Abstract:

The study aims to understand the perception of Jawaiian's (a synthesis of Jamaican and Hawaiian music) musical meaning within the context of a local cultural identity by examining how this identity is mediated by the sound of
the music, the song texts, and discourse about the genre by musicians and audience members. A subtheme developed here is the way reggae and its associated images and ideas, when transported to a different social system, take on a different
symbolic meaning.

Author: Andrew N. Weintraub