Something is cracking up Vivian Crawford, then executive director of the Institute of Jamaica, as Bernard Jankee, director of the Jamaica Memory Bank/African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica, looks on during a break at the 4th Annual Charles Town Maroon Conference in Portland last year.
Maroon chieftess Gloria Mama G Simms, of the Trelawny Town Maroons, is one of the featured speakers on Sunday, June 23, Quao Victory Day, in Charles Town, Portland.
United States Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater (right) in discussion with Colonel Ferron Williams of the Accompong Town Maroons, and Susan Robeson, a descendant of the late internationally known bass-baritone Paul Robeson, at last years Charles Town Maroon Conference.-Paul H. Williams Photo
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Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer
CHARLES TOWN, Portland:THE STORY Of the Jamaican Maroons is well known the world over. Their uprising against British colonisers has influenced many other revolts in the Western Hemisphere, including the Haitian Revolution. With such a rich and powerful history, an international conference about the Maroons is important for the perpetuation of the struggle against oppression and for the showcasing of Maroon culture and heritage.
That conference is now in its fifth year and will be hosted by the Charles Town Maroons in Portland from Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 23. The theme of this year s gathering is Maroons Lands, Laws and Cultures and will explore the relationship between place and tradition in Maroon communities around the globe. It will examine Maroon practices and values, considering the way they endured, transformed, and resonated in the Caribbean, Canada, South America, Europe, the United States, Australia, and Africa.
Descending upon Asafu Yard in Charles Town over next weekend will be academics, scholars, and researchers from many, if not all, of the places mentioned above. Of note are the delegations from Suriname, Canada, and Australia.
presentations
Australia is one of the homes to the Aboriginal peoples, who, like the Jamaican Maroons, have waged wars against the British for certain rights. Some of these Aborigines will be among the Australian delegates, and on Saturday, in a segment called Southern Cross Dialogues: Voices on Indigenous Knowledge from Jamaica and Australia, Victoria Grieves, a PhD candidate from the University of Sydney; Aaron Corn, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow in Ethnomusicology; and, Wanta Patrick, an Australian Research Council Discovery Indigenous Fellow in Ethnomusicology, will make presentations.
On Sunday, during the Quao Victory Day Celebrations, Stanley Betterson, from the Ministry of Regional Development in Suriname, will speak on the Maroons in Suriname and their development: financial, political, cultural, art and religion. In addition, there will be an exhibition of Surinamese handicraft and foods and a Surinamese dance presentation. Other papers on the Suriname Maroons will be presented by cultural anthropologists Maggie Schmeitz (Friday afternoon), and Dr Ken Bilby, research associate at the Smithsonian Institute (Saturday evening).
The delegation from Canada includes Dr Stephanie McKenzie of the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University in Newfoundland. She will be looking at Before the Country: The Native Renaissance of the 60s and 70s in Canada and Maroon Communities Today. There is a strong historical connection between the Jamaican Maroons and Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada. In July 1796, 600 Maroons from Trelawny Town in St James were exiled to Halifax. After four years of hardship, 500 of them were sent to Sierra Leone in Africa.
One of the descendants of the Maroons sent to Sierra Leone is Fosuwa Andoh, artist, craftswoman, educationalist, and musician. She will be facilitating tie-dye techniques and indigo dye workshops at the conference. The workshops, at a cost of $1,000 each, will consist of introduction to dyeing, hands-on practical experience using traditional dyeing techniques, introduction to indigo and various types of dyes, and will also explore the visual language of textile pattern dyeing, the symbolism and how it can be used to store knowledge. There will also be an exhibition on the art of dyeing with particular reference to indigo. Indigo dye was a popular export from Jamaica during slavery.
Throughout the weekend, patrons will get a chance to see slavery-days artefacts during the Asafu Museum tours. But the day to really unwind and reflect is Sunday as there will be art exhibitions, food and beverage stalls, art and craft booths, herbal demonstrations, river bathing, ring games, storytelling, marble and gig playing, and kite flying.
rural@gleanerjm.com