Maroon Societies in Colonial Brazil - Research Paper Example

? Maroon Societies in Colonial Brazil Lecturer: Maroon Societies in Colonial Brazil Since early 1400s, slavery was at its peak in America and Europe. Slaves from Africa were picked by salve drivers and sold to various parts of Europe. As slaves continued to trickle in America, so did their number kept on increasing. As time went by, the slaves regrouped to form a society that could challenge their masters or yank from the yoke of slavery. In addition, the salves were looking for avenues through which they could lead normal life. This means that they wanted to have their own social, political, religious, and economic organization. It should be noted that once slaves had been recruited by their masters, there was no definite time they would be freed. This means that they were certain of staying in their slavery in their entire lives. However, from the beginning of 1500s, slaves started looking for ways of forming their own free society. It was during this time that the Maroon society came into existence. In this paper, an in-depth outlook on the Maroon society of Brazil will be considered. The considerations will involve a detailed outlook of literature review dealing with the foundation of the community while looking at the political, religious and military aspects of the community. The term Maroon, also Quilombo is used to denote a group of Runways slaves in American. As a result, the runway slaves later came to form a society that is referred to as Maroon. The formation of the Maroon society is an important feature in the history of the world because the society enables the contemporary world to grasp the history of slave trade that begun towards the end of 1400 and ended in 1888. The term Maroon is derived from Spanish word ‘cimarron’ meaning feral cattle. The term was later used on runaway slaves because they were slaves that could no longer be tamed. The societies of Maroon were common in Brazil and Caribbean. The North America and other parts of South America were occupied by the Maroon. The Maroon society posed a serous threat to the organization of slave trade and also to slave owners. Their presence and organization meant that it would not be easy to have slaves for their usual purposes or for trading functions. On the other hand, the maroon society was a relief to slaves. It marked a sign of relief, hope and emancipation from their slavery. Currently, the Maroon community is not known by the term Quilombo. Instead, the community is currently termed as Mocambos. The Maroon community had myriads of societies that settled in Brazil. One of the most dominant communities in Brazil was Palmares, also called the palm nation1. This community was formed in early 17th century. The Palmares was well-organized politicaly, socially, and economically. Just like other communities, it was ruled by a king called Zumbi. This community existed for over a decade until it was conquered by the Portuguese. History of the Formation Process of the Maroon Societies As early as 1552, Brazil was practicing slavery in its administration and legal institution. During this time, Brazil was had a large demand for labor for its sugar and tobacco plantations. As a result, the demand for slaves from Africa increased. More slaves were taken from Africa to Brazil. During the period between 1570 and 1670, slavery was at its peak in Brazil. At the same time, brutality was at its peak in the slavery industry. Slaves were beaten, given impossible quotas to meet, and subjected to poor and abusive working and living conditions2. Given these conditions, slaves were forced to look for an escape route from their conditions. Following the harsh slavery conditions, slaves started escaping from the firms in Brazil and forming their own settlements. Despite the escape, slave owners, such Freidrich Won Weech, saw their escape attempts as another process of initiating into a new form of slavery. This is because as soon as they escaped, they were pursued and caught and thereafter subjected to some worse kind of slavery. Those caught were tied an iron collar in their necks and subjected to further treatment. Nevertheless, many slaves managed to escape from their masters. They quickly escaped to various regions in Brazil whereas other move outside Brazil to places such as New York. Slaves who escaped went to places such as pernambuco where they collected to form the Quilombo. One of the slaves called Mahommah Baquaqua travelled to Europe by ship as an escape route after his earlier suicide attempts failed3. Settlement of escaped slaves took place near Portuguese residence forming a Quillmbo. It is believed that the term Quilombo originated from central Africa. Some slaves from central Africa formed an institution called Kilombo that united slaves from Africa to form a military resistance. Although slaves managed to group into myriads of Quilombos, they were fought fiercely by the Portuguese until they scattered. About seven out of ten Quilombos who settled near the Portuguese were terminated by the Portuguese. However, the Quilombos that were further away from Portuguese settlement survived and currently exist as towns in Brazil. Their current language is African-Portuguese. The Quilombos that survived the Portuguese scare grew to form a big colony. Their growth was fueled by the Portuguese war that took place in 1630. During this time, Pernambuco, a Portuguese city, was attacked by a Dutch West Indian Company. This resulted into war between the Dutch settlers and the Portuguese. The war meant that little efforts were made to guard the slaves and therefore majority of them escaped forming large scale Quilombos. One quilombo could have as many