Kromanti
“Yo bia boto bi o casa no casa
casa ma fri o maati maati prapati
a
fram butu kambado piki buobo kamadi”
- Mr.
Isaac Bernard (Maroon-Kromanti) *
To be able to speak accurately about any endangered language
is important to understand it’s painful history, culture, and the people who speak
it. According to the Webster dictionary,
language is defined as the most common method of human communication, whether,
spoken or written, used by a community, tribe, clan, or country. Language is part of people’s identity,
history, heritage, and culture and is the defining way to accurately describe a
person’s personal story.
While researching the topic of endangered languages,
it was apparent that most of the languages in the world that were considered
endangered or moribund, happened to come from groups of people who were
disenfranchised, who belonged to minorities groups, and were forced by society
to either abandon, forget, change, or keep their native language secret.
Racism, privilege, and
economic status often determine the survival, death, or history of any language
and can be the major factor that contributes to a language dying or
disappearing. My analysis helped me to
discover a beautiful language named – Kromanti
– spoken by the Marrons of Moore
Town, situated in the beautiful highland of the eastern side of the island of
Jamaica with a history of courage, violence, racism, and persistence.
The Kromanti language is spoken by the
Maroons, which are direct descendants of former runaway slaves who became
defiant against the British military force in 1655 while pledging to never get
captured or becoming slaves again.
An
article in the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage of the Smithsonian Institution's describes how “For more than
four centuries, thousands of enslaved Africans managed to escape from the
plantations and mines of European colonizers throughout the Americas, searching
for freedom in the wilderness. Between the early 16th and late 19th centuries
Maroons challenged the colonial powers and violently resisted enslavement,
striking hard at the foundation of the plantation economy of the Western Hemisphere.”
(folklife.si.edu).
The Maroons survived
the colonizers and were able to preserve their language who is now considered
endangered. The United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) describe Kromanti as
a dying language that came from West African and derives from the Akan language, Native of Ghana dialect,
with a family language from Niger-Congo, Central Tano, Potou-Tano, Kwa, Tano, Atlantic-Congo. The Kromanti language was an essential part
of Maroons’ heritage and pride and its use started to decline in the early
decades of the 20th century.
Moreover, the significance of the importance of the
language is the relationship with the Maroons rituals, religious practices, and
ancestral ceremonies. As described in the Jamaican language unit “A critical
feature of Maroon heritage is the Kromanti language, used in a ritual ceremony
known as Kromanti Play. This is a ceremony used to invoke ancestral spirits,
involving dances, songs and special styles of drumming, in which the language
is used to address the ancestors. Kromanti Play, inclusive of the linguistic
aspects, is the easily the most distinctive feature which marks off the Maroons
of Moore Town from non-Maroon Jamaicans.” (Devonish, 2011).
The language is part of the Maroons culture
and ancestral ceremonies which provide a connection with their heritage and
past. It is unfortunate that Kromanti is
currently considered a dying language and is only spoken by few elderly members
of the Moore Town.
Furthermore, the factors that have influenced the decay
of the language is how the speakers treat it with long-established secrecy,
their unwillingness to pass it down to the youth, and how they often used the
Kromanti for their religious practices and ritual ceremonies. “UNESCO, in 2003,
named the Maroon Heritage of Moore Town (Jamaica), as one of the Masterpieces
of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” A masterpiece that soon will
die with their last elder and it would take with them the history, the pain,
the culture, and the courage of runaway slaves.
Despite its longevity the Kromanti language is endangered
and there are few organizations and individuals trying to revive and preserve
the language. Organizations such as the
University of the west indies, the Caribbean Indigenous and Endangered
Languages, MONA, UNESCO, and The Caribbean Language research among others are
researching the language and working to record as much as possible of what is
left of the language.
Moreover, Hubert
Devonish, Hubert Devonish. Dept. of Language, Linguistics & Philosophy
University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, research the kromanti
language and was able to record videos with elders from the Moore town and much
of the dialect has been recorded.
Preserving a language is
preserving history and culture; the kromanti language represents a painful
heritage of runaway slaves that were able to be free and fight for the freedom
while preserving their language.
It's
sad to see any language disappear, but it seems that as in any aspect of
society privilege and social class always determines the outcome of any social
issues, including but not limited to the preservation of languages such as the
one spoken by the Maroon elder in the forgotten Moore town of Jamaica.
Personal reflection:
The Kromanti language should be saved and
preserve for future generation to learn the history of runaway slaves and many
other tribes that the world never heard about it. After researching this language I'm convinced that most social conflicts come
from a place of disadvantage and the lack of power. Language is what defines us and the tools that
can separate humanity or bring it together.
Further research is needed to
help preserve such important and historical language.
Reference:
Caribbean Indigenous
Endangered Language. (2017). Retrieved April 14, 2018, from
https://www.mona.uwi.edu/dllp/jlu/ciel/pages/kromanti.htm
Devonish, H. (2006).
Kromanti. Retrieved April 13, 2018, from
http://www.caribbeanlanguages.org.jm/node/52
F. (2015, June 24).
Suriname Kromanti Language – Jamaica – A Closer Look. Retrieved April
/14,
2018, from https://surinameafricanheritage.wordpress.com/2015/05/30/suriname-
kromanti-language-Jamaica-a-closer-look
Smithsonian. (1992). The
Maroons and Moore Town Colonel C. L. G. Harris. Retrieved April
12, 2018, from
https://folklife.si.edu/resources/maroon/educational_guide/60.htm
"Life is the result of our choices" - Brava
