You’ve already selected your Reggae Marathon name right?  If not you’ll need to before the race so click here:  Reggae Marathon Name.

Good.  Now you’ll need a thorough primer on Jamaican Place Names.  Try these for starters:

• Accompong, established in 1739, is a Maroon settlement in St. Elizabeth.  It’s thought to have its name derived from the Ashanti word, ‘Nyamekopon’ which means ‘The Lone One, The Warrior’.
• Duppy Gate is in St. Andrew.  ‘Dupy’ is the Jamaican word for Ghost.  The legend of Dupy Gate goes back to the days when the West India Regiments occupied the base.  Soldiers stationed there since have reported seeing an Officer dressed in Period Uniform brandishing a Sword.  He would vanish as they were about to report.  Spooky!
• Nearer to Negril is a popular cooling off spot, YS Falls.  Some say the word comes from the Welsh word for ‘Winding’ that was written on early maps as ‘Wyess’ and over the years became Jamaicanized.
• If you’re flying into Montego Bay or in Spanish, ‘Manteca Bahia’.  It’s literal translation is ‘Lard Bay’, a name shown on early maps to indicate that Montego Bay was a major producer of lard in days gone by.

Shoe Myself Gate, Sligoville and of course those Jamaican place names in road sign above…I could go on.  For a comprehensive list of Jamaican Place Names, click this link:  Jamaican Place Names.  And yes there will be a test Friday night at the Reggae Marathon Pasta Party 🙂

Until next time…

Reggae Marathon RunninGuy (aka Sugar ‘Tuff Gong’ Bong)