This video documents the disappearing languages of the Eastern Maroons of Moore Town, Jamaica. The languages are (i) Kromanti, a language variety related to the Akan language cluster of West Africa, and (ii) Uol Taim Patwa or 'Maroon Spirit Language', a very archaic form of English-lexicon Creole, similar in many ways to the Creole languages of Suriname. The language is presented through Mr Isaac Bernard, one the last culture bearers of the community, with a good command of these languages. The video is part of the Caribbean Indigenous and Endangered Languages website, which is co-sponsored by the Jamaican Language Unit/Unit for Caribbean Language Research, the University of the West Indies, Mona, and UNESCO. http://www.caribbeanlanguages.org.jm

Kromanti dance or Kromanti play (capitalised to Kromanti Dance or Kromanti Play) is a Jamaican Maroon religious ceremony practiced by Jamaican Maroons. It is rooted in traditional African music and religious practices, especially those of the Akan people of Ghana. The name Kromanti (or Coromantee) derives from Kormantin (or Cormantin ) where a historical slave fort in the coast of Ghana was located. Many slaves shipped to Jamaica during the Atlantic Slave trade originated from present–day Ghana in West Africa

The pure form of Kromanti dance is not one of those contemporary dances of Jamaica, neither is it a Jamaican party or hall dance, but a sacred dance based on the tenets of traditional African religious practices. Although the dance has influenced some aspects of Jamaican culture, and is still practiced today, the religious aspects of the dance are no longer performed as in the past—due to Jamaican Maroons' conversion to Christianity.Despite its modern twist, it is still concerned with solving problems of day-to-day life, such as illnesses resulting from spirit possessions, infidelity, and any other life problems. The Maroons viewed Kromanti dance as a form of metaphorical warfare, a protection on a spiritual level rather than a physical one.

Rituals

The ritualistic aspects of Kromanti dance involves a "distinctive music and dance styles" which is "centered around possession by ancestral spirits."

Some of the surviving elements derived from African tradition are Country, a music style that uses a drum language like the Dondo, in order to play songs and proverbs; and healing, which is achieved through a rhythmic dance, music, and possession. Like "many other African-derived healing ceremonies, a possessed medium attends to patients, employing song, dance, sacrifice, and herbal remedies."

The Kromanti dance usually begins after nightfall and continues until daybreak. After several hours, the dance losses its recreational momentum and the chief "fete-man" (ritual specialist, similar to an African high priest) becomes possessed

This distinction between Maroons and all other African-descended Jamaicans mirrors the system of social classification still adhered to (at least among older people) in Maroon communities. In the traditional system of classification, Maroons refer to themselves as Kyatawud (“Cattawood”), or in Kromanti language, as Yenkunkun or Yoyo (^the latter term referring to their descent from Nanny); outsiders in general, no matter what their ethnic background, are referred to as obroni.[14] A special term, however, is reserved for non-Maroon Jamaicans of African descent, this being the aforementioned niega. This is not to be confused with the English word “nigger” (although the two words are obviously etymologically related). In Jamaican Creole, the term 'niega’ (which is variously spelled “naygur”, “neagre”, or “nayga”, and refers to people of African descent in general) tends to carry insulting connotations. However, among the Maroons, it functions primarily as a classificatory term distinguishing Maroons from all other Afro-Jamaicans; and although it can be used in an insulting manner - as can all the other classificatory terms, such as obroni, bakra (white person), and so forth - it can also be used in a neutral sense.[15] It is important to grasp this specifically Maroon use of the term in order to understand what Maroons mean when they speak of two different ‘nations’, Kyatawud and niega. For Maroons, these classifications are based on mystical concepts of descent and inheritance. Membership in the Maroon community is automatically passed on (bilaterally) from parent to child, and according to traditional Maroon belief, all of the special attributes, knowledge, and powers connected with being a Maroon can only be passed on “in the blood”. They are seen as being conferred by the original Maroon ancestors (and particularly Nanny) upon their descendants. It is thus not so much because Maroons consciously wish to see themselves as superior to other Jamaicans that they never use the term niega to refer to themselves or other Maroons. For them, it is simply a part of the natural order, a classification based on a natural fact; those whom they refer to as niega simply do not, and according to Maroon ideology, can never, possess those inherited qualities which make one a Kyatawud, a Yenkunkun.[16]

KENNETH M. BILBY - "TWO SISTER PIKNI": A HISTORICAL TRADITION OF DUAL ETHNOGENESIS IN EASTERN JAMAICA [Caribbean Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 3/4 (SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER, 1984), pp. 10-25]

When Jamaica’s native son Marcus Garvey shouted for Global Africans to return to Africa, many chanted Haile Selassie I & found home & Rastafari roots in Ethiopia while many others celebrated Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah & found freedom in Ghana. Today’s Ghana boast a significant Jamaican community brought & empowered by Rita Marley & the memory & foundation of Bob Marley & Marcus Garvey. Jamaicans & native Ghanaian Rastas have created their own governing & financial empowerment council that boasts a credit union called the black star line catering to the financial empowerment needs of Rastafarians in Ghana. When you walk around Ghana you see Jamaica, from reggae music, to dreadlocks & the culture of Rastafari. I had heard about the Kromanti/Kramanti language in Jamaica which was supposed to sound similar to the Akan languages of Ghana, but I became a true believer when I heard it spoken & found many similar words in Ghanaian Akan languages. Jamaicans like Brazilians have never denied their African roots, but have rather embraced it & used it as a sense of power in knowing who they are & where they came from beyond Jamaica’s sugar cane plantations. With more & more talk amongst African nations about offering our Diasporan brothers & sisters free visas & dual citizenships to come back home to their ancestral roots, perhaps we will all get to learn more about our distant relatives.