Excitement at Scott hall

Roddy blows the Abeng to alert all maroons
that there are visitors in the area. The vine around his neck
is the 5 bredda.

Both women whose bodies were taken over by spirits, are being held.

One thing we can say about "Fun and Thrills" outings, that is, there is never a dull moment.

  The outing to Scotts Hall maroon settlement in St. Mary was full of even more  excitement. 

For while we were there, two women had their bodies taken over by their ancestors and created quite a scene.

 I have seen similar scenes three times before, once at a kumina ceremony in St. Thomas, once with the "raising of the table" at Devon house and yesterday and to tell the truth, no matter how convincing they look, I can't believe it is no allt an act. 

Yesterday, when we got back from Bowling water falls, we saw quite a crowd as a group of maroons who were claiming that one faction was putting on all the events and making all the  money off their culture and traditions, was not including everyone.

This policeman was a credit to the force

Even the police was there when we arrived as there seems to be real fear of a violent outbreak. 

In fact a friend told me today that there was a notice in the Saturday papers saying that (someone, she could not remember the name) was not authorized to conduct business on behalf of the 
Scotts Hall maroons.  

I subsequently found the paper and it says; 
NOTICE, "The public is hereby notified that Mr. Noel Prehay Colonel, Uri Prehay Deputy, Natalee Burton Secretary &  Dana Henry Treasurer of the Scotts Hall maroons are no longer authorized to conduct any business on behalf of the Scotts Hall maroons."

A photo opportunity at entrance of   Maroon Town road

 But if they intended that notice to impress outsiders, it couldn't , as it was unsigned!

When we went there on the scouting mission, we were directed to Roddy who is their Public Relations Officer and he put Charles on to Sweetie who seems to be on the executive too.

On Sunday when we got there, we were met by three guides who all seem to have official positions as they all had badges.

Colonel Prehay poses with Raquel, Betty and the craft vendor

The problem seems to be that the faction that is making the accusations does not support Mr. Noel Prehay who we were told was the longest serving Maroon colonel in Jamaica....35 years. 

But his detractors say no general meetings are being held to allow them to elect new members of the executive and they have lost confidence in those who now hold the positions. 

While cockroach nuh business inna fowl fight, I must say the policeman who was there is the most efficient policeman I have ever seen in operation in Jamaica during my long life. For he was calm as he tried to moderate between the both factions and talk some sense into them. Not the usual aggressive and intimidating police we are accustomed to seeing operation. I am sorry I never got his name.

The large seeds of the cacoon vine

Anyway the excitement and taking over of the bodies by the ancestors occurred when the conflict arose and we were told that is what happens when bad vibes are around. 

Apparently the two ladies who were taken over by spirits were mother and daughter. Miss Sweetie, our great cook was the mother and when she saw her daughter's body being taken over, having to be held firmly and having white rum sprayed over her, she took a dive too.

People who were near to the daughter said after it was over, her eyes were glazed, she wanted water and asked what had happened and it was too convincing to have been an act. But I guess not until I am personally taken over by a spirit will I believe such things happen.

Thrillers pose at the healing ground during the scouting mission

Apart from that extra excitement, it was a wonderful day. There were close to forty of us who made the trek, some riding and some hiking from Grandy Hole brdge which is as far as you travel on the Junction road before bearing west to the Scotts hall settlement. 

Although this group of maroons have a lot of land in Gibbs hill, Scott hall and Castleton, all designated as communal land, we were told they can now get individual titles for pieces of land to allow them to benefit from  their being National Housing Trust contributions.

Pot a boil

 When we arrived there, we were welcomed by Roddy, who blew the abeng (proper maroon name Jebry) after sprinkling it with white rum, to give it a better sound he said. The blowing of the abeng before entering the sacred areas is to advise all maroons that there are outsiders visiting. 

He then took us to the healing ground where he said persons with all kinds of  ailments are healed. 

This requires a group of maroons to gather around the afflicted person and the ancestors will enter the body of any one  and instruct what has to be done to heal the person.

The river sometimes rises way up to the guango tree during the rainy season

Roddy also introduced us to the 5 bredda bush which is used to work spells against one's enemies.

He had previously introduced us to the seeds of the cacoon vine which he said is the largest seed pod in the world and is native to West Africa. It is used by the maroons for food and the vines for camouflage. 

