The city of Moore Town in eastern Jamaica is home to the descendants of former runaway slaves called Maroons. They were forcibly removed from their native lands, which is Africa, by Spanish slave traders in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The word "Maroon" is related to the Spanish word "Cimarrón", which means "wild" and "untamed". The Moore Town Maroons originated from African ancestors who were forcibly removed from their native lands to the Caribbean by Spanish slave traders. This term describes those slaves who fled the plantations of the early 1600s and settled in eastern Jamaica, mostly in the Blue and Johncrow Mountains. In the early eighteenth century, much of the eastern part of the island was controlled by the Maroon communities. Against the encroaching plantation system, the British organized and formed underground military units. The British finally yielded to the Maroons' demands to be recognized as autonomous by signing a treaty with them in 1739, following decades of warfare.
Since the Moore Town Maroons hail from West and Central African regions, with varied languages and cultural practices, they elaborated collective religious ceremonies that combined various spiritual traditions. These expressions, known as Kromanti Play, have become the basis of Maroon identity. For example, during Kromanti ceremonies, dances, songs, and specific drumming styles are performed to invoke ancestral spirits. Several of the ceremonies featured a language from Africa known as Kromanti, as well as rare medicinal preparations. As part of their unique heritage, the people of Moore Town also possess a unique system of communally-held “treaty lands”, a local political structure, as well as the use of the abeng, a side-blown instrument of Jamaican origin that serves as a communication tool over long distances.
Many decades of missionary opposition to Kromanti Play have forced the tradition into underground status, and serious schisms have resulted within the communities. Furthermore, the deteriorating economic conditions of Jamaica forced many Maroons to migrate to other parts of the country and abroad. As a result, the Maroons in Jamaica today are to a small extent autonomous and independent of Jamaican culture. Since the Maroons were isolated in their ancestors' time, their communities have remained among the most inaccessible on the island, in the four official Maroon towns still in existence in Jamaica. These are Accompong, Moore, Charles Town, and Scott's Hall. These towns still hold lands allotted to them in the treaties of 1739–1740 with the British. They still maintain their traditional celebrations and practices, some of which are of West African origin. Several of these events are open to Jamaicans and island tourists, while other events considered sacred are held in secret and veiled in mystery. Singing, dancing, drumming, and preparing traditional foods are integral parts of most celebrations.
References