto/ gutter Gyal Girl/Woman Link up Creating and keeping links between people. Social networking. 4 Department of Social Anthropology 2013-09-04 Stockholm University Master Thesis Pull up When a song is being stopped and played back over again. Riddim A piece of music. The beat of a song without vocals. One riddim can be used to create many songs as different artists use the same riddim to create songs through singing or deejaying. Selector Part of the sound system. The selector is the person in charge of choosing songs and playing the music at dancehall dances. Sound system Either used to refer to the electronic equipment that plays the music at a dance, or when referring to the team of people who operates this equipment and plays the music, mainly the DJ and the selector. 5 Department of Social Anthropology 2013-09-04 Stockholm University Master Thesis Abstract Dancehall is an influential space of cultural creation and expression within Jamaican society. This study is about how Jamaican dancehall is being performed, and what this performance means to its participants. Dancehall is mainly practiced by lower-class Jamaicans. This thesis focuses on dancers as a specific group among these participants. During 15 weeks I lived in Kingston and participated in dancehall culture daily. The fieldwork was focused on one dance group called “The Black Eagles”. The dancehall is gender structured and most dancers are men who organize in male crews. Practicing dancehall can be seen as a cultural resistance to structural injustice, while it also works to enforce oppressive ideologies. Dancehall culture is criticized for being immoral, inappropriate and violent. Dancehall is a survival strategy for many lower-class Jamaicans and an alternative to a life in crime. The Black Eagles dance because they love it, but the main motivation for initiating a career as a dancehall dancer is the hope of getting a better life. Digital technology and social media have helped dancers to reach this goal. Through social media, the dancehall dance has gained international popularity. This thesis relates to broader themes such as development, poverty, globalization, gender and identity. Keywords: Dancing, dancehall, Jamaica, poverty, resistance,
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