Charles Town to host third Maroon convention

Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer

CHARLES TOWN, Portland:

FROM THURSDAY, June 23 to Saturday, June 25, there will be a feast of Maroon history and heritage as the Charles Town Maroon Council (CTMC) presents the third annual International Maroon Convention at Asafu Yard, Charles Town, Portland.

The event was originally called Quao Day Celebrations, but for the last three years, it has taken on a more academic format interspersed with fun and activities for everyone, such as museum and burial-ground tours, river bathing, Maroon drumming, ring games, storytelling and children's art exhibition. Locals and visitors from abroad will get the chance to immerse themselves into the colourful story of the indomitable Maroons with whom British colonisers were forced to sign a peace treaty.

Two persons of note who will be present are international spoken-word performer, Shauntay Grant, a direct descendant of the Trelawny Maroons who were tricked, kidnapped and taken to Halifax, Canada, and then to Sierra Leone, Africa, and Roy T. Anderson, former Hollywood stuntman, and a Maroon descendant himself, who is the writer/producer/director of the Maroon documentary, Akwantu: The Journey.

According to the CTMC, "The three-day celebrations are dedicated to honour and draw national and international attention to the unique history, cultural heritage, and practices of the Maroon communities of Jamaica," and will be held under the theme, 'The Return, The return to the values of the past as the way to sustain the future'. On the first two days, among other things, there will be approximately 25 academic papers on Maroon history and culture, and 12 presentations "focusing on history and cultural heritage with a view to harnessing it for high-value community , economic and social development".

Friday night, dubbed the 'Night of the Ancestors', will be a time of pulsating drumming led by the Charles Town Drummers and Dancers. The spirits of the ancestors will descend upon this historic village to mingle with the living. There will be demonstrations by the Afro-Brazilian dance/martial arts group Cativeiro Capoeira Jamaica, which will also showcase their skills the following day.

Saturday climaxes the event with the procession and presentation of Maroon chiefs at the 1 p.m. official ceremony, where Ambassador Evadney Coye will be the guest speaker.