Nanny a descendant from the Ashanti tribe in the West Coast of Africa (now known as Ghana) was known as a military tactician.

She became a symbol of unity and strength for her people during a time of crises in the 18th century. Very little is known about her place of birth. However, she was the sister of Cuffy, Accompong, Johnny, Quao and Cudjoe, all renown Maroon leaders. After coming to Jamaica and seeing how enslaved females were treated on the plantations and knowing that she never personally experienced slavery, Nanny and her five brothers decided to runaway from the plantation where they were placed, into the hills. A decision was made to split and they all went to different places. Cudjoe went to St. James and organized a village which was later named Cudjoe Town, Accompong went to St. Elizabeth, while Nanny and Quao went to Portland and established a Maroon community, 'Nanny Town' which was an organized community of freed Africans. In the community women and children were well respected and they adhered to customs present in West African societies.

Nanny or “Grand Nanny” as she was affectionately called, was the genius behind the Maroon War which lasted from 1720-1739. She would train Maroon troops in the art of disguising them self by covering their bodies with leaves and branches, instructing them to stand as still as possible so that they would resemble trees in order to suprise the British. It is still not clear whether or not Nanny actually took part in the fighting of the the Maroon War. She had exceptional leadership qualities that made her the mastermind behind all their plans; but some researchers think that she did not fight in the wars and that she only gave instructions to her troops. She was regarded as a woman of great power and at times was referred to as an Obeah woman and herbalist and so exerted strong influence over the Maroons. Nanny defied any attempt of coexistence with the British and for this reason ordered the execution of a British soldier who had carried the news of the 1739 Maroon treaty signed between her brother Cudjoe and the British. The news made Nanny very angry but eventually she had to accept the terms of the treaty. After the treaty the band of Maroons split in to two groups. One was led by Quao and occupied Crawford Town. The other was led by Nanny and occupied New Nanny Town (now Moore Town).

Besides inspiring her people, she was a wise woman of the Village, who passed down legends and who encouraged the continuation of customs, music and songs that had come with the people from Africa, which instilled in them confidence and pride. Nanny died in the 1750's and was buried in Moore Town Portland under a great mound marked by river stones. Her resting place is called “Bump Grave” and is held as a sacred place. In 1975 for her bravery and resistances to slavery, Nanny was awarded the distinction of being Jamaica's only National heroine. The Bank of Jamaica also in posed an inventive artist's work of her face on the $500-dollar banknote.

 

 

 

 

 

References

• Senior, Olive. Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage. St Andrew: Twin Guinep Publishers Ltd. 2003.
• Agorsah, Kofi (ed.) Maroon Heritage: Archaeological and Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives. Kingston: Canoe Press, 1994.
• Carey, Bev. The Maroon Story: The Authentic and original History of the Maroons in Jamaica 1490 – 1880. St. Andrew, Jamaica: Agouti Press, 1997
• Mathurin, Lucille. The Rebel Women: In the British West Indies during Slavery. Kingston: The Institute of Jamaica for the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica, The Herald Ltd, 1975.
• Thompson, Alvin O. Fight to freedom: African runaways and Maroons in the Americas. Kingston: University of the West Indies Press, 2006.
• Bilby, Kenneth M. True-Born Maroons. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 2006.

 

Click here to visit the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica's website For further information please contact: African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank 12 Ocean Boulevard, Kingston Tel: 922-4793/7415 Fax: 924-9361 Email: acij@anngel.com