A package created by Hotel Mockingbird Hill to celebrate Jamaica's Cultural Heart 

Jamaica is known throughout the world for its unique cultural attributes.  From music and art to style and fashion, few, if any places so small and removed from a geographic perspective have had such global impact in the cultural arena.  Jamaica as a whole is ethnically and culturally diverse and, and as the nation’s motto suggests – “Out of Many, One People” – there is definitive tolerance for these inherent differences.  In Port Antonio, one can feel the heartbeat of this rich and profound culture, and experience the irrevocable ties of the past to the present.

A real taste of Maroon culture can be experienced during the Quao Day festivities on 23rd June. Hotel Mocking Bird Hill has created a Koromante Package which culminates in joining the Maroons in their festivities and enabling them to learn about this interesting history and experience the enactment of the famous battle along with traditional drumming and dancing along with seeing how the famous Jerked meats are prepared in the traditional fashion in pits dug in the ground and then covered, so that the English would not detect their hideouts in the hills. You can of course also sample Jerk found at Boston Jerk Stand. 

The Maroons originated what is now Jamaica’s national dish – “Jerk” defined by The Guardian in 2008 as “One of the Best Street Foods in the World and Food for the Soul”.   They hunted wild boars in the hills of Portland and cooked the meat with a variety of spices over pimento wood fires.  Today Boston Jerk Stand is the greatest source of the fiery barbecue of pork, chicken, lobster, fish or sausage served up in a paper wrapping.  The power of the spices cannot be underestimated and plenty of Red Stripe is a suggested accompaniment.

The History of the Maroons 

In 1663 the English had offered freedom and land grants to all African slaves who would surrender to the crown, but the Maroons had refused and continued to defend their independence.  The British soldiers with their open warfare style were no match for the clever Maroons who were invisible warriors – literally disappearing into the impenetrable jungles.  The Maroons used an ancient African tool for communication – a huge horn called an “abeng” — blowing the horn when the enemy was spotted and sending the silent Maroon hunters to ambush. 

The string of battles with the British became known as the First Maroon War.  The Leeward Maroons, who were concentrated in the western Trelawny area, were the first to make peace with the English.  Their leader, Cudjoe, signed a treaty with Colonel Guthrie.  About a year later, the elusive Quao, leader of Portland’s Windward Maroons, signed a treaty with the British on June 23, 1739, which deeded a territory of 500 acres specifically to the Maroons When the treaty was signed the Windward Maroons split; some went with Nanny, the wild warrior-priestess whose legendary skills in battle earned her the status of Jamaican national hero.  They formed New Nanny Town, which is today Moore Town.  Others went with Quao and settled Crawford Town near the coast.

Today, the Windward Maroon community is based in Moore Town and still maintains its ties with its origins.  The community is semi-autonomous, governed by a council of 24 elected members headed by a “colonel.”  The dialect spoken by the Maroons is a version of the language of Ghana, the African country from which the fierce Ashanti warriors came as Jamaica’s original Maroons.  The rituals practiced by these modern Maroons also hark back to their African roots. 

Today, the blowing of the ‘abeng’ is an important ceremony and only certain members of the community can take on this prestigious charge.  The horn is believed to call the spirits of the ancestors.  Like many African and Native American based cultures, the spirits of those passed away play important roles in present-day life.  It is believed that these spirits are called to heal and help – the light from the past is brought forward to create a bright future.

The Maroons in Charles Town have drumming ceremonies to call the ancestors every Friday night and observers are welcome to see and even participate in this evocative ritual.  Most important, the community has just completed a cultural museum, which chronicles the Maroons’ fascinating history and heritage.

• View Itinerary
• View Slideshow
• View Map