The Kromanti Language of the Jamaican Maroons (Final edit)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ส.ค. 2010
- This video documents the disappearing languages of the Eastern Maroons of Moore Town, Jamaica. The languages are (i) Kromanti, a language variety related to the Akan language cluster of West Africa, and (ii) Uol Taim Patwa or 'Maroon Spirit Language', a very archaic form of English-lexicon Creole, similar in many ways to the Creole languages of Suriname. The language is presented through Mr Isaac Bernard, one the last culture bearers of the community, with a good command of these languages. The video is part of the Caribbean Indigenous and Endangered Languages website, which is co-sponsored by the Jamaican Language Unit/Unit for Caribbean Language Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, and UNESCO. www.caribbeanlanguages.org.jm
😢got me in tears. Im from surinam, if i didnt saw the video and only heard the audio, i would have sworn that it was an elderly surinamese man speaking. I understood every single word, cause that is our language!
We are one people, and this is the proof!!!
we are scattered siblings, snap je?
Charla PickBeat SingSong
I know
We lost children of Africa
chilk85 yhh it's the language spoken on Ghana by the akans... It's called Twi..
Angel Bart***** this people aboriginal to the americas.
The Jamaican Govt should make it mandatory for kromani & other existing African languages to be taught in schools. Doing this will ensure survival of the heritage and culture of the maroons/moors/maurs (meaning=Black).
Indigenous DNA i agree 100 percent that it should be taught in schools. The problem is as the Elder said many of them don't trust their information with everyone tho.
Moor/maurs doesn't mean black it means Mauritania which was located originally where Morocco is today...... maroon means run always, they were all over the Caribbean known as maroons.... maurs/moors was a term used by the Europeans to mean anyone dark skinned e.g. Asians, swarthy skinned or African people's.... the original moors/maurs were of modern day Mauritanian and Nigerian DNA....this is because if the moors ruled the iberian peninsular for 800 years and have no Arab DNA! But have Nigerian dna.... so for this we can know the maurs were from a nigerian tribe.....
These people are not moors they are descendants of enslaved black afrikans from different parts of west africa not morrocco and black people in amerikkka are the same not moors
@@tahliah6691 nah you're wrong ,in Greek moor literally means black . Are term they used to call learned Africans
Bobby E. Wright no proof
Am a Ghanaian and i can understand almost everything the man said, i think we Ghanaians n Jamaicans should create an event that will link us up again ❤️❤️❤️
Yes we should. Every year we should have two events. One in Jamaica and one in Ghana
The goverment need fi help us out a whole heap a jamaican waan fi come home...to the land of our foe father MAMA AFRICA ..await its creation...
REPATRIATION....
Cat Selah you can migrate to Ghana, no need to get government help, Help yourself, Talent and a church of your belief will help. Ghanaian Government, are asking for people to come settle in Ghana. You have to pay your way to get to Ghana. Do some research, that will be a start to the way home.
@@cosmopolitanwonder9675 Church..ummm...i mite never reach..fi no reason i m goin to serve white god..
I understood just the word "obroni". LOL. That's what kids in Ghanaian villages shouted on us. Shame I didn't learn more of Twi
In Suriname the Kromanti lenguage is still spoken. do come and visit.
I think that is beautiful and VERY powerful and says alot about the AKAN people!
The people of surinam are also of Fanti origin. I worked at the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board for 7 years and we had a research project about the origins of the Surinamese and their Fanti orgins, culture and traditions which are the same as the Fanti tribes of Ghana. They even have the same naming traditions and Chieftancy traditions.
Guido Samson ... Yes your country needs more acknowledgement, because you all have been holding it down as long as us Jamaicans and Haitians. These are the countries that Africans can truly trace the path of their bloodlines. We have keep our forefathers alive. One love to Surinam!
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
Please Jamaicans, preserve this language by learning and using it.
This is the originality you can get from Africa.
Good Day, we the Granny Nanny Cultural Group are responsible for the preservation and conservation of Maroon culture. We are located within the New Nanny Town District within the Rio Grande Valley, and are comprised of the traditional families/bloodlines responsible for preserving the culture. We are descendants/living blood relatives of Nanny, and we still speak the language in everyday use, and it forms an integral part of our culture. We also produced an album which has a catalogue of a few of our songs. We may be reached at indigenousholistics@gmail.com for all inquiries. Medaase (Thank You)
Granny Nanny Cultural Group I’d love to know more. I’m eager to have serious contact with you. Please let me know.
Universe Boss TV : we'd be happy to discuss with you. You can contact us at indigenousholistics@gmail.com
I wish I knew how to speak the language, new aged patwa.
Granny Nanny Cultural Group I have deep maroon roots too my mother side of my family is from Moore town to this day I still have my family plot up there so I’d really love to meet some of my fellow maroon descendants I understood everything he said 100% even tho I recently discovered that this was a separate language from the patios
Proud of my West African linage!! Proud of my National country Jamaica 1 LOVE FROM J.A 2 MY GHANAIAN BROTHERS & SISTERS
Love you too sister we with you all the way
+Dennis Nimoh I am brother not a sister
+Jamaican Brick squad my bad fam ain't really look at your pic properly much luv my brother same way.
@ Kuntri : You make me so emotional 😭 this morning, there goosebumps all over me. One day we will live together under one umbrella ☔️ in peace ✌️. Until then they don’t want us to live in peace together! Shalom!
Ye gye wodo..."we acknowledge your greetings ".
he is my granduncle i love him so much.....
