Truly a nation "out of many, one people" Jamaica is a multifaceted mosaic of international customs and traditions. Our ancestors, from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, have helped to shape our culture, creating one that is uniquely Jamaican. When visiting our island home, take time to experience our culture. It's what sets us apart from other Caribbean destinations. Reason with a Rastafarian about life, love or politics. Lose yourself in the rhythms and movements of a people who still refuse to be constrained. Visit one of our many theatres or stage shows and delight in our performing arts, showcasing everything from Jonkonnu to jazz. Want to dance too? Join in the wild revelry of Carnival and Augus' Mawnin or just follow the reggae beat, pulsing from street corners and rum bars island wide. After that, share a meal with us -ackee and salt fish with roast breadfruit, escoveitched fish, bammy and festival - our epicurean feasts will tantalize your taste buds. In Jamaica, you'll discover new worlds, and familiar ones too, lots to learn about, and even more to love. No wonder we've been called 'the biggest little island in the world.' It's a title we can live with.

Art

Jamaica is a natural muse. Our land gleams in Technicolor, as lofty Blue Mountains spill onto verdant plains, shimmering sands and turquoise seas. Our people are bold, brash and bubbly, hailing from around the globe to give a spectrum of skin tones, customs and traditions. Our rich history and culture provide a plethora of ideas, images and untold stories. Given all this, it's no wonder Jamaicans pulse with a creative energy that overflows into whatever we do. It's in the way we talk, walk, dance, dress and in the countless other nuances making up the fabric of our everyday lives. Our creativity, however, is perhaps most tangible in our visual art, which uses our country's inspirational palette to give a physical reflection of everything we are, have been and will be.

Jamaican paintings, sculpture and pottery are among the best in the Caribbean. What makes our art extraordinary is its diversity. Our artists work in a variety of styles, modes and forms, ranging from the academic to the self-taught or intuitive, the surrealist and symbolist to the impressionist and social-realist. Our artists also masterfully draw from, or blend, European, African and American influences. They've learnt from Europe's and America's classical and abstract forms, while mimicking the techniques, colors and symbols found in African art. All together, they've collected and merged these influences to create the extremely varied, unique Jamaican school.

Over the years, this relatively small country has produced a seemingly infinite number of outstanding artists. Some of our most famous are Edna Manley, renowned sculptor and painter; Albert Huie, our foremost landscape painter; Cecil Baugh, master potter; Kapo, the most prominent of our self-taught artists, and Alvin Marriot, realist sculptor. The list is impressive and endless, growing each day as new artistes burst onto the Jamaican art scene.

Fine works of art are omnipresent. Everywhere you turn - from traditional galleries and museums to surprisingly unconventional spots like roadside displays or inner city walls - you'll find pieces of note. Famous collections with soulful works like David Pottinger's paintings and William Joseph's wood sculptures, are often housed near to public displays such as Kay Sullivan's bronze figures honoring Sam Sharpe, and barbed-wire fences laden with amateur paintings for sale.

When visiting Jamaica, take a tour of our colorful art arena. Browse the numerous galleries, showcasing our most treasured pieces, or look out for the newest talents as you wander the streets. You too, may be, inspired.

Religion

Religion is omnipresent in Jamaica - everywhere you go it permeates academic debates, ceremonies, business and political life. We are a predominantly Christian country, with large groups of Baptists, Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Other religions, such as Islam, and Judaism are also represented on a small scale, adding to the diversity of our nation's heritage.

The Guinness Book of records documents Jamaica as having the most churches per square mile. We have wide and varied religious beliefs; religion is the moral fiber of our nation, and most Jamaicans hold fast to something - a belief in a higher power and in man's mortality. Many Jamaicans spend a large part of their formative years in church, squeezed into pews with parents, siblings and grandparents, infused with (at the very least) a healthy respect for faith.

On Sunday mornings, you can see the influence of various aspects of our religious heritage. At meetings in churches still European in character, you will find men dressed in felt hats, starched shirts and dark suits, their polished shoes reflecting the glint of the morning sun. Women adorn themselves in colorful dresses, trims and frills showcasing the handiwork of the local seamstress.

In the rural areas, the influence of our African heritage is noticeably present in the Revival sects. Members dressed in white robes, heads wrapped in blue, red, white or green, chant and move to the rhythm of drums and tambourines. The music is almost hypnotic, inducing hips to gyrate to the steady beat, an individual form of self-expression with minds attuned to sounds only each can hear.

Our storied past and rich cultural medley has also led to the rise of such religious forms as Rastafari and Pocomania (Pukkumina), largely viewed in traditional religious circles as vehicles of rebellion in colonial times, and against the status quo. Pocomania 'bands' gravitate towards the holy or 'sealed' ground denoted by bamboo poles topped with flags, to offer libations to the deities under the leadership of the 'Shepherd' or 'Mother'. Elaborate ceremonies and feasts, consisting of tables or 'altars' laden with fruit, sweet breads, ground provisions and colored candles, are often held in thanksgiving or as pleas for blessings in the form of protection, healing or renewal.

Across the island, there are communities of Rastafarians. Brethren may be identified by their flowing ceremonial robes, turbans, tams and staffs trimmed with the red, green and gold of the Ethiopian flag. These colors, an outward expression of their identity, are worn in respect for the "mother land". Rastas drum and chant to renew their connection with Ras Tafari (Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia), the poignant message of repatriation always ripe on their lips.

While many pure forms of major religions still exist on the island, Jamaica is also home to a fusion of African and European influences. Visitors are often amazed to find the staid Methodist Church only steps away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Nazareth of the First Born of the Virgin Mary and in close proximity to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, all using the same Bible but with differing interpretations and physical manifestations of worship in the ceremonies.

While you are here, worship with us. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Rasta, whatever your religious conviction, there is a place for you to celebrate here in Jamaica.