Travel Guide Accompong

Take the road to Magotty, 9 km from Middlequarters, then a trail of about 10 km leads to Accompong via Whitehall. This village in the foothills of Cockpit Country is one of the last strongholds of Maroon descendants. The village was established in 1739, in accordance with the peace treaty that ended hostilities between the rebellious former slaves and the English authorities, and guaranteed the Maroons semi-autonomy. It is named after one of the leaders of the Maroon slave rebellion, the brother of the famous leader Cudjoe. Accompong is today one of the few villages from this era that still has a separate administrative status. The colonel is traditionally the chief of the community. He is elected for five years and has authority over purely local matters. The community is made up of small farmers who work the land ceded to the Maroons at the end of the treaty and on which they do not pay taxes to the state. Very little remains of the traditions of life that came from West Africa with the slave ships. The exodus of the young population to the large coastal cities or the capital is often responsible for this. The language of the Comorantees has been lost with time, only a few snippets of traditional natural medicine have passed the test of time and some religious rites remain. Tourism is also a welcome manna for the community's economy and has given rise to some initiatives to preserve this cultural identity. Every year, on January 6, a festival commemorates the date of the treaty that ensured freedom for the Maroons: traditional and contemporary music, dances, buffets... Tourists flock to attend one of the last manifestations of the historical and cultural roots of the Maroons.Other points of interest are a modest Presbyterian church, a small square and a monument to the memory of Colonel Cudjoe.Away from the village, one can discover the Peace Cave where the treaty between the English and the Maroons was signed. The most interesting thing is to get an interview with the colonel who, in addition to the ancient history of the community, tells the current situation. However, such an interview is difficult to arrange and it is best to go through a tourist agency.