Rip to him
a great teacher 💪🏿
Really... I understood a little of what he said.. I am a Ghanaian and it's just like my language... Akan/Twi language.. Commonly spoken in Ghana
I hope he is still living. I would love to learn from him or someone who knows the language.
He definitely come from Ghana
Was your granduncles name Mr.Foster?
This is amazing, as a Ghanaian born America, I could recognized many of my languages being said. When Kormanti, was mentioned I had goosebumps. Kormanti, is a fishing town in Central region in the area that I was born. Amazing.
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
Abeng means horn in Akan language in Ghana. Saddened, I found a long lost grandpa ! Horns for communicating .
You are in the land of our ancestors.We are the lost children...in Jamaica and Caribbean
Abeng means horns or whistle
im maroons of suriname and all what he was saying was very clearly to me i could almost understood every thing. black power 🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷💪🏿💪🏿
🇬🇭🇯🇲🇸🇷
I love how I am an 18 year old first born American with Jamaican heritage and I understand almost everything he says. I thank my great grandparents for that. Much love
You’re lying! Lmfao!
I've always found it interesting that Jamaicans don't consider themselves bilingual. We take for granted our native languages, even though the average English speaker from elsewhere wouldn't have a clue what I was saying if I were to speak to them in the real country patois. Patois has its own lexicons and linguistic features that are completely different from English (depends on the dialect) yet it's only thought of as speaking badly in the eyes of most of the Jamaican society. I've never heard a speaker of Espanol or Castellano refer to Guarani, Catalan or any other dialect as "speaking bad". A whole lot could be said if I were to compare Jamaican English and patois to Spanish and it's regional branch off languages.
Kyle Patch I am Haitian and I speak creole. The French Carribean consider themsleves as bilangual as they speak both creole and French.
Kyle Patch patios to me reminds me of Mexicans speaking English and Spanish in the same sentence. Since it uses some African words. And it mixes those with slang.
Some of your Creole was carried and left over in my state of Louisiana
+Kyle Patch Yeah I noticed how people around the world and even the english would acknowledge patois as a language, but Jamaicans still view it as "broken english." I don't get why people would say that it's broken english but at the same time say that it is a combination of not only english but West African languages, portuguese, spanish, and french. Oh yeah that's definitely broken english (sarcasm). It makes no sense.
I find interesting that when Jamaicans and other Caribbean people dem speak in their dialects its considered a creole language but when black Americans speak in their dialects it considered bad english when alot of time the main difference is accent and pronunciation!
That fact that I'm Jamaican and been living here for 21 years and have never heard about Kromanti (and am sure other Jamaicans don't know about it) is so sad 😧 Yet still there are so many similarities with it and Patois. Just amazing 😊
The ruling class!!!😡
Vuu
Oh love we know about it, ass there are spiritual awakened Jamaicans in Jamaica.
True. I'm also from Ghana. And I understand everything he said. He calls the trumpet "Abeng" and we also call it the same. And they drum the same way. And also put on what we call "Batakari" at the end of this video. So fellow Jamaicans you are always welcome back to Ghana wTrue. I'm also from Ghana. And I understand everything he said. He calls the trumpet "Abeng" and we also call it the same. And they drum the same way. And also put on what we call "Batakari" at the end of this video. So fellow Jamaicans you are always welcome back to Ghana where you are from.
I too am a native patois speaker, never heard of kromati and did not understand the words he spoke (that were not patois) am amazed at the Ghanians who understands so much of it. The maroons still to this day have managed to keep themselves in (relative) isolation from the rest of the island and maintained alot of their customs and traditions. You see the great big river they had to cross to get to him?
Those kind of barriers provided them (some) safety from the Europeans.
DAMN! I'm from Ghana and can almost translate everything that man just said in the Kromanti language in my common Twi die-let. Crazy that guys my people and Jamaican at the same time. Guess we really are the same.
that's a good idea, if the people would be willing to learn.
Same people, same food, language, pet names, customs...one and the same.
Am Jamaican our ancestors was from Ghana. it's sad we were taken from our homeland force into slavery beaten out of our language and culture
kromanti is only a language among the Maroons, the official language is English, the only way a person can learn kromanti is if a person who is a Maroon teach them
Kromanti is not a language.. matter of fact it is Komanti and not even kromanti and komanti is a tiny village which perhaps never even existed in the 15th century. The Komanti are Akan people and their language is Twi.
Listening to the old man, I got goosebumps. As an Ashanti Akan person and Ghanaian, I could certainly pick out some of the Twi words he was using. Ghana and Jamaica must as a matter of urgency establish cultural exchanges. We are branches of the same tree. Cultural exchanges would bind and build us up even more strongly. I was pleasantly thrilled and touched by the old man. No doubt he is an Akan descendant. Whew!
I am Jamaican and i agree.
The irony is, Isaac is my father's first name and Bernard is my brother's last name; still, Mr.Isaac and my father Isaac, resembles!🥁🥁
Thank you for pointing out clearly . Twi words . Not Komanti .. Komanti is not a language but a tiny town whose natives speak Twi .
@@tralbriggs104 Even more interesting and intriguing is the name Jamaica. Yes, I have read some where that was the name the original Indian inhabitants called their island. I beg to differ and interrogate that. As an Akan, the name distinctively rings and rhymes with an Ashanti phrase that goes like this: "Gyama yaka" (pronounced: Jama yaka) which was combined to read "gyamayaka" and eventually Jamaica. "Gyama yaka" translates to: "it looks like we are stuck here" or "we are stuck here". I am just curious, that must be the first words, like greeting salutation between two Akans whenever they met, expressing misgivings about any chances of going back home to Africa free some day. I am postulating, the white people must have picked up that phrase of greeting each other between two Akans and corrupted it to read the Jamaica people. Just my hunch.