We  we arrived at  the beautiful valley after crossing a stream from Irie river which forms the Bowling water fall above and headed to the picnic grounds beside the Wag Water river the food was almost ready.

We were told that when it rains, the river comes up so high it sometimes reaches half way up the large guango tree.

The beautiful valley

That area is well organised for picnics, even having a thatch building with a toilet.

 I am not talking about a pit toilet either but flush toilet to boot. 

The food was great and I really liked the fu fu which is an African dish. It is made of ground provisions plus plantains and bananas all ground up. They then prepare coconut milk as if for rundown and cook the fu fu in it. It was so delicious I had to commandeer some to go home with.


The river was not too deep as it is  the drought season but we had enough water to swim in and have a great time. 

Some of us then  walked up the Irie river to the Bowling falls which is to the west of the picnic grounds.

Because of the drought, it  too was not as heavy as it should but good enough to splash around in and have a great time.

Although there were nice craft items there, I doubt if the artist got any patronage because of the conflict between the maroons which diverted so much of our attention.

Boys will be boys!

 As usual, the A team rode back but poor Omar did not leave until long after the rest, but he seemed to have made good time on his own as he flew past us when we stopped for soup by Castleton gardens.

It was another great outing with the team, thanks to the miserable Ayatollah for the excellent organisation and Charles 1st for introducing the area to us in the first place.

Craft items on display

Some photos compliments of Omar Downie.

That Enfield Ride

A few weeks ago, I accompanied Charles 1st, (a St. Mary man, as is Alrick) Fatman and Ayatollah to check out a new outing with a distance of approximately 37 miles, which could accommodate not only riders but hikers as well.

The scouts

This was to Enfield in St. Mary, a district south east of Annotto Bay in St. Mary where around four different rivers converge. We selected as our destination Bridge 41, snugly situaated beneath the mist covered mountains which would also give us access to the Dry  and  May rivers.

I have no idea why it is called the Dry river for as Howie and I reminisced about the hash we did there with Jah 3 a few years ago, I had to laugh remembering how expensive that hash had proven to be for me. For I had slipped on a rock and fell into the "Dry river"  getting my two cell phones wet and both proved to be unfix-able!

The dry river

I recall at that time too, asking several residents why it was called the Dry river and if they had ever seen it dry, but none had. Anyway, yesterday riding along the roadway, we noticed a huge sand mining operation close to the Northcoast highway and have since assumed that they Dry river goes underground thus allowing the sand mining, hence the name. If anyone else has a more logical explanation, I would certainly welcome it!

Anyway, back to the ride.

Lyming at Agualta Vale

The B team left out about 5am and our first stop was at Castleton to guzzle down the delicious janga soup and boiled corn which is always ready, regardless of  what time we get there.

By then we were caught up by all members of the A team, then it was off to Agualta Vale for another gathering.

We then rode east along the northcoast  highway to Annotto Bay then just out of the town, we turned south to Fort Stewart  where the hikers started their 10 k walk.

The most difficult part of the journey in my book was riding by the sea just outside of  Annotto bay, as the wind was very heavy and it was blowing in a westerly direction.

The good part is that the sea was so rough that we were washed by sea spay occasionally and to persons like myself who always welcome water, that enhanced the ride.

Rough seas indicate how breezy it was.

Apart from that, it was a fairly easy ride with good roads and good company.

When we got to Bridge 41, it seems everyone had lost the desire to swim as no one made a move, or maybe we were just too hungry to move, but then Pat saved the day with sandwiches she brought until until the food arrived from Port Maria. While we waited, Michael and Karen Chuck drove in to join us with tall Robert who was visiting from New York..

Champion rider Andrew Smellie added to the niceness by prearranging that water coconuts were picked and iced in time for our arrival.
Pity Andrew rides so infrequently!

Champion hiker Betty arrives in fine style

It is commendable to see that Lisa Williams is beginning to adopt her parents prowess for service as when the food arrived, she did not dive in like the rest of us but joined her parents in ensuring that all were fed and happy before diving in herself.

Shortly after we ate, everyone was ready to head back.

It was a great day of good healthy exercise and camaraderie and the arrangements were seamless, compliments of the Ayatollah and team.

JOAN WILLIAMS, co-host of JUSTICE on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tour+jamaica+by+joan+williams

Contact; gratestj@gmail.com