The Coromantee slaves from the gold coast of Ghana-gctid38906

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

The Coromantee slaves from the gold coast of  Ghana

Written by Leroy Adams

Thursday, 25 February 2010 03:00

[th] [/th]

The Coromantee slaves from the gold coast of  Ghana

  I agree with the late history professor, Dr. John Henrik Clark when  he said, "history tells us where we have been, where we are and what we  are."  In other words, you must know your past in order to know who you  are.
    Today, as we continue to investigate the history of our people, in  this Black History Month, we will look at one group of Kmtyw slaves  whose contribution to our history is noteworthy; these are the  Coromantees of Ghana.  The lives of this group of Kmtyw slaves have  impacted not only the history of Antigua and Barbuda but also the  history of most of the other Caribbean Islands and the Americas.  
 Our words of inspiration today can be found in the book of 1 Peter,  chapter 2 and verse 9.
 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a  peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath  called you out of darkness into his marvellous light."
These words  reflect the movement from Kmt to Antigua of generations of our  Kmtyw ancestors.  The darkness here had nothing to do with life in  Kmt.  It is the darkness of Kmtyw slavery in the Caribbean which  our ancestors endured for centuries before it was abolished 1st August,  1834, in Antigua.    
 Who were the Coromantees?
The word Coromantee is the  British spelling of the name of an inland or secondary slave castle in  Ghana established by the Dutch in the 16th Century called Kormantin.   This fort is situated near Elmina on the Cape Coast of Ghana.  Slaves  were assembled at this port prior to being shipped to the coastal ports  where they were eventually placed on slave ships.
 The Coromantees were from the largest ethnic tribe in Ghana, the  Akan, which is mostly a mixture of Ashanti and Fanti.  They were sold  into slavery during the development of the Ashanti Federation. Many of  them were actually prisoners of war and were experienced in military  methods because of the fighting and wars they encountered in Kmt.  Some were well trained in guerrilla warfare, which was to become an  important part of their lives wherever they were sold in the New World.   The Ashanti spoke various dialects of Twi.  This language is very rich  in proverbs, the use of which is taken to be a sign of wisdom.
 The Ashanti tribe was once renowned for the splendour and wealth of  their rulers, and for the quality of their gold and craft work and their  colourful kente cloth.  They were also well known for the smelting of  iron ore.  The Ashanti king remains an influential figure in central  Ghana today.
 The Coromantees often used the "day names" method for naming their  children.  This means that each day was assigned a particular name, and a  baby was named according to which day of the week he or she was born.   The tri-annual register of slaves which started in 1817 and ended in  1832 in Antigua, and the early Church records, especially the Moravians,  provide some insight into the slaves with Coromantee names and the  estates where they resided on the island.  The naming patterns of  Coromantees in Antigua were similar to those of the Jamaican Maroons who  themselves were predominantly Akan.  The table below shows the naming  patterns used by the Akan people in Kmt and the Coromantee slaves in  the Diaspora.  For example, a baby born on Sunday was named Kwesi in  Ghana and Quashie in Antigua and Jamaica:
 Coromantee
    AKAN    Male      Female
 
