ST JAMES, Jamaica – It was a celebratory atmosphere as revivalists, dressed in their elaborate multi-coloured robes and head gear received the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) certificate recognising the Pilgrimage to Watt Town on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The document was handed over by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, during the annual pilgrimage in St Ann on March 6.

UNESCO inscribed the Revival Pilgrimage to Watt Town on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List in December 2024 during the meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

It is Jamaica’s third UNESCO inscription, following the recognition of the Maroon Heritage of Moore Town in 2008 and Reggae music in November 2019.

Revivalism is a folk religion that combines African spirituality and Christianity. It began as a religious movement called Myalism, which was started by Africans brought to Jamaica to work on plantations. Myalism was one of the first anti-slavery movements.

The Pilgrimage to Watt Town is an annual spiritual commemoration and celebration by Jamaican revivalists, which started just before the Great Revival of September 1860.

Grange lauded the pilgrimage as an event “where history, spirituality and community converge to celebrate not only our cultural heritage, but also the spirit of renewal and revival that is alive in every corner of this vibrant town… every nook and cranny of Jamaica and across the diaspora, where you have Jamaicans”.

“This journey reconnects us with the timeless traditions of our ancestors, who… when the slave masters introduced Christianity, they created a unique Jamaican worship, African-Christian Jamaican worship through revivalism,” she pointed out.

She underscored the importance of the Pilgrimage to Watt Town earning UNESCO’s recognition.

“UNESCO does not inscribe religion, but [it] will inscribe elements that celebrate aspects of the religion, and we thought it was important [to nominate the pilgrimage] because this is a practice that started with our ancestors, and it has continued,” she said.

“This recognition affirms the deep cultural and historical significance of our revival traditions, preserving them for future generations while honouring the resilience, the strength, the faith, and the unity that bind our people. I invite each of you to continue embracing this opportunity, to celebrate our past, to engage with our present and ignite the future of our cultural heritage,” Grange said.

–         JIS