Heritage, culture and entertainment collide in Charles Town, Portland this weekend

THE 17th iteration of the International Charles Town Maroon Conference and Festival unfolds from Friday, June 20 to Monday, June 23 at Charles Town in Portland. It is an academic, commemorative and celebratory event, chock-full of fun, festivity and a sumptuous expression of freedom which the Maroon ancestors won after years of figthing for it.

On June 23, 1739, the Windard Maroons of Portland, led by Captain Quao, the ‘Invisible Hunter’, signed a treaty of peace and friendship with the British colonisers to end the protracted war called the First Maroon War. The Trelawny Town Maroons of western Jamaica’s Cockpit Country had signed a similar treaty the previous year.

Years after the signing of the treaty, the Windward Maroons community became fragmented, and some settled in Charles Town, Portland, named after Governor Charles Knowles.

The Maroon culture was revived in Charles Town in the early 2000s, after years of dormancy, and for the past 16 years Charles Town, located a few miles from Buff Bay in the Buff Bay Valley, has been hosting the Charles Town Maroon Conference, which has evolved into the International Charles Town Maroon Conference and Festival.

Friday is regarded the ‘Academic Conference Day’, under the theme ‘The Land Part 2 – Victory, Knowledge, Connection and Restoration’. Academic papers on topics such as ‘Ancestral communications and technologies in modern times’, ‘Physicality, spirituality and the land’, and ‘Indigenous rights, stewardship and knowledge systems’ will be delivered and discussed throughout the day. In the night, it is time for Bingo, a highly anticipated segment.

Saturday, ‘CommUnity Day’, seems to be the busiest of the days. It starts with the Taino Soltice, Yucahuna Kachi Arieto, “to celebrate the life force energy of the sun and the male spirit of fertility in this sacred indigneous soltice gathering”. The ritual includes lighting of the sacred fire, animal relatives connection, Yamaye Taino songs and dance, and the honouring of yuca (cassava), “a sacred root of survival”.

FUN FOR CHILDREN

Under the light of the sun there will be a petting zoo, free health checks, a children’s playground, elders’ treat, the ‘Colonel’s Town Hall Reasoning’, an African drumming and dance class, and a wellness village. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (PATH and Pension divisions), the Ministry of Health and Wellness (nutrition and wellness), and the Social Development Commission will be setting up information booths

The domino tournament is another widely anticipated segment, in which competitors will vie for The Colonel Frank Lumsden Challenge Cup, and The Charles Town Maroon Best Pairs Trophy’. Cash and kind prizes are also on the table.

After the sun is gone, a bonfire will crackle and send smithereens into the night sky, as it is dubbed ‘Bun Fire Night’, in the Charles Town River Park. Lois, ‘The Maroon Vybz Queen’ and Davia Ellis, the MCs for the evening, will be announcing people like Charles Town’ own rising reggae star Ras Padam and Akinsanya, Sizzla, Popcaan, Turbulence, Roy Rayon, Bongo Herman, Fred Locks, Insense, Jqula, Ras Shadai, among others.

Drummers Collective (Moustafa Reds, Mwalimu, Bongo Shem, Linval, Calbert) and the Charles Town Drummers, Singers and Dancers will open with their trademark hypnotic and spiritual performances as the bonfire rages. Adding to the entertainment value will be Marvin Wilson – ‘The Contortionist’, ‘Jungle King’ – The Fire Eater, Mama Fyah Roots Band, Vania Colors, Tasengue, McKada, Boom Dawn, Ras Spli and Natty Royal. Bragga Flames will control the musical flames.

Sunday, ‘Victory Day Celebration’, will be touched with some amount of poignancy, as it is the day when there will be a special tribute to the late colonel, Marcia ‘Kim’ Douglas, who suddenly went to join the ancestors in the latter part of last year. The strength, strategy and spirit of the ancestors will be honour, while there will be performances and greetings from Maroon and indigenous communities from other parts of the island.

The slate of activities climaxes on Monday, ‘Ancestor Quao Day’, the day reserved to honour Captain Quao. Tributes will be moved for him through river rituals and libations, an Akom ceremony, Kwaku Anansi stories, Quao warrior songs, and by performances from Roy Rayon, Charles Town Junior Drummers and Dancers, and the Charles Town Drummers and Dance Assemble.

To end the night, Roy T. Anderson’s Maroon documentary, Queen Nanny Legendary Maroon Chieftainess, will be screened. Gloria ‘Mama G’ Simms, Maroon elder and resident of Charles Town, reprises the role of Queen Nanny in this award-winning docu-film. “Come stand on sacred ground. Come reason. Come remember. Come rise,” the Charles Town Maroon Council says.