Page 46 - 10th Annual International Charles Town Maroon Conference and Festival Magazine

June 2018 Charles Town Maroon International Conference Magazine

Celebrating Ancestor Quao

The fight started before the Africans came. It was initially culture in the Charles Town Community. Infused with
between those who were already living on the Island and drumming, singing, dancing, talks/ presentations on
those who came and declared it to be theirs, or better yet, relevant issues and other elements characteristic of ancestral
owned by a monarchy not known to or even vaguely related celebrations in Africa, it supported the overall effort of the
to the ones in possession. The seeds were planted. Name Accompong and Moore Town communities in placing
calling, deception, finger pointing, kidnapping morphed into Maroons, marronage etc. in the broader context of Jamaican
rape, murder and other abominable delights for the life and culture.
newcomers. The old timers, our Taíno and other Indigenous In 2001 the Celebration was hosted at where has become
Peoples of Jamaica and the Caribbean, had their existence known as the Asafu Yard and has remained there since. In
restructured by an encomienda (slavery) system that had 2009 the Annual Quao Celebration was re-crafted to include
them sinking lower every time they thought they had hit rock an academic component and was hosted as the 1st Annual
bottom. The new comers started the cultivation of land and Charles Town Maroon Conference under the stewardship of
labour intensive crops on a land that had previously then Colonel Frank Lumsden. The Conference remained
supported small farms and farmers and fostered for them- anchored by the celebration of Ancestor Quao and the
selves a necessity for more people to work the land. They signing of the Treaty. As such June 23 remained as a day of
later invented a story that the original users and protectors tribute to Ancestor Quao and others who participated in the
of the land, the old timers, were all deceased so as to justify Maroon wars.
their claim to the land...among other things. The fight was
underway. Highlights of previous Quao Day Celebrations include:
The fight peaked when African peoples were enslaved ➢ Participation of a delegation comprised of members of
and brought to the island. Taking to the hills in defiance of the Kwahuman Association, a New York based
the violations of natural and other laws by the slave traders, Ghanaian organization and the presentation of an Akan
slave owners, their King, Queen and country, the African stool to the Charles Town Community
peoples found and joined forces with the resilient old timers ➢ Participation of and continued co-operation with the
who themselves had previously taken to the hills as a way Saramaka Maroons from Suriname
of survival. The emerged alliance fostered the sharing of ➢ World premier of Akwantu: The Journey, a documentary
knowledge that provided elements e. g. knowledge of caves, focused on the Jamaica Maroons by Hollywood
that became extremely useful in war strategies. stuntman Roy T. Anderson
Under the leadership of fighting forces such as Ancestor ➢ Poetry reading performance by Shauntay Grant, a 2009-
Quao the Maroon people whipped the British to the nego- 2010 Poet Laureate in Halifax, Canada and a descendant
tiation and signing of a 1739 peace treaty. The peace treaty of the Leeward Maroons of Trelawny Town, St James,
was signed by Ancestor Quao on behalf of the victorious who were tricked and deported to Halifax, Nova Scotia
Maroons and a British representative on behalf of his fearful ➢ Honouring of Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd
and broken people. The fighting paused. CD
The first present day celebration of the Maroon victory,
signified by Ancestor Quao's signing of the peace treaty, took ➢ Participation of celebrities such as Pam Hall, Nadine
place in the year 2000 at Quao Village. Arising from a Sutherland and Dr. Amina Blackwood Meeks
reawakening of Maroon spirit and identity, the celebration ➢ Commitment of Minister of Culture, Gender,
began as an act of reclamation of ancestry and heritage. In Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, to improve the
addition to celebrating the ancestor, the activity was a welfare of heritage communities, including the
clear statement of the resurgence and importance of Maroon Maroons.

45