@@philtymcnasty9994
The name Jamaica has been used long before Africans were brought there . Akans were not the slave masters .
I watched this video and tears filled my eyes. I'm from the opposite end of Portland. I grew up speaking English and I also spoke patois too. I didn't understand 100% what he was saying but God knows 75% and the context without reading the subtitle dem
Mi know wah him a sey. All my life I didn't know this was a different language all together thought it was just broken English. #tears
Felt a very strong connection to him, as a (Akan) Ghanaian. Few words stood out. Very interesting discovery. Peace and love!!
Do they print a book with this lanuage .
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
Crazy. "You Sabi?" literally means "You understand?" in West African pidgin English!!! Love it!!!
+Jessica Nwoka sounds like it comes from 'saber' which means 'to know' in Spanish, Portuguese, and Portuguese-lexifier creoles like Cape Verdean Creole
In Papua New Guinean Pidgin, it's "Yu save?"
lol
+Jess Yup,there is still essence of west African culture specifically Igbo in Belize,where my family is from.We're decedents of Igbo slaves brought there by the English slave master.We say Unu,deh,pickni,and many more which is petty much similar to west African pidgin(creole) English I believe.I love it!
+iamtexas exactly I'm Cape Verdean and I was surprised, we say sabe/sabi for "to know" lol
Stanley Dougé Yes, the French were also big in bringing Israelite slaves to various different lands, slaves that they had bought from Hamitic or African and Semitic or Arab slavetraders. As you probably know already, "savoir" is a French verb meaning to know.
I'm from Suriname and is amazing how I could understand some things this man said. Bless him.
ik ben ook half surinaams er ik dacht zelf ook is dit nou een surinaamse man?
ik ben ook half surinaams er ik dacht zelf ook is dit nou een surinaamse man?
ik ben ook half surinaams er ik dacht zelf ook is dit nou een surinaamse man?
We zijn dus allemaal kormantijns. als ghanees zijnde geboren in Elmina zie ik overeenkomsten 100%
@@hugr7179 So we are all kormantis. as a Ghanaian born in Elmina I see similarities
As an Akan, I could naturally here the Akan dialects. I never knew this. I've got to share this link
They even say "m'edaase" (thank you) clearly. And one popular word that is also clearly is "Akwaaba"
The kromanti dielect is from Fante in Ghana originally. So if you understand Fante language fluently u could see alot from that. Even though the language has been fused due to slavery. Sometimes the slaves have to formulate the language so for their masters not to get the understanding when they speak. Cause as time goes on their Slave masters are able to understand their native language. That is what brought out the American slangs, the blacks formulated that.
@@wood_creates we have Awkwaba in Cameroon too 😻😻😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️
This was so touching and it's a living testament to the strength of our African traditions. You can't kill it because it's eternal. Thanks for sharing.
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam.
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
It's not spoken outside a town of 1000 people. And only the elderly still speak it.
So much for eternal 🗿
Jamaica is a unique country with very rich history, I'm truly grateful to be a Jamaican. I'm prompted to explore more!
Incredible!!!!! This is amazing, Im from London but I'm Ghanaian and I recognised so many twi words :
Obroni: stranger
yu/wu: you
onti: how come?
aksa (kassa): speak or tell
ai(ayii): yes
chamu chamu: take some leave some / cut it cut it
Respect Mr Bernard
+Eruc Darko actually, obroni, is used for "white man" or "western man(as in a white man from the west)"
+Eruc Darko You might want to add that he said "Nyame" while he was speaking kromanti and was pointing up (praying) at 3:42. Nyame means "God" in twi.
+Glover dragon Actually i had a long conversation with Ama Ataa Aidoo's daughter about this. It is USED most commonly to describe white men, but it actually does mean stranger.
Obroni literally means someone from "(beyond) the corn (eburo)(fields). Since they typically planted on the outskirts of town, someone who came from behind that field is a stranger/not of the town.
There is an expression "tuntum broni" which i never understood well, but really if you take into account obroni meaning stranger, it translates to someone with an exotic/unusual/atypical beauty.
S
+Glover dragon "obroni" actually means stranger, or from afar, but we used it to describe white people.
Mame Efua Nyinsini also black people that are from europe or america even when their parents are ghanian. I mean if they can't speak the language anyway.
It's true my grandma told me that they speak a Ashanti language when she was grown up on the reservation up in acampong town in St Elizabeth
And "acampong" sounds like Acheampong or Akyeampong town to me. Wow!
I am from Ghana and I understand most of what he is saying. We have a place in Ghana called Kromanti in central region near Cape Coast. We have the same horn also called Abeng.
Kromanti, Abandze, and Moree (Moore) were fishing communities on the west coast of Ghana, not far from where Cape Coast Castle located. Those three fishing villages indeed saw lot of action at the height of this infamous trade.They, as a matter of fact, lost thousands of their great men and women to the slave ships.Thence to the plantations. Of course, another popular village in Ghana, which also suffered greatly was Akropong ( meaning Big Town) in the Eastern region-which name was corrupted to Accompong back in Jamaica. I find it strange with great admiration that after all the years on an unfamiliar terrain, our gallant kinsmen still held on to culture of the Motherland til this day. My respect. Roots!
