The Jamaican Marronage, a Social Pseudomorph: The Case of the Accompong Maroons

Based on ethnography, oral history and archival research, this study examines the culture of the Accompong Maroons by focusing on the political, economic, social, religious and kinship institutions, foodways, and land history. This research demonstrates that like the South American Maroons, the Accompong Maroons differ in their ideology and symbolisms from the larger New World population. However, the Accompong Maroons have assimilated, accommodated and integrated into the state in every other aspect. As a consequence, the Accompong Maroons can only be considered maroons in name only. Today's Accompong Maroons resemble any other rural peasant community in Jamaica. Grounded in historical analysis, the study also demonstrate that social stratification in Accompong Town results from unequal access to land and other resources, lack of economic infrastructure, and constraints on food marketeers and migration. This finding does not support the concept of communalism presented in previous studies.

Author dc:creator

• Baldwin-Jones, Alice Elizabeth

• Social structure
• Infrastructure (Economics)--Social aspects
• Maroons--Social life and customs
• Ethnology

Language dc:language

English

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.7916/D8348SCT

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/D8348SCT