Nanny

The African Jamaican heroine Nanny, also affectionately known as “Granny Nanny,” is a symbol of African agency, resistance, and freedom. In the 18th century, Nanny became the spiritual, cultural, and military leader of the Windward or Eastern Jamaican Maroon community. Nanny has been excluded from much of the written literature on Jamaican history, and much of what is known about her has been passed down from generation to generation by way of oral tradition, in addition to several written references. In some cases, many of the historical accounts of Nanny come from second-and third-hand sources, in many cases unreliable, such as those provided by racist British writers of the 18th and 19th centuries and Maroon captives being held under duress by Europeans. Nanny's legacy has also been passed on from generation to generation by way of song, storytelling, and ceremonies commemorating her leadership and accomplishments on behalf of African people in Jamaica.

Although these sources are sometimes contradictory, there is some agreed-on knowledge with regard to Nanny's legacy. In 1975, the Jamaican government inducted Nanny as a national hero, and her portrait now appears on the Jamaican 500-dollar bill. Most important, her legacy of unyielding resistance and freedom fighting lives on in the hearts and minds of people of African descent. Her legacy is perpetuated through stories, sayings, language, ceremonies, rituals, symbols, objects, and places named in her honor.

Nanny is believed to have been born in the Gold Coast area of West Africa (today's Ghana) to the Ashanti people during the late 17th century. The name Nanny is said to be a combination of the word nana, an honorable title given to Ashanti chiefs, and ni, which means first mother. It is reported that, along with her brothers Cudjoe, Accompong, Johnny, Cuffy, and Quao, Nanny was transported as a free woman from Africa to Jamaica in the early 18th century. While in Jamaica, Nanny, along with her five brothers, abandoned the British and joined the already existing Maroon community. The Maroons were formerly enslaved Africans who originally escaped from Spanish enslavement as the Spanish fought against the British. The British eventually won colonial control of Jamaica.

By 1720, Nanny had assumed leadership of Moor Town or the Blue Mountain Rebel Town, which eventually became known as Nanny Town. Nanny Town consisted of approximately 300 freedom fighters under Nanny's command. The Maroon communities made themselves responsible for freeing enslaved Africans from British slavery and colonialism as well as resisting European cultural dominance by preserving African culture, identity, and knowledge through African customs and cultural practices. Nanny was known for her leadership, military genius, spiritual prowess, and healing abilities. She was also able to use her military tactics and strategies to beguile and manipulate British soldiers, in many cases rendering them defenseless against attacks and counterattacks from Maroon warriors. Nanny trained Maroons to camouflage themselves to blend in with the trees and branches and to use the abeng, special horns to communicate with one another over long distances. She ordered lookouts to warn of approaching Europeans, and she commissioned spies on sugar plantations to find out when the British were planning to attack them. It is said that under Nanny's leadership, more than 800 enslaved Africans were rescued from slavery and brought to freedom in the Maroon communities of Jamaica over a period of 50 years.

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