@@charlesbanson4988 wasnt accompong toen named after the guy accompong, one of the key figures in the maroons? Like how grest nanny town was named after grest nanny.
Surinam too..whe have the biggest African Heritage outside Africa
See after 6.00 minutes
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
@@cliffdewind1389 I have learnt something new, thanks for sharing it 🇯🇲
I’m an Islander…..Have been married to a Ghanaian for almost fifty years……What could have caused me as a child of about six years old to say to my mother…..”when I grow up, I want to marry an African”……
The way my husband and I met is what I call…..”a miracle”!! Watching this video and listening to the language, phrases…..makes me feel truly “connected”……
I feel even “ more connected “ since we are Followers of Christ, Ministers now working as Missionaries to West Africa….I STAND AMAZED!!
Wow I can I actually understand everything this man is sayin 😳... I’m a Ghanaian and I’m really surprised 😯 wow
What is he saying ?
We family us jamaicans need to return home🗣🗣🇬🇭🇬🇭🇬🇭🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
It's really hard because they have disowned us because of the European standard.
The oppression of the African descendants is still so real
We one broken race all because of the love we have inside.
Am Jamaican
But i identify my self as a African
@@treshawnataycampbell2389 got that wrong in certain ways its not all jamaicans is not dat weh In cline its not all Ghana ian his like dat same ways there some africans from ghana nigeria dont like jamaicans we all can not be fraud sell out
@@evertonreid7408 did you try to understand what am saying
I know that even nigerian don't accept us
That was a general statement for the continent of Africa.
We the off spring are not really liked
Am 29 years old an have been educating myself deeper than the school books.
Even people from Tanzania are being deported of of Nigeria.
It's a love hate situation for us in Jamaica
Jamaicans are not really liked around the world
But we are tolerated because of our culture
So this has nothing to do with sell out
My grandfather “Papa” my hero one of the greatest man ever lived; a great teacher and leader. Your legacy lives on.
im from surinam and understood every word 2!
Ghanees kormantijns zal ik maar zeggen. Ben zelf ghanees.
Taki taki en Creole english...
Mooi toch?
Giovanni Roberts mi sabi tu. Yu sabi onti? SURINAME
@@phynwill129 "Taki taki" means "nonsense" and I don't appreciate my language being insulted like that!!!
the drumming tho. omg real Ashanti traditional way of drumming.
Very similar to the Gullah/Geechee language spoken in South Carolina, USA! We also have a maroon population in the United States.
Dana Kilgore Where? Post some information on that.
I visited the area in South Carolina here is the link.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah
No way also Ghanaian descents?
Hugr yep. They have Akan, and Angolan links in gullah culture too.
Wow!
I almost teared up when I realized that I can clearly understand him.
heard Nyame in his Koromati incantations....I am Ghanaina Nyame means "God" in Akan....Obroni also means white man in Akan
"You sabi?" is still used to in Nigerian and sometimes Ghanaians Pigeon English today....interesting
George Adu-Boahene lol I’m Jamaican we’ve been using “nyam” as eat, so “how yuh can nyam suh ?
AnarchyHDTV nyam means eat in fula language too. Nyam and nyami is 2 different thing which comes from the continent. Abeng is also a twi word meaning I whistle/ horn . Abeng can also be used as a musical instrument in Ghanaian culture.
@Da Boot but di man a say weeeeeeeeee from the island use nyam as eat....to show how we were out if tune with truth.
@@AnarchyAfterLyfe "nyam" in Fanti or Twi (both Ghanaian Akan dialect) also means "to grind"
Surinam Kromanti, See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam.
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
All originating from Africa. I love how the different cultures connect.
Maury agreed literally entire cultures are direct descendants of tribes and peoples that still Live today and I think it’s amazing
Think not that the Serpent , did no try to destroy any connection we have with Africa. As a Marron, I can prove this !
Maury all a lie bot Afrikans
Maroons in Jamaica; Quilombos in Brazil. This is just one among so many similarities inherited from a same African root.
Quilombo is the original African Bantu version for Colombo. Or even Colon. This is why I believe that Christopher Colombus was a mixed breed that ended up betraying. What's new? Meh!
and Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia all are the same people from the Caribbean by way of Africa!
Surinam Kromanti, See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam.
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
I have known this man from a child and he knows every single thing about the maroons and he is still alive very old though and when anyone is sick he knew which herbs to use and how to use it he also know how to blow the abeng to talk to is ancestors he is very kind and loving love you uncle Issac
Am a fantsi from Ghana and am excited at this production...congratulations. The kromantsi are Dante speaking peoples currently located in the central region of Ghana... and their main occupation is fishing and and farming. There need to be some kind of cultural exchange between the Kromantsi in Ghana and their brothers and sisters in Jamaica, so to fill each other in about our which part of our history we may have missed....thereby together learning the complete history of our people from Ghana to Jamaica.
My job dropped when the old man called the horn "Abeng".... for that is how us fantes and the larger akan people call it up till date. The tone and musical outlay of the drums in this video is the same as heard at our festivals even in contemporary times. In future I may travel to Jamaica just to come see my brothers and sisters and am sure it would turn out to be a fulfilling undertaking.
Kudos to the moderator of this program for a job well done.
Is there any fb page for the Kromantsi people in Jamaica?...I would like to join them and learn from them their part of our shared history of the Kromantsi nation.
Odomankoma Nyame nhyira hom nyina...." God bless you all".
May our shared culture between our brothers and sisters in Surinam, Jamaica and Ghana survive time itself.