as 100 runaway slaves. Majority of the slaves escaped to Palmeras, or the palm city. At this time, the Dutch settlers considered forming an alliance with the Palmeras. They wanted the runaway slaves to help them fight the Portuguese settlers but later decided against it because they thought the action would put the slaves against the Portuguese. Therefore, instead of linking with the Palmeras, the Dutch settlers decided to collect intelligence information about the Runways slaves in Brazil. Intelligence reports collected on the runaway slaves provides the existing information about the organization of the Maroon society of Brazil. The organization can be seen in form of religion, political and military aspects. The war between the Portuguese and Dutch settlers continued until late 1654 when the Dutch were expelled. At the same time, the kingdom of Palmeras had grown to grater heights. Efforts from Portuguese organized expeditions to scatter them did not bear much fruits but rather made them even more consolidated. Based on the intelligence reports collected by the Dutch settlers, many accounts of the Maroon society have been drafted detailing their organization and leadership. Most historical records agrees that the Maroon society in Palmeras formed a Kingdom called Angola Janga, implying little Angola in Portuguese. This kingdom was ruled by a king called Ganga Zumba. The family members of Ganga Zumba also ruled other Quilombos that were spread in Brazil. Angola Janga grew into a kingdom of grate stature; it had population of over 30,000 freemen on top of runaway slaves. In 1676, Captain Fernao Carrilho of the Portuguese army of Pernambuco attached the Kingdom of Angola Janga. The attack was devastating to the point that King Ganga Zumba decided to make a peace treaty with the governor of Pernambuco. The governor responded by demanding Zumba to return all the slaves of African origin. This would mean an end to Maroon society save for the children born out of them. Nevertheless, this demand was rejected by one of the leaders called Zumbi, who was the niece of Gana Zumba. Fearing that Zumba will sign the treaty with the Portuguese, Zumbi poisoned Gana Zumba4. Following the death of Gana Zumab, Zumbi resumed the leadership of the entire kingdom of Angola Janga. Between 1980 and 1694, the Portuguese waged war on Zumbi. Throughout this period, Zumbi proved a skilled leader in war and political matters. The Portuguese were challenged to the point of involving their finest army commanders who were skilled in the war against the natives of Brazil. Sadly, Zumbi was captured and eventually beheaded on 20th November 16955. The fall of Zumbi marked the beginning of the fall of the organized kingdom of the Maroon society. Zumbi brothers took over the leadership but they were eventually destroyed by the Portuguese who scattered the kingdom. Nevertheless, the Maroon society was not finished. They scatted in several parts of Brazil and formed small organized quilombos in places they escaped6. This means that the Portuguese continued experiencing the problems that they had. Currently the society exists as legitimate natives of Brazil. Military Organization of the Maroon Society As seen from the historical formation of the maroon society, there were constant wars between themselves and between them and the Portuguese. Although this society was not as sophisticated as the Portuguese; it managed to fight the Portuguese in several wars. These efforts were as a result of efforts of the king, who organized the society into fighting groups. It should be noted that the Maroon society was generally a society shaped for all sorts of hardships resulting from slavery conditions. At the same time, the society was dominated by men; polyandrous marriage was practiced. As a result, they were shaped and ready for military expeditions. The defense system of the Maroon community was organized around their settlement. The community lived in fortified villages as a means of protection from attackers. Fortification was done by trenches and pit traps. It was not possible for enemies to pass the traps and trenches. Additionally, the towns were fortified by walls and palisades. The Maroon society accessed guns and ammunitions from the Portuguese. They traded with Portuguese for guns and also allowed some small-scale cattle raisers use their land in exchange for guns. At the same time, the Maroon army made spear, bows, and arrows for war. During wartime, the Maroon would attack first by bows and poisoned arrows because it was possible for them to conceal themselves before using guns when the going got tougher. During the time of war, the Maroon sung and danced a war dance called Capoeira. This was to encourage the army fighters to fight fiercely. At the same time, Capoera was a game of martial arts. It was a means of self-defense incase of physical ambush. The fight combined various body movements that were quick and complex. During physical confrontation, the Maroon army defended themselves from their aggressors7. Generally, the Maroons were aggressive people and ready for war. In fact, they practiced Capoeira as a sport. Religious Organization of the Maroon Society Although Maroons were living together with the Portuguese, they differed in many aspects including religions and social organizations. For instance, the Portuguese did not approve practices such as polyandrous marriage and witchcrafts, which they termed as demonic. On the other hand, the Maroon practiced polyandrous marriage and witchcrafts formed the central core of their religious practices. The religious organization of the Maroon society is based on the integration of traditional practices with Christian practices. The maroon