Sunday     Kwesi     Quashie   Zuasheba
 Monday    Kwadwo   Cudjoe   Juba
                 /Kojo      /Kujo
 Tuesday    Kwabena   Bene     Cobena
 Wednesday Kweku     Quaco   Cooba
 Thursday    Kwau       Quaw    Aba
 Friday    Kofi        Cuffe    Fiba
 Saturday   Kwame        Quamin  Mimba
 The author of the book, 'he Book of Language in Exile,'Dr. Edmund  Abaka from the University of Miami, who developed the above table,  argued that these names had specific connotations.  Both male and female  names for each day had a different meaning.  For instance, the Monday  male day-name Cudjoe means strong-headed and the female version means  clever.  Also, the Friday male day-name, Cuffee, means hot-tempered;  while the female Friday day-name, Fiba, means gentle and mild
 On Board the Slaver the Coromantees were extremely rebellious.   Captain William Snelgrave, a veteran slave trader, relates that he had  experienced three mutinies in his career, and Coromantees figured so  prominently in these that he never felt secure when men of that stock  were in his vessel.  He is quoted saying, "I knew many of these  Cormantine negroes despised punishment and even death itself."  In one  instance, when a Coromantee killed a deck staff he was notified by  Captain Snelgrave that he was to die in the sight of his fellow slaves  at the end of an hour's time.
 "The Coromantee supposedly replied that, he must confess it was a  rash action on his part to have killed the ship worker;" but he told the  captain to consider the fact that if he put him to death the captain  would lose all the money he invested in him.  Even though the captain  showed that he was unmoved by this argument, the Coromantee was  confident that he would live and spent his last moments assuring his  fellows that he was not going to die. (Snelgrave, Guinea and the Slave  Trade, ukkk, 1734, pp. 162-185)
 On the sugar estates, the Coromantee slaves were described as loyal,  faithful, grateful, obedient, hard working and co-operative to a kind  master who treated them justly.  On the other hand, they were said to be  revengeful, ferocious, courageous, stubborn, and full of pride and a  fierce temperament, especially when ill-treated by their masters.
 Additionally, R.C. Dallas in his History of the Maroons, pointed out  that, the Coromantees were "blacker, taller, and in every respect  handsomer than the rest of the negroes."  Bryan Edwards in the History  of the British Colonies in the West Indies, added that, "they were  muscular and strong men."  The early English planters believed that the  Coromantees were a proud and disciplined group and their spirit and  loyalty made them the most highly prized servants.  The English also  felt that these characteristics would make them good slaves.
 As mentioned previously, the Coromantees, who came from a mountainous  environment, were mainly warriors captured in battle and so they did  not easily adapt to slavery and servitude.  In most instances, when they  were placed on plantations with similar conditions i.e. mountainous  terrain, they found ways to rebel against slavery by running to these  mountainous areas.  This was a common occurrence here in Antigua where  the rebellious slaves, who left the plantations, ended up on the  Sherkeley Range.
 While the English planters feared to pursue the runaway slaves into  the hills, the Coromantee used the high elevation and their own  disciplined way of life to their advantage.  From this location, they  were able to raid the plantations during the night and when possible,  they poisoned their masters and other white plantation workers.
 When a Coromantee was insulted or humiliated, he might kill himself  out of revenge, but it was more likely that he would rebel.  This is in  keeping with their nature and it reinforces their reputation as the  leaders of most of the slave revolts in Antigua.
 In 1723 the Assembly of Antigua passed an Act for the 'Better  Government of Negroes and Slaves.'   The law was enacted specifically to  stem the flow of runaway slaves to the "Mountains and Rocky Parts of  the Island .....To give Encouragement for the taking their Chiefs or  Ringleaders and inflicting punishment on captured slaves." The Act made  provision for the payment of 20 pounds for the capture of a runaway  slave dead or alive.  Further, the Act stipulated that slaves who absent  themselves from their master's estate for up to one year were  punishable by death.
 Some of the runaway or, so called "notorious" slaves were: Sharper a  Negro Man, owned by Colonel Valentine Morris; Kmt, owned by Mr. Henry  Lyons; Papa Will, owned by John Gunthorpe, and Frank, owned by Mr.  Francis Carlisle.
 Cultural heritage:
Culturally, the Coromantees  contributed much to our society.  However, over the years, we have  allowed eureurasiaan and other cultures to overshadow our Kmtyw traditions  and it is only because the Kmtyw within us is so strong that it  causes us to look at ourselves and to remember always who we are.  Most  of our funerary traditions are based on Akan customs.  From the early  methods of preparing the dead body for burial; to the wake; and to the  pre-burial and post burial mourning all these are the legacies of the  Coromantees. This also includes the after burial dinner to prevent those  who came from distant plantations from being hungry and to allow them  to have something to eat before embarking on the long journey back to  their homes.
 For years, we also maintained the Akan birth superstition of burying  the placenta or navel string and using it to affirm our belonging or  nationality.  We still fear the spirit of the dead but we seldom put the  scissors and broom on the bed to keep away spirits as the baby sleeps.
 Even though there was no gold or craft work in Antigua, the  Coromantees were noted for their expertise in pottery-making.
 This was primarily a female activity.  Other craft making work such  as wood carving was restricted to the males.  However, the electoral  list for the 1948 elections, available at the National Archives, shows  that a few men were potters.   Papa Sammy Smith in his book To Shoot  Hard Labour, explained, "In those days women do anything.  They even  make pots from clay, a thing men hardly take interest in."

