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Rasta Gear Shop Jamaican Rasta Patois Glossary U to Z. Rasta handmade purewool tams berets and beanies in the rasta colors. Rastafarian Jamaican Reggae and Bob Marley Clothing and Merchandise
UNO/UNU: you-all. pron. you, plural. In usage close to Afro-American y'awl. From Ibo unu, same meaning.
UPFUL: postitive, encouraging.
UPHILL: positive, righteous.
UPTOWN: the upper classes.
VANK: (v.) - to vanquish, conquer.
VEX: to get angry.
WA DAY: adverbial phrase, the other day.
WA MEK?: why?
WHAFEDOO: we'll have to (make) do or we'll have to deal with it.
WAKL: wattle, a kind of woven bamboo work used to make house walls.
WANGA-GUT: hungry-belly.
WARRA-WARRA: politely omitted bad words, same as "tarra-warra".
WENCHMAN: a kind of fish, "hail brother john, have you any wenchman?" (from "Row Fisherman Row").
WEST INDIAN: The term used to refer to the peoples and cultures of the Caribbean archipelago and parts of the Circum-Caribbean rimlands from present-day Belize to Jamaica in the Greater Antilles to Trinidad and Barbados in the Lesser Antilles.
WH'APPEN?: what's happening?
WHATLEF: What's left over.
WHEELS: vehicle.
WHOLE HEAP: a lot.WINE: "wine" appears in every West Indian dialect, and is literally a corruption of "wind." It means to dance, sometimes seductively.
WINJY: thin and sickly looking.
WIS: vine, liana, from withe.
WOLF: a non-rasta deadlocks.
WOOD: penis.
YA NUH SEE?: you know?
YA: hear, or here.
YABBA: a big clay pot.
YAGA YAGA: Dancehall slang. a way to big up a brethren; to express a greeting or attract attention, i.e. yo! or yush! true friend; bonafide; brethren.
YAHSO: here (place).
YAI: eye.
YARD: home, one's gates, tenement.
YOUTH: a child, a young man, an immature man.
YUSH: Yush talk is bad boy talk. Or it can be a way of saying "YO". In other words it is a way for rude boys to hail each other up.
ZION: From a Rasta perspective, Zion refers broadly to Africa and more specifically to Ethiopia as the ancestral homeland of all black peoples.
ZUNGU PAN: zinc pan.
Thanks to some of the sources of this glossary...Reggae International, Stephen Davis, Peter Simon, R&B, 1982 - KSBR 88.5 FM, Laguna Beach, CA. Handout. - posted on rec.music.reggae - Mike Pawka, Jammin Reggae Archives Cybrarian - Understanding Jamaican Patois, L. Emilie Adams, Kingston - Richard Dennison/Michio Ogata - Glossary from "The Harder They Come" (Bo Peterson) - Norman Redington - The Beat - Allen Kaatz - Jah Bill (William Just) - Arlene Laing - Jennifer G. Graham - Norma Brown/Zoe Una Vella Veda - Richard V. Helmbrecht - Norman Stolzoff - Christopher Edmonds - Lisa Watson - Dr. Carolyn Cooper - Ras Adam - Chip Platt - Michael Turner from an article in "The Beat" - Nicky "Dread" Taylor - Simrete McLean - The Unofficial Web Site on Jamaica - Paul Mowatt - Carlos Culture - Liner Notes - Blood & Fire release: Jah Stitch:"Original Ragga Muffin", presumably Steve Barrow - Clinton Fearon -Original member of the Gladiators/ - Barbara Kennedy - Itations of Jamaica and i Rastafari - Phil "Bassy" Ajaj - Karlene Rogers - Dean Holland - Scottie Lake - Roger Steffen's Supersite - Sara Gurgen - Kevin Robison - Christopher Durning - Ronald E. Lam - Trainer Adams - Editor of Dub Missive magazine. - Karlene Rogers - Howard Henry - Messian Dread - Roger Steffens - Bunny Wailer (related to Roger Steffens) - Reggaeblitz.com glossary - Jahworks.org - Jamaican Handbook of Proverbs - www.jamaicans.com-The Reggae Box - Hip-O Records
A Great big thanks to Mike Pawka http://niceup.com/patois.txt
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