Koromanti was a general name for Akan captives stationed at the European fort in Koromantse not the town inhabitants.
WOW!, i luv dis video alot... am a ghanaian, and am an Ashanti from the Akan trine.. i really love doing history and research,, and i love the Akan tribe and the Jamaicans inter connection simillarities.. like he said Obroni ( white person).yu or wu(you)..onti(dont understand)...aksa(speak, but we mention it kasa).... chamu chamu(means cut it cut it, or seperate some... but we mention it chemu chemu).... i love their language,, the ascent lang. still stock in their mouth.... also where he was pouring libation, das what we do here, means the have not forgotten their culture.. cooool
aksa is only ask it doent mean "kasa" to speak
Onti means because of u
I’m from St.Vincent and I understood . The older folks would speak to each other like that and drop lines of it to us when we don’t listen
Love it! Everything the man is saying like Akan(Twi)- Obroni(white man),Abeng which means horn, and we use it to send messages too,we also pour libations,same people same culture.
I'm Gullah and I can understand them fine :) this is amazing.
I want to know about the Gullah people.
Jamaican patois!
I'm Ghanaian from Ghana and I can hear some twi words in what he is saying. All the libations are done in Ghana.
queendragin I thought Gullahs were more Igbo and Mende
Gullahs are 70% Igbo
That is a Fante language That was incantation to God in Fante. Kromante people speak Fante. This man needs to visit Ghana before he dies
plus.google.com/+SorayaAyomide
ohenewa danquah ,you are right and I'm from cromanti,born and raised in cromanti
It would be nice for him to visit the mother land
the people called kromanste is not because they were from there. its because thats the castle they were shipped from.
Yes,history sources say some of them are from Kromantse in Central Region of Ghana
This language looks a lot like the old time Suriname creole like I heard people speaking as a young boy and at the same time I can hear the kromanti also. For more authentic Kromanti it is interesting to go to the maroon villages in Suriname where especially the elderly people speak a more pure Kromanti. This is very very interesting and amazing to me, since I recognise for large part my own Suriname creole language.
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
Suriname speak créole ( kréol) too??! Wow.. I am French carribean from Martinique or the old name Madinina , we speak créole but my countryside families up the hills, theirs is still like the elders before very hard to understand like Haïti créole sometimes 😂...
we need to come together and bring back Mama Africa's children back to her soil.. how long, for how many more generations shall we suffer this separations??!!
@@maliegoodenpicrode9207 Créole comes in different forms and is spoken in different ways. It is not smart to assume that other countries don't have their own créole. The créole from guyana was called Demerara Dutch but is most likely extinct by now.
It's a shame that so much of our African culture buried I hope that mr.burnard teach his children and grandchildren
Something interesting would be a DNA map of all Afro US citizens, Afro Caribbean islanders and Afro mainland South Americans. I am sure this would bring forward genetic relations between people from totally different regions as a result of the splitting up of families and the spreading over all the slavery territories.
as well as central america. Costa rica, panama to name a few...And oh, columbia!!!
@@janetjones4310 That's all mainland dear.
People forget we are the second biggest race in the world after Asians. The region of West Africa alone boasts 5% of the entire world's population.
An anthropologist and sociologist's dream
Fo'Real!! My college B.A. major is Cultural Anthropology.
Dat stuff turn me on !!
I Love the philosophy of Maroon birth rite. If one of your parents are Maroon, you are considered a full blooded Maroon.Therefor your children and their children's children shall forever be Maroons.
I am so happy my mother is a Maroon!
jen somers maroon just means run away slave ... its not a blood dna type sis
Keiron Guwop Did you understand the context. Pump your brakes.
Keiron Guwop that means slaves who fought for they freedom that's what it means
auria roye yes because in west Africa mothers applicate bloodline matrilinearity.Keep the culture and teach it to your children for they stay real marroons too.
my grandparents are maroons my grandfather spoke like and they use sign the kind of songs he was, brought back some good memories... yes I understand everything
The question is where to attain the resources to use to preserve the language, it will die not because of modernity but lack of commitment to black culture and history
shouldnt the Jamaican maroons take it upon themselves to preserve the language or at least add Akan to their languages and learn that as that is the language of their ancestors anyway. I am Kojo Nsiah. From Ashanti.
That i think is a very good idea
jim norris they should put it in books because you can't even learn it anywhere on the Internet
Perhaps, it's not so much a black culture thing. The Akan language is just a means to communicate. In this particular instance, various darkskinned people who at some point in history dwelled in the continent of Africa and who aren't necessarily related to one another. For example, Ethiopians as well as the inhabitants of Somalia and Eritrea do not speak the Akan language and it's certainly not part of their culture. Let alone black culture in general. History shows that people of diverse backgrounds and cultures have always borrowed certain customs from one another. That doesn't mean the Akan language alone can be used in such a way that one can ascertain all people who speak this language are also related to one another. Having said that, various different customs of man or man-made customs, doctrines, traditions in general, do not suffice as proof to support the notion that one darkskinned person is kin to the next on the basis of them speaking the same language. Also, not all man-made customs are good for mankind.
As a Jamaican I can tell you the language will never die....I understand 90% of what he said and I was never taught that this was maroon language. I just know its Patois I enjoy speaking it especially when I am overseas and in the presence of white people and is talking to other Jamaicans .....I talk the deep patois and leave out most english as possible
Is he still alive? He speaks like my grandmother a true maroon woman. Its funny all these years hearing and speaking to her it was the kromanti language, I understand it, but never knew its true origin. Lol as a child then, I often said grandma talks funny lol. I would love to meet him to learn more. Our elders are the mouth piece of our ancestors. I want to learn more and embrace my true identity. Love my maroon linage!!!!
all Jamaicans should learn Akan language. We are Africans.
