The cave system known as Dryland in Jamaica is described as “a complex
cave containing interconnected shafts, passages and chambers” (Fincham
1997, p.161). Fincham adds that it has a depth of 30 metres and a length
of 125 metres (Ibid). It is located in a depression to the north of Dog
Hole.
This cave contains a single anthropomorphic Taíno petroglyph referred
to as “One-Long Bubby Susan” (Fincham 1997, p. 161). “One Bubby Susan”
is a representation of the Taíno Earth Mother, Atabey, the mother
of their supreme male deity Yocahu. The Taíno petroglyph at Rock
Spring, St. Mary provides an interesting example of how Taíno material
culture has been incorporated into Jamaican folklore (Atkinson, personal
communication, 2014).
The petroglyph is called “One Bubby Susan”, as she has only one breast.
It is derived from the African folklore of Long/Lang Bubby Susan, who is
regarded as a duppy that terrorizes children, identifiable as the “Old
Hige/Hag” (Atkinson, 2010).
This rock art site is also special to Akan, Yoruba and Dagara priests and
priestess who treat the image and the cave as a shrine (Erna Brodber, personal
communication, 2010). This veneration for indigenous rock art sites is
not unique to Jamaica, as in Haiti, these sites are perceived as a source
of healing, and incorporated into pilgrimages that take place in the summer
(Beauvoir-Dominique, 2009, pp. 85-86).