REPLAY - Day 2 - 13th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CHARLES TOWN MAROON CONFERENCE & FESTIVAL 2021

Remember the Charles Town Maroons?

I featured them some years ago on my website in this article:
https://www.my-island-jamaica.com/jamaican_maroon.html

Well they held their 13th annual Charles Town Maroon Celebration & Festival, June 23 and 24, 2021

Although a virtual affair, the hub of the event was staged at the ASAFU YARD, their home, rooted right there in Portland.

The Asafu yard is where the maroon warriors in the past would gather to strategize, dance and commune with ancestors in preparation for battles.

According to Dr. Marcus Goffe, it evolved from the vision of former colonel Frank Lumbsden, who wanted an annual event to celebrate maroon independence and to highlight and recall the struggles and success of the Jamaican maroons.

It was an insightful affair with presentations from individuals and other maroon communities around the world, including, Belize, New Zealand, Haiti, Surinam, Sierra Leone etc.

This year, the focus was on Quao, the second behind Nanny, and the main ancestor for the Charleston Maroons.

Of course, there was the traditional blowing of the abeng, dancing drumming and dancing but also...

▶presentations from the Taino community,
▶presentations on the history of the maroons and the treaties,
▶drum tributes,
▶academic discussions, as well as presentations on research and reasonings from University of Colorado, RMIT in Australia, University Of Rhode Island, University of Virginia, and more.

Do enjoy and share.