Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI Search this
Type:
Articles
Place:
Jamaica
Date:
2005
Notes:
Color illustrations.
Anthropologists Miller and Horst lived in Jamaica for one year to undertake a study of the impact of the cell phone on daily life, particularly in many rural communities. The study for this article focuses on their findings in Orange Valley. Among their discoveries is that cell phone usage is intimately linked with many Jamaicans' belief and devotion to God and the church. The cell phone has also become a tool of economic and social survival; the church provides a link between the poverty of many Jamaicans and communication. Evangelical Pentecostalism is the dominant form of Christianity found in Orange County, and many of these evangelical messages stress that devotion and giving money to the church will result in blessings that "pay interest." As such, the cell phone is often regarded as a "blessing" from God in and of itself. Because of high unemployment, many Jamaicans receive their source if income from local and international family or friends. Another source of potential income is the Lotto or Cashpot. This form of gambling in Jamaica is derived from the traditional Chinese system in which symbolism and dream interpretation figure prominently in the playing of these number games. The cell phone enables many Jamaicans to share their dream interpretations with other members of the community.
