In this thought provoking collection of essays, anthropologist Barry Chevannes carefully exposes the underlying ideas and values that have given and are giving shape to social life in Jamaica and the Caribbean Region in general. In so doing, he goes beyond a mere examination of social structure, best exemplified by the works of earlier anthropologists like M.G. Smith, to present a comprehensive examination of the nature of Jamaican society. Chevannes advances our understanding of the complex issues of African-Caribbean identity and culture that have plagued intellectuals and scholars form Melville Herskovits right through to contemporary writers like Maureen Warner-Lewis and artists like Kamau Brathwaite.