I'm 100% Marron from Suriname, they are 6 tribes here with languages and way of doing things. I do my best to understand them all. 2 of them sound more like Angolan languages. Even the villages that they founded in 1700s has link with Angola. Such Lombe. Some Villages has West African names such as Dahomey. The 1st peace treaty were sign in 1760.
***** I have a Ghanaian girl who is teaching me twi
J.A BWOY That's exciting. Soon I want to learn Fongbe
my mom did a dna test and found that she is mostly Beninese, which is weird because shes my Jamaican parent. I expected those result from my Haitian dad
We are watching from the Bahamas as well....the knowledge of our people is starting to regrow the roots of tree.....blessed be you all in the name of the creator of our forefathers
Maroons emigrated to Sierra leone and are part of the Settlers descendants. In fact there is a family with the surname Cromanty in Freetown. The music is so much like some of our music too
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL 🤩. I hear Ghanaian language ( “mi” blow “abeng” blow a horn) and that of Nigerian Pidgin ( you sabi, tel shi se(y) “tell her that”) .. it’s a mix “Afro-language” I’m sure other Africans would also identify theirs from his speech
Need more education like this. So touching and refreshing to have seen this! Be blessed and stay educating
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
I just love this video, so moved by the whole experience. Please continue to find more elderlies such as him so we can spread the word and learn the language of our ancestors. Thanks for the video☺
I am maroon, my grandma on my mom side was. My mom some time speaks like that. I do understand. This needs to preserved. Sabi. Some of this is pidgin language as well. Love it👏🏼👍🏻
Incredible...
My family’s from Guyana and I could understand what this man was saying clear as day.
God bless
The drums in the background sounds like Ashanti people and the old man was chanting in pure twi.... wow😂😂
I was watching another documentary and the maroon people of Surinam speak a related dialect as well. This is beautiful!
"unu" is igbo for you/you all/you people etc.
Your wrong buddy it's not igbo it's una is a pidgin word from West Africa not just igbo tribe from Nija
"unu" means you/you all/you people in igbo, I know because I speak igbo fluently, do you?
Cirrus Curls very true .. maybe more than one people use the same word
every jamaican parent loves to say uno when they are telling off children. if one did it they blame all the children 'uno never wash di plates' lol translation one child never washed one plate
Keiron Guwop no dummy many igbos were transported to Jamaica this is fact. There also other Igbo words in jamacian patwah.
1 of the best documentaries I ever seen, as ah JAMAICAN mi ah tell yuh it SLAP WEH, respect fi di link parrie!
I am Ghanian and I from Cape coast in the central region of Ghana the old man was speaking fante language and kormanti too is a name of town in the central region of Ghana, the also speaks Fante language..
My father was descended from the Jamaican Maroons. He died when i was pretty young so i only have a few memories of the stories he used to tell. He was very proud of his ancestry. Love and respect to this elder.
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
omg he said obroni!! ahahaha that's twi
Exactly. Thats Twi.. Thats what I keep saying .. The language is Twi and not Kromanti.. Komanti is a Village. A tiny village and the people speak Twi .
He also said youh sabi "onti" meaning wonti die3 me ka no...
@@tralbriggs104 I dislike the modern idea of a language. Frankly the whole language slash dialect thing doesn't reflect how people communicate. Speech changes and we have to accept that speech will not fit into our neat little boxes. I think the major difference here (mind you I don't know any Twi but I really want to learn) is that his language exists in a diglossia or maybe the idea of an stellaglossia would be better where there are many forms that he can glide between and does glide between mixing elements which makes it distinct. Maybe it's just a diglossia though. Maybe he does only have two languages he moves between but I think that's a major factor. Also I think if a group of people speak a thing, whatever name they call it is it's correct name. There is no reason a thing can't have different correct names among different groups.
@@micayahritchie7158
Clearly , theres Twi in what hes saying . Twi is part of the West African pidgin English formed in Southern Nigeria that became patois also . Twi entered into pidgin when the slaves were taken to Elmina castle in Ghana before taking abroad . 80% of the english he speaks is pure southern Nigerian pidgin . The Twi words are the elements picked up from Ghanaians since the slave port was in Ghana .
@@tralbriggs104 I'm not certain that's the case. I'm not saying no, but they could be independently convergent. My only point is that forms of language vary and that it might not be exactly appropriate to want to classify them as the same thing.
Wow! I am astonished as how they preserved the language im a Ghanaian and i picked some twi words.
We really are ONE. I hear some Krio here too. (Sierra Leonean Creole)
I thoroughly enjoyed this. beautiful diction from the presenter.
I live in Kenya, but this so much richness of culture... Loved one question: How will the heritage carry on?
Good question.
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
No, the word Jamaica is an Arawak word. Original spelt Xamayca , which means "land of wood and water"
You are on point
Arawak Tiano they originally migrated outta Venezuela
Yamehkya
Wow I was born in Jamaica, and understood every word. As my great grandpa🕊was a maroon and my great grandma also... I can’t wait to speak to my great gran to learn more about the heritage and culture. My African brothers and sisters we are one ! And have so much in common🤍
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam.
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds liker our music
I was born in Jamaica and didn't understand a thing🤷🏾♀️
Even more interesting and intriguing is the name Jamaica. Yes, I have read some where that was the name the original Indian inhabitants called their island. I beg to differ and interrogate that.
