The traditional Jamaican Maroon religion, otherwise known as Kumfu, was developed by a mixing of

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Co ...

religious practices Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

Maroon communities Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

. While the traditional religion of the Maroons was absorbed by

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

due to conversions in Maroon communities, many old practices continued on. Some have speculated that

Jamaican Maroon Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery on the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern parishes. Africans who were ensl ...

religion helped the development of

Kumina Kumina is an Afro-Jamaican religion. Kumina has practices that include secular ceremonies, dance and music that developed from the beliefs and traditions brought to the island by Kongo enslaved people and indentured labourers, from the Congo r ...

and

Convince Convince, also known as Bongo or Flenke, is a religion from eastern Jamaica. It has roots in Kumina and Jamaican Maroon religion. History According to research by J. W. Pullis the religion originated in the Portland Parish in Jamaica in the m ...

. The religious Kromanti dance is still practiced today but not always with the full religious connotation as in the past.

History

What can be deduced today about the religion's origins points to the idea that it is founded upon

Akan religion Akan religion comprises the traditional beliefs and religious practices of the Akan people of Ghana and eastern Ivory Coast. Akan religion is referred to as Akom (from the Twi word ''akom'', meaning "prophecy"). Although most Akan people have i ...

but

syncretized Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, th ...

with other African beliefs. This is evident by the many specifically Akan aspects found in the religion. Very little was written about the original religion of the Jamaican Maroons because of little contact Maroons had with the outside world. What was written at the time by Bryan Edwards (a

pro-slavery Proslavery is a support for slavery. It is found in the Bible, in the thought of ancient philosophers, in British writings and in American writings especially before the American Civil War but also later through 20th century. Arguments in favor o ...

historian and planter) was the practice of

Obeah Obeah, or Obayi, is an ancestrally inherited tradition of Akan witches of Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo and their descendants in the African diaspora of the Caribbean. Inheritors of the tradition are referred to as "obayifo" (Akan/Ghana-region ...

by Maroons. When Anglican Christian churches were established in Maroon towns the traditional religion began to be practiced separately from Christianity and served a different religious purpose. As other non-Anglican churches appeared in Maroon communities they rallied against traditional Maroon beliefs and they became less popular. Today the Kromanti dance still is practiced on occasion even by self identified Christians.

Beliefs

Cosmology

According to the faith a supreme deity named Yankipong rules the cosmos and is generally unconcerned with human life. Below Yankipong exists ancestor spirits called " duppies", " jumbies" or "bigiman". These spirits have hierarchies of their own and can be communicated with by humans so their powers can be used for worldly matters. The matter of spirits and their influence on Earth is considered to be

(although the use of that specific term is controversial and some instead call it "science"). It is believed that the omnipotent god "Yankipong" is the Jamaican Maroon's conception of the omnipotent god Nyame from

. Other Akan deities are reported to have been recognized like

Asase Yaa Asase Ya/Afua (or Asase Yaa, Asaase Yaa, Asaase Afua, Asaase Efua) is the goddess of fertility, love, procreation, peace, truth and the dry and lush earth of the Akan of Ghana and Ivory Coast. She is also Mother of the Dead known as Mother Earth ...

and Epo. The Akan based word "Kumfu" was used for the total spiritual system and understanding of the world.

Practices

A priest of the religion is referred to as a "kumfu-man". The word "kumfu" itself has its origins Twi language. Ceremonies are involved in Jamaican Maroon religion but no worship of the god Yankipong is practiced, unlike in traditional

. An important ceremony of the religion is the Kromanti dance which involves the direction of a "fete-man" (ritual specialist) and the sacrifice of an animal to the pakit (ancestral spirit). The purpose of the dance is for participants to be possessed by ancestral spirits. The

Jamaican Maroon Creole Jamaican Maroon language, Maroon Spirit language, Kromanti, Jamaican Maroon Creole or Deep patwa is a ritual language and formerly mother tongue of Jamaican Maroons. It is an English-based creole with a strong Akan component, specifically from ...

language is used during the Kromanti dance ceremony when addressing people possessed by old Maroon ancestors.

References

{{Paganism Afro-American religion Afro-Jamaican culture Akan religion Obeah Religion in Jamaica

History

Beliefs

Cosmology

Practices

See also

References