JAMAICA BAY

shallow inlet of the Atlantic Ocean covering about 20 square miles (50 square km) on the southwestern shore of Long Island, southeastern New York, U.S. Part of the Port of New York, the bay is sheltered on the south by Rockaway Peninsula and is traversed by the Cross Bay Boulevard. Dotted with marshy islands, Jamaica Bay connects with the ocean to the southwest by way of Rockaway Inlet, which is bridged. Near the entrance channel is Coney Island. On the Brooklyn shore is Floyd Bennett Field, a former U.S. naval air station that is now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area; on the northeastern shore, at Idlewild, is the John F. Kennedy International Airport. Cultural life Jamaica's cultural development has been deeply influenced by British traditions and a search for roots in folk forms, which are based chiefly on the colourful, rhythmic intensity of an African heritage. Clinton V. Black James A. Ferguson Daily life Family life is central to most Jamaicans, although formal marriages are less prevalent there than in most other countries. It is common for three generations to share a home. Many women earn wages, particularly in households where men are absent, and grandmothers normally take charge of preschool children. Wealthier Jamaican families usually employ at least one domestic helper. The main meal is almost always in the evening, because most people do not have time to prepare a midday meal and children normally eat at school. Some families eat together, but television has increasingly replaced conversation at the dinner table. The exception to this rule is Sunday, when tradition dictates that even poor families enjoy a large and sociable brunch or lunch, usually including chicken, fish, yams, fried plantains, and the ubiquitous rice and peas (rice with black-eyed peas). One of Jamaica's most popular foods is jerk (spiced and grilled) meat. Clothing styles vary. Rastafarians, who account for a tiny part of the population, typically wear loose-fitting clothing and long dreadlocks, a hairstyle associated with the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I in the early 20th century.