As an Akan, the name distinctively rings and rhymes with an Ashanti phrase that goes like this: "Gyama yaka" (pronounced: Jama yaka) which was combined to read "gyamayaka" and eventually Jamaica. "Gyama yaka" translates to: "it looks like we are stuck here" or simply, "we are stuck here".
I am just curious, that must be the first words, like greeting salutation between two Akans whenever they met, expressing misgivings about any chances of them going back home to Africa free some day. I am postulating, the white people must have picked up that phrase of greeting each other between two Akans and corrupted it to read the Jamaica people. Just my hunch
It is said that "Jamaica" comes from the Taino word "xaymaca" which means "land of wood & water". Xaymaca is pronounced "zah-muck-yuh" but I guess either the Spanish or the British messed up the pronunciation which is how we got Jamaica. Your theory is interesting though and could possibly be true as well.
Sounds logical ,i am jamaican and i was taught in school that before JAMAICA it was XAIMACA.
Hey! Thank you for this.
@@eyelandgal ..but those are not the words for water nor land in Taino language.. So I would say the original post is more on point
Interesting theory, could be true, who knows 👀
Wow this was amazing i live in Ghana i am from jamaican parents my husband speaks Twi i understand some of the words and could hear some of Twi it . this makes me feel so connected.
The origin of the Kromanti or the Jamaican Langwij is from the Akans(Ashantis) of Ghana and the Igbos of Nigeria.. . These two are the best one can relate to and they are pace setters in the West of African continent. I love them so much. Jamaicans other brothers in the diaspora should visit Ashanti Ghana and Igbo Nigeria to taste the rich and original culture for that's their true home
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
im from cameroon and that language seems familiar on one bantu dialect .'batanga' and he's also speak pidjins English that broken English Mixte with some Africans language that just amazing
Wow! Are these people the Bamoun? I'm Jamaican.
We have roots in Cameroon too.
Soraya Very true. This is why the man in the video mentioned Kongo. Back then, on old maps, I saw Kong in the area by Ghana and Nigeria. There is no way we can be 1 tribe. Impossible due to the nature and length of the slave trade and our mingling. Its just that the Akans dominated the island first and mostly. I believe there were Africans in the West BEFORE slavery. I believe the inhabitants were a mixture of Africans and those in the Asian side. I saw old pics and some of these people look exactly like those in Austronesia.
Soraya wait.....Ashan is in scriptures. Let's not even touch on their names both surname and first name. Then we are also Ga-Adengbe or Ga Adangbe. Even the name Ayin is in scriptures. Then you have the Danhomey.....we can go on. Another thing, Africa is the people in scriptures. But well we don't research. Instead we listen to what bitter people have to say. But old books and maps will show you that All of Africa had or still have bible names. Just take note that Language evolves and Europeans had different languages and their own version of translation. Canan can be Cana, Cano, Kano, Kanem. There was a long standing empire in the Saharas called "Kanem" then "Kanem-Bornou". So all this we need to really prayerfully research. Even the Israelites took over most of Egypt according to scriptures. But they won't speak on this. This is why Hezekiah had an Egyptian symbol. It's because they took over Egypt and made the rest tributaries. Rich history. The people are infused as per all the intermarrying. Mozabites are Berbers, Mauri, Amazigh. But also have Yakub DNA. Madagascar was called Zaffe Zaffe Ibrahim......children of Ibrahim or birth of. That's just a tiny bit.
Heavenly Beautifully Black yakub DNA? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
This guy was speaking Kromanti! I am a Maroon from Suriname, and i know older people who can speak this language. There are also a lots of simularities between the Surinamese language (SrananTongo) an the Jamaican Patois.
Suriname also has ties to Ghana just like Jamaica. There is documentary on TH-cam called "Suriname meets Ghana". The Dutch were in ghana for a long time before the British took over. So yeah ghana do have connection Suriname
This video so very, very important. You have done what I hope to do more of; to make videos highlighting the great things about Jamaica. Thanks very much for sharing!
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
So Jamaican schools can teach Spanish and French, but not Kromanti? Why?🤔
With the Koromanti's from Jamaica originally coming from or associated to Ghana's Kormantse, it's not unusual to see similarities between the languages. I'd rather the Languages board of Jamaica did well (like holding out classes for Jamaicans interested to learn to speak the language) or doing some shows on Tv to draw attention to it. The Koromanti's culture are greatly imbedded in Jamaican history and their language can't just go bust
Erskine Sam yes Coromantin was the name of an ancient slave fort in ghana called now Fort Amsterdam.
My mum could speak this language I heard her converse with my brother and asked her what language were they speaking. She said the language of the maroons which her father spoke.
I love languages and I love history and other cultures. Thank you for this wonderful video!
Ahhh Dr Devonian!! You stand tall in my UWI experience. Now that I’m older, wiser and more exposed, many of the things that were just stories in a boring history class had taken on an entirely different meaning. Would be nice to really sit and chat with our elders who still value oral tradition. I’m documenting some of my 92yo mother’s history as well.
my father is part maroon
My dad is J'can and I was born in New York. But, I can understand some of it still. Wow.
Vivian Crawford born in Moore Town
Beautiful memories- Mr.Bernard from Comfort Castle,Swinging bridge at Rat Bat Hole, the Rio Grande etc.
I'm just coming across this video. A lot of it seems to be patois but other parts were Kromanti. I'm Jamaican. Could barely pick up on the kromanti myself.
