DANCE-JAMAICA: New Dance Angers Rastafarians

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Misha Lobban

KINGSTON, Mar 14 1995 (IPS) - Dancing in Jamaica can be hazardous to your health – particularly if you’re caught up with the latest craze called ‘Mock-the-Dread’.

The basic movement is the bobbing of the head; flashing of the hair – braided to look like the dreadlocks favoured by Rastafarians – and a bouncy walk similar to Fat Albert’s strut in the popular U.S. cartoon ‘Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids’.

The ‘Mock-the-Dread’ dance is sweeping the Jamaican dancehall scene and about to hit the club circuit in the United States. It is the creation of 23-year-old local DJ and comedian Dwayne Brown who, after watching an episode of ‘Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids’ one day, decided to put Fat Albert’s bouncy walk to music.

Brown says he did not give his dance any name. Friends, however, quickly dubbed the dance ‘Mock-the-Dread’ as it was seen as an imitation of Rastafarians’ movements.

Since then, the dance has taken off and gained widespread popularity among dancehall fans. But members of the Rastafarian community are upset, mostly about the name “Mock-the-Dread.”

“Nothing is wrong with the dance itself because I recognise that dancing is a part of the Jamaican culture. But giving it such a name is a mockery to us,” says Everton Moore, a member of the Rastafarian community.

“It is a sign against the ‘Rastas’. Since the introduction of the dance, some people are using the name to ridicule Rastafarians,” says Percy ‘Jah P’ Clarke, music producer/promoter.

Clarke adds that the fact that the ‘Mock-the-Dread’ dancers shave the back of their head and grow locks in the centre is a mockery of Rastafarians’ dreadlocks.

Jamaica is the home base of dancehall music which enjoys international fame through the success of dancehall artists such as three-time Grammy winner Shabba Ranks and Lady Patra whose first album has been certified gold in the United States. Closely interwoven into the music are popular dance styles such as the ‘Bogle’, ‘Tatty’, ‘Limbo’, ‘World Dance’ and now ‘Mock-the-Dread’.

Disgruntled members of the Rastafarian community want another name for the new dance as they feel that it is a serious violation of their rights as citizens and an insult to their religious beliefs. (MORE)

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