Jamaican patois for woman's sanitary napkin, used as a derogatory descriptive term. A severe profanity thought to originate from the unsanitary nature of the female period (blood clot). It can be used in many contexts, especially to back up a strong statement.

The worst possible way to insult a Jamaican is to refer to them as an excretion from the human body. What seems to be the most dominant curse is to refer to someone as a "Ras clot" "bongo clot," or "bumba clot." In these contexts, the term "clat" or clot does not mean a "cloth". Calling someone one of these words is like saying they came from a 'blood clot' and not an ovum from their mother's womb.<ref>"When someone is angry or upset they might spew out curses such as "ras clot" or "bumba clot," meaning that you came out as a blood clot instead of an ovum from your mother’s womb." Jamaican Patois and the Power of Language in Reggae Music. Herbold, Stacey.</ref>

Bloodclat in Music and Literature

The word bloodclat has been used widely in reggae or Dancehall music from the rise of its popularity by artists such as Peter Tosh, and in roots poetry.

"yu come from

a little island

wid a bloodclat dialect

acting like yu

used to wear long pants

go bout yu business

nobody wan hear what

yu ahfi seh

zeen

yu's a little undadeveloped

squid

zeen

you's a little

youth man

a boy not yet

in high school" quote Professor Opal Palmer Adisa; Californian College of Arts. Award winning author.

Bibliography

"Dictionary of Jamaican English", 2nd ed. F. G. Cassidy and R. B. Le Page, 1980.

"Understanding Jamaican Patios", Adams, Emilie L. Kingston, Jamaica: Kingston Publishers Limited, 1991

"The Rastafarians", Barrett, Leonard E. Sr. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1997

"Rhetoric of Reggae Speech", Snider, Alfred, C. 1998.

"Rasta/Patois Dictionary", editor Pawka, Mike

Glossary from "The Harder They Come", 1972

References

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See also

Jamaican patois
Jamaican English