Isaiah
06-27-2005, 03:33 PM
Jamaica's National Hero
Rt. Excellent Nanny of the Maroons
Nanny of the Maroons stands out in history as the only female among Jamaica’s
national heroes. She possessed that fierce fighting spirit generally associated with the
courage of men.
In fact, Nanny is described as a fearless Asante warrior who used militarist techniques
to fool and beguile the English.
Nanny was a leader of the Maroons at the beginning of the 18th. Century. She was
known by both the Maroons and the British settlers as an outstanding military leader
who became, in her lifetime and after, a symbol of unity and strength for her people
during times of crisis.
She was particularly important to them in the fierce fight with the British during the
First Maroon War from 1720 to 1739. Although she has been immortalized in songs
and legends, certain facts about Nanny (or "Granny Nanny", as she was affectionately
known) have also been documented.
Both legends and documents refer to her as having exceptional leadership qualities.
She was a small wiry woman with piercing eyes. Her influence over the Maroons was
so strong that it seemed to be supernatural and was said to be connected to her powers
of obeah. She was particularly skilled in organising the guerrilla warfare carried out by
the Eastern Maroons to keep away the British troops who attempted to penetrate the
mountains to overpower them.
Her cleverness in planning guerrilla warfare confused the British and their accounts of
the fights reflect the surprise and fears which the Maroon traps caused among them.
Beside inspiring her people to ward off troops, Nanny was also a type of chieftainess
or wise woman of the village, who passed down legends and encouraged the
continuation of customs, music and songs that had come with the people from Africa,
and that instilled in them confidence and pride.
Her spirit of freedom was so great that in 1739, when Quao signed the second Treaty
(The first was signed by Cudjoe for the Leeward Maroons a few months earlier) with
the British, it is reported that Nanny was very angry and in disagreement with the
principle of peace with the British which she knew meant another form of subjugation.
There are many legends about Nanny among the Maroons. Some even claim that
there were several women who were leaders of the Maroons during this period of
history. But all the legends and documents refer to Nanny of the First Maroon War as
the most outstanding of them all, leading her people with courage and inspiring them to
struggle to maintain that spirit of freedom, that life of independence, which was their
rightful inheritance.
Like the heroes of the pre Independence era, Nanny too met her untimely death at the
instigation of the English sometime around 1734.
Yet, the spirit of Nanny of the Maroons remains today as a symbol of that indomitable
desire that will never yield to captivity.
http://www.jamaicaway.com/Heroes/NannyPage.html
PEACE!
Isaiah
Rt. Excellent Nanny of the Maroons
Nanny of the Maroons stands out in history as the only female among Jamaica’s
national heroes. She possessed that fierce fighting spirit generally associated with the
courage of men.
In fact, Nanny is described as a fearless Asante warrior who used militarist techniques
to fool and beguile the English.
Nanny was a leader of the Maroons at the beginning of the 18th. Century. She was
known by both the Maroons and the British settlers as an outstanding military leader
who became, in her lifetime and after, a symbol of unity and strength for her people
during times of crisis.
She was particularly important to them in the fierce fight with the British during the
First Maroon War from 1720 to 1739. Although she has been immortalized in songs
and legends, certain facts about Nanny (or "Granny Nanny", as she was affectionately
known) have also been documented.
Both legends and documents refer to her as having exceptional leadership qualities.
She was a small wiry woman with piercing eyes. Her influence over the Maroons was
so strong that it seemed to be supernatural and was said to be connected to her powers
of obeah. She was particularly skilled in organising the guerrilla warfare carried out by
the Eastern Maroons to keep away the British troops who attempted to penetrate the
mountains to overpower them.
Her cleverness in planning guerrilla warfare confused the British and their accounts of
the fights reflect the surprise and fears which the Maroon traps caused among them.
Beside inspiring her people to ward off troops, Nanny was also a type of chieftainess
or wise woman of the village, who passed down legends and encouraged the
continuation of customs, music and songs that had come with the people from Africa,
and that instilled in them confidence and pride.
Her spirit of freedom was so great that in 1739, when Quao signed the second Treaty
(The first was signed by Cudjoe for the Leeward Maroons a few months earlier) with
the British, it is reported that Nanny was very angry and in disagreement with the
principle of peace with the British which she knew meant another form of subjugation.
There are many legends about Nanny among the Maroons. Some even claim that
there were several women who were leaders of the Maroons during this period of
history. But all the legends and documents refer to Nanny of the First Maroon War as
the most outstanding of them all, leading her people with courage and inspiring them to
struggle to maintain that spirit of freedom, that life of independence, which was their
rightful inheritance.
Like the heroes of the pre Independence era, Nanny too met her untimely death at the
instigation of the English sometime around 1734.
Yet, the spirit of Nanny of the Maroons remains today as a symbol of that indomitable
desire that will never yield to captivity.
http://www.jamaicaway.com/Heroes/NannyPage.html
PEACE!
Isaiah