religion integrates both traditional African folk religion and Christian components. In maroon’s daily affairs, the Supreme Being occupies the top position. For Christians, this supreme is God but for non-Christians the supreme is Nyankipong. The maroons have a second position occupied by their ancestors who have the ultimate authority. The maroons’ social system is called Accompong. The compatibility of both Christianity and traditions helps control this social system. The two high positions in Maroon Community consist of spirits who collectively control the society. At the apex of the Accompong is the Kojo’s brother who is also the founder of the community. His spirit is called the Town Master. The Maroon society has a strong belief in the influence of Town Master over their lives. The Town master is responsible for ensuring that the society adheres to the rules of the society. He takes note of important subjects such as cleanliness, proper behaviors, and ensuring the community observes proper rituals among other welfare. This spirit rides in white regalia in the entire village to make sure that everything is according to his liking. Also included at the top of the ancestral spiritual hierarchy is other First Time Maroons called Nanny and Kojo. These ancestral Spirits are consulted for guidance and directions through spiritual practitioners. These first time spirits are consulted to bring punishments for the disobedient in the society. This means that the ancestral spirits ensures that the moral position of the society is upheld. Offenders in the society are punished through death, sickness, and loss of property. Whenever a judgment has been imposed on an individual, the spirit practitioner interprets the punishment that is later meted on the individual. As seen from the above, the ancestral worship follows spiritual ranks within the Maroon society. Therefore, next to the first time spirits are the spirits of great spiritual practitioners. These spirits are believed to have been in close contact with the first time spirits and largely belong to a group of sorcerers called the Obeah sorcerers. Next in the spiritual ladder are the spirits of Maroons of lesser importance. These are spirits of common Maroons and have no great impacts on the entire society. However, they have an influence on the family in which they belong whereby the family members believe that one of their own is watching over them from the spiritual world. Finally, there are spirits of those Maroons who died recently and also the spirits of animals. A spiritual practice in the Maroon society is of important to this community. The Maroons consults spirits for good and for bad reasons. The practitioners are the most important people in the society because they act as the mediators between the people and the spirits. Although ancestral worship has been at the central of the religion of the Maroon community, Christianity gradually seeped through the community after the collapse of the kingdom of Angola Jamba8. The Maroons started appreciating Christian form of worship form the Portuguese and majority stopped ancestral worship. The Political System of the Maroon Community The political organization of the Maroon society derived its system from an integration of various systems from which the communities came from. However, they did not take any form of African state. In the first place, rebellion was organized by willing individuals. Some leaders from among the slaves sprung up and organized other slaves to escape. As a result, the political organization of the Maroon stemmed from such leaders. One such leader is Zumbi who organized an escape rebellion and later became one of the greatest leaders in annals of Maroon community. When the Maroon community dispersed, they formed small groups based on ancestral ties or common origin. As the maroon settled in a common territory, they organized into a larger group forming a political organization9. The political hierarchy of the Maroon society generally starts from the paramount chief, also the tribal chief called Gaama. The Gaam represent the entire tribe. He is the link between the Maroon society and the external government. Although the Maroons were runway slaves, they kept touch with the colonial governments through the Gaam. Next in the rank is the head chief Ede Kabiteni. There were many head chiefs representing various territories. The head chiefs were the ruling forces and the representative of the decision-making organ of a given territory. Next in the rank was the Kabiten or the village chief. The kabiten represented the paramount chief at the village level and acted as an external link between the village and the other authorities. Next in the lower rank was the under officer called Basia. He was responsible for performing some rituals for the society10. The administration system of the Maroon society takes into considerations the democracy of all villages. There were no imposed laws form the central government but rather laws were created from the villages and agreed upon during the meeting of the leaders. Elders were highly valued in this society and therefore were called upon to assist in the process of decision-making. At the same time, there were no written laws. All laws were passed on by the word of mouth and were expected to be comprehensive to everyone. This means that laws were not many in this community. It should be noted that political position were inherited and therefore there were special communities accorded with leadership responsibilities of the community. Generally, the Maroon communities are organized as seen in terms of their political, social, and religious dimensions. 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