I heard the music at the beginning and automatically thought of our blessed home land ghana
I am from suriname creole and i understoood him very Well
Wow well I am on the flip side. As a Jamaican I was always very aware and proud of my African heritage. While some Africans were impressed with my knowledge of Africa, the tribes, the language, the food etc.. I would say most remain distant and see us as outsiders and not true African therefore not good enough. I am elated that you are actually seeking to find knowledge about your long lost brethren. RESPECT
I find myself. I know this but I had no idea it was disappearing. We still talk like this back home..or at least the elders speak, we understand but once we came abroad, our parent forbid us to speak like this around our Canadian "friends". We were told it was "vulgar". We didn't agree. We did it and or tried to be what we knew. This first nature to me.
kolor brown .
The missionary came about 1937 and told the older Maroon, my grand father to ''give up his African ways.'' So as soon as he did his wife, my grand mother died in ''child's birth.'' then came the darkness. One very evil woman say ''she is going to destroy the Maroon tradition, by evil or Devilism .How would sister Nanny feel about the situation ?
thats crazy, the Jamaicans in America are taught to learn patois fluently by their elders
My parents use tell my siblings and I, to "speak properly " lol. How messed up! One of the consequences of slavery. Language, is language, there is no proper language, persay.
I love ii Kromanti Language.. Born in America but still keep up we roots... Is like ah Lovely song when it speak...
I love hear these beautiful stories from my beautiful people. My cousin would surely love some consolement right now this. Do you have contact detais for Mr Bernard?
Im jamaican and although i recognize almost all of the words there are still some unfamiliar words / words we dont really use anymore/ words used in deep country. This is so super awesome
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
I am a Ghanaian and I can understand a lot of what the man said... It's the most common language in Ghana.. The akan/twi language...
Surinam Kromanti, See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam.
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
Hi, Hubert, Just came across this video. Very interesting that one of the Maroon language is similar to Akan and languages in Suriname (and French Guiana). Glad you recorded it. As a friend of mine points out (you know him, we were on the back of a tractor bumping across campus when I was supposed to be writing my Caribbean Study), every time we lose a people, we lose their understanding of humanity. Mark White (as in L100 and L230, 1981-1984, :-)).
need more of these #his #story unity will always = strength
@MegaBlueman1 You make an interesting point. The indigenous people of the island we know as Jamaica today were called the Tainos who spoke Arawak languages. I got this info from the University of West Indies. I am not sure whether they called the island Xamayca. Depicted in the coat of arms for Jamaica, they used the pineapple as a symbol of hospitality placing them on top of sticks at the gateway of their homes. This feature was assimilated into British architectural culture.
I think this should be a language that should be widely spoken across Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora abroad. I may not be from Jamaica but I am curious about my family’s background. I learned my great great grandmother was of a maroon community and I’m getting more curious about this preserved culture. I really would love to learn this language.
I heard some Akan words and I’m proudly an Akan from Ghana
Wow,this is amazing 🫶🏾
I'm Nigerian and i understand a lot of what he is saying. Pidgin truly is universal. One love.
Especially when he said ' you sabi' 😮 we still use this term/ word today 💯
He is speaking Fante
ohenewa danquah THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SAYING THAT. I needed evidence to show that we have ties to the Fanti people and not just the Ashanti. You have no idea how much you've helped me lol
Soraya Bella Morena fanti and Ashanti people are tribes which cone under the umbrella of Akan. Twi dialects and Fante dialects are similar tbf
@@gilliang6531 I know that. But the asante get too much credit when it comes to our ties to Ghana. In fact Akan ppl in general do... ppl ignore our Ga and Ewe ties too. But per the Akan the fante connection is always ignored for the asante.
Took a sip of that white lightning! Respect and props.
That is Fanti Language they call Kromanti ( Kromantsi). The town is still vibrant as i write. A fishing town and that area is where the Maroons originated from. Till today, the Fantis are the major propenents of PAN-AFRICANISM in Ghana, USA, Canada, Europe, England. Also, the Struggle for Ghana's independence started with Fantis who occupy mostly the coastal belt of Ghana from west of Accra, the capital, to Western region and Ivory Coast.
They are among the most forward-thinking, Race - conscious as opposed to tribalist, selfless and Patriotic people you can find anywhere on the face of the earth.
Even till today, the young PAN-AFRICANISTS in most Schools and Colleges in the Diaspora hailing from Africa are likely Fantis or studied under Fanti Scholars.
People should do in depth research for confirmation.
I did research over 15 years ago in the US, England, Germany,Canada,Netherlands and 7 years ago in China.
There's something about Fantis and the UNIVERSAL BLACK struggle that still baffles me.
Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Malcolm X ( Little's) father and most of the early members of UNIA in Jamaica, USA and UK were mostly the children of Kromanti Maroons as my research proved.
love it
is there another name for this dialect
@@madamesublime1961 Hmmm yes Patois/patwah or creole
I'm so elated to see this . Thanks you for posting. I understand the majority of what he's saying since my great grandmother was also Maroon. I'm so proud of this.
Surinam Kromanti. See after 6.00 minutes how a man from Ghana communicates with a man from Surinam. Surinam has the biggest African heritage outside of Africa
th-cam.com/video/Kv_T30rqo0Y/w-d-xo.html
When he sings it sounds like our music:
th-cam.com/video/_rxa0OKCD_Q/w-d-xo.html
Please no arguing, this video is so enlightening and beautiful to watch, we can all listen to each others opinion but it doesn't mean that you have to necessarily agree. Let's stay humble. x