On the evening of Friday, 31st August, 2012, Patwa Apparel – 11a Central Plaza was abuzz with excitement. All this as it was time to launch the limited edition t-shirt line – “Rait Jamaiekan Rait” (write Jamaican right).  The evening unfolded with the main presenter, Professor Carolyn Cooper congratulating Patwa Apparel’s CEO Heneka Watkis-Porter for the work she has been doing where brand Jamaica is concerned. Entertainers, Christopher “Johnny” Daley and Gem Sto:n  “shell dung di place” (no apologies here 🙂 with comedy and dancehall style Patwa lesson. This is just the beginning a great collaboration with the Jamaican Language Unit (UWI) – big tings ago gwaan. 
 
In the coming weeks, you will be kept abreast of our monthly Lyme to be hosted by Patwa Apparel every 1st Friday of each month where you will be feted with entertainment by our local “Patwa practicioners” and entertainers.

Rait Jamiekan Rait (Write Jamaican Right) is a brand associated with the Jamaican Language Company (JLC) as part of a collaboration with the Jamaican Language Unit (JLU) at the University of the West Indies, to promote the standard writing system for the Jamaican Language, the Cassidy-JLU system. Because it’s all about promoting the standard Jamaican writing system, JLC and Patwa Apparel have teamed up to produce the first in a series of limited edition Rait Jamiekan Rait branded t-shirts. Each edition crafted to be a collector’s item.

We introduce the Rait Jamiekan Rait (Write Jamaican Right) series with two proverbs in the Jamaican Language. The first, ‘If yu kyaahn kech Kwako, yu kech im shot’ – If you can’t catch the truly guilty party, as represented in the proverb by Kwaku, (the Twi language name for a boy born on a Wednesday), you punish anything vaguely connected to him, as symbolized by his shirt.

The second is, ‘Front a daag, Misa Daag, Bak a daag, daag’ – A dog is Mr. Dog to his face, but behind his back, he is just plain “dog”‘, i.e. respect is often only given in ones presence, but not behind ones back.  Look out for more from the Rait Jamiekan Rait T-shirt series.
Likl mour (Little more),