Based on our use of certain Kmtyw words, it is safe to say that  there is strong evidence that we have maintained a portion of the  Coromantee Twi dialect.  For example, our Warri game is a Gold Coast  game.  It came from the Twi word: "ware" and Fante "nware".  In food,  what we call "ducana" is "dokono" in the Twi language and "fungee" is  "fugyee" in Twi; and the head cloth or "catta" used to buffer the head  while carrying goods is "kata" in Twi and it means to cover or to  protect.
 One of the most enduring cultural links to our Coromantee forebearers  is the use of what the Akan called "obi."  This is a kind of  witchcraft, and now commonly known as "obeah".  Just as in Ghana where  the Coromantee slaves came from, Antigua showed signs of good magic and  bad magic.  Good magic is, for example, the bush doctors, and those papa  Sammy referred to as the "Friendly and helpful" village doctors and  their art of using plants to cure various illnesses.
 For centuries, obeah was quite prevalent in Antigua and especially  within the communities where the Coromantees resided.  Potter's village,  for example, became known as the village of the "ninety-nine."  Those  who kept the village records reported that there were as many as 99  obeah men operating in the village and whenever the number of obeah men  reached one hundred, one of them mysteriously died.  Rev. Adolphus  Williams made reference to these "smart men" in his book, Up from  Slavery:
 "Among these were such men as  Sonny Francis, Sonny Cockrane, Dab-Dab Philip, Sonny Kill-Horse, Tata  Bobo, and Jeremiah Philip who was famous for making frogs dance.  Among  all of these, and more outstanding and popular was Dab-Dab Philip.  He  was an old soldier in days of the Ashanti wars and a gifted healer.  He  was credited with helping many a sick person, but in order to ply his  trade in peace, he preferred to occupy the extreme west end of the  village."
 Obeah, despite the church's efforts, persists today.  Wasn't it just  recently that an "obeah man" was shot in Potter's cemetery?  Perhaps he  would have been the 100th.
 Coromantee organised revolt:
 One of the first recorded slave revolts of the Coromantee slaves in  Antigua took place December 1701, at the Greencastle Estate, owned by  Col. Samuel Martin.  Apparently, Col. Martin wanted to harvest his sugar  crop and he made the decision not to allow the slaves to have their  usual three-day holiday at Christmas.  This turned out to be a very  fatal mistake as the following report from Mr. Gamble to Governor  Christopher Codrington revealed:
 "The relation I am about to give your Excellency is so surprising and  strikes so deep into my soul that am scarce capable of proceeding  further.  It was, Sir, on the 27th inst. About 8 in the forenoon that  about 15 new Calamantee negroe men belonging to Major Martin came up to  his chamber door, fell on him in the presence of his wife, several white  men and women belonging to the plantation, and with their knives and  bills barbarously murthered him....the murderers cut off his head, "which  we afterwards took up in the grass, where they had washed it with rum,  and triumphed over it."
In his communication to the English Council  of Trade and Plantation Board, Governor Codrington, wrote in 1701
 "We have lost a very useful man in Major Martin.....I am afraid he was  guilty of some unusual act of severity, or rather some indignity towards  the Coromantees, for they are not only the best and most faithful of  our slaves, but are really all born heroes.  There is a difference  between them and all other Negroes beyond what 'tis possible for your  Lordships to conceive.  There never was a rascal or coward of that  nation.  Intrepid to the last degree, not a man of them but will stand  to cut to pieces without a sigh or groan, grateful and obedient to a  kind master, but implacably revengeful when ill-treated.  My father, who  had studied the genius and temper of all kinds of Negroes forty-five  years with a very nice observation, would say no man deserved a  Coromantee that would not treat him like a friend rather than a slave."   (Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, America and West Indies,  1701, pp.720, 721)
 According to David Barry Gasper, Governor Codrington was one of those  slave owners in Antigua who made Kmtyw slaves from the Gold Coast  their first choice.    Further, the Codrington family had a dual purpose  for their Coromantee slaves: they used them as plantation workers and  they bred them on their slave nurseries in Barbuda.  When their two  slave ships, the Codrington Snow and the Brig Codrington were unable to  supply Gold Coast slave because of The Slave Trade Act of 1807, the  family was able to maintain supply of Creole Coromantee slaves for their  plantations in Antigua from their slave nurseries in Barbuda.
 Another revolt of Coromantee slaves took place on Nathaniel Crump's  estate in Parham in January 1729.  Here they conspired to kill their  owner, his family and all other white people on the island.  We know  that Hercules and his band of revolting slaves did not accomplish their  mission.  The following reports from Governor Lord ukkkderry, who was  in St. Kitts at the time to the Duke of Newcastle aptly, described the  nature of the plot and the barbarous punishment inflicted on the  leaders. In comparison to the first report the second one highlights the  graphic and gruesome nature of the English response to any slave  insurrection:
 January 30, 1729
"I am this minute going up to Antigua to examine  into circumstances of a horrid conspiracy that some few days ago, was  discovered there.  The Negroes, it seems, were at a certain signal to  rise, and cut off every white inhabitant of that island..."
 April 6, 1729
"The conspiracy of the negroes from its happy and  early discovery had produced no ill effects, otherwise than in the  punishment of some of the unhappy wretches who were concerned in it, who  in general considering the nature of the offence have been treated with  much temper and moderation.  Five of them were found guilty, three of  which were burnt alive! 'Twas admirable to see how long they stood  before they died, the great wood not readily burning, and their cry was  water, water....and one hanged, drawn and quartered and the other  transported to the Spanish coast."
 The public display of the harsh punishment to the revolting slaves in  1729 did very little to discourage other Coromantee led uprising.  For  example, the attempted slave revolt in Antigua in 1736 was also  engineered by the Coromantees.  We know that the plot by King Court and  his co-conspirators was intercepted but it remains a Coromantee  operation.  From the names of the plotters, (King Court, Tomboy, Jaco,  Scipio, Jack etc.) to the performing of the Coromantee king's  Ikem-dance, there was no doubt that this operation was Coromantee in  nature.  This was confirmed in the report to Governor Matthew entitled  "An Enquiry Into The Negro Conspiracy" dated 30 December, 1736:
 "The slaves chiefly concerned were those born on the Gold Coast whom  we style Coromantees, led by Court a slave of Thomas Kerby...it is custom  of Kmt when a Coromantee king has resolved on war to give public  notice that the Ikem-dance will be performed...This dance Court exhibited  on 3 October last, and took the oath; Tomboy was the greatest of the  generals.  The bystanding slaves huzzaed three times, the Coromantees  knowing but the creoles not understanding the engagement entered into."
 This elaborate plot involved, according to the report, "Tomboy making  seats for a great ball to be held on 11 Oct., 1736, at which all the  people of note in the island would be present.  He was to contrive  laying gun powder in the house to be fired when the dancing was in  progress.  Three or four parties of 300-400 slaves were to enter the  town and put the whites to the sword; the forts and shipping in the  harbour were to be seized.  The ball, however, was put off to 30 Oct."
 After the plot was discovered, a total of 47 slaves were executed and  42 were banished from the island. However, there is no doubt that if  this Coromantee plot in 1736 were to be executed successful as planned,  Antigua would be a different place today.
 Finally, we may not be as fortunate as the eureurasiaans who lived among  us.  Most are able to identify the exact city, town or village from  which their ancestors came.  In our case, we may never know exactly  where our forebearers came from in Kmt.  But based on the available  historical records Antigua received a variety of Kmtyw slaves from:  Guinea, Congo, Nigeria and the Gold Coast.  The present population is a  melting pot.  However, at its base is our Kmtyw heritage.  We all have  a little Mandingo, Congolese, Igbo and Ashanti and Fanti (Coromantee)  blood running through our veins.
 These were the men and women who resisted slavery and sacrificed  their lives while laying the foundation for our independence.  Through  their persistence and resolve we have moved closer to social and  economic equality; justice and democratic ideals for all Antiguans and  Barbudans.  
I leave you with the words of our National Hymn, "God  bless Antigua":
 God bless Antigua, land so dear to me
Where first I  felt my mother's hand
And learn'd to bend the knee.
Where land and  sea make beauty
Let every man be free
To proudly hold his head up  high,
And walk in dignity
Bless all her people, enter all her  doors,
And may thy peace forever
Dwell within her shores.
Amen.
 [/td][/tr][/table]

[Akua Ma'at]

meda ase pa ara Okyeame Kwame!!!! this article provided me with much valuable info that i never knew and insight and clarity on things i did know. the only rebellion we're taught about in schools here is the 1736 rebellion (there's also a monument for King Court who led that rebellion). other than that, we're basically taught that slavery was a bad time when we had to work without being paid and that was the end of that. we aren't taught that we were bred like animals (many Antiguans to this day use the term "breed" to refer to life that they have created/are creating without the slightest thought to why)....or about the brutality we faced on a daily basis. this information should be taught in every history class on this island.