Reconnecting with land in Jamaica

During Jamaica’s fight for independence from Britain throughout the 1960s, speakers placed high in treetops signalled parties in neighbouring towns. People moved between them following the sound, forming new relationships with the land.

This use of sound echoes tactics of sonic warfare used by Maroons, a Jamaican group who successfully resisted enslavement. Maroon tribesmen used ‘abeng’ (a cow or buffalo horn) to warn against encroaching British colonisers over large distances.

Written by: Ben Selig, V&A East Curatorial Fellow
Published: May 2025

Description: Notebook with sketches by Tony Myers of three bass cabinet speaker designs (‘scoop’, ‘grumbler’ and ‘Cerwin Vega’), brief annotations by Ben Selig
Location and date: Jamaica. 2024

Description: Photograph of a sound system diagram with material composition marked in pen
Maker: Hannah